Visa processing eased for applicants inoculated with Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine
Visa processing eased for applicants inoculated with Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine
Chinese Embassies in multiple countries have announced this week that they will introduce facilitation of visa applications for foreign nationals who have received the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine and obtained a vaccination certificate.
Who will be affected?
Travelers who enter China from the following countries / Regions:
Japan, Korea, Thailand, Pakistan, Hungary, Sri Lanka, Israel, Philippines, Vietnam, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Slovakia, Belarus, Italy, Germany, UK, Norway, Denmark, The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of PRC and the Macau Special Administrative Region of PRC.
Impact:
The notice released by the respective embassies confirmed from March 15th, 2021, the embassies in the above mentioned countries will support a visa application, under the following conditions, if the applicant has received their Chinese COVID-19 vaccination and a vaccine certificate.
- A foreign national and family members resuming work in various fields can apply for a visa with documents required prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Invitation Letter (PU), Invitation Letter (TE) or Invitation Verification Notice issued by the foreign affairs offices or the departments of commerce of the provincial governments are no longer required.
- Applicants eligible for applying for a visa out of emergency humanitarian needs will include foreign family members of Chinese citizens or permanent residents of China, including spouses, parents, children and other close relatives living together (i.e. siblings, grandparents and grandchildren), for purposes of reuniting with families, taking care of the elderly, visiting relatives, attending funerals or visiting critically ill relatives.
- Holders of valid APEC business travel cards may apply for the M visa by presenting the original valid APEC business travel card and the invitation letter from partners in China. (applicable to certain countries)
Requirements for certificates of negative nucleic acid and antibody blood tests results before boarding flights remain unchanged. Please observe the quarantine regulations after entry into China.
Detailed instructions on the relevant application and procedures are expected to become available on the Embassy website in the coming days.
Santa Fe Analysis:
Santa Fe thinks that this is a positive sign that Chinese authority is trying to explore safe and controllable measures to resume normal personnel exchanges as early as possible in the post-epidemic era and we expect that similar policy will become available in more countries in the coming weeks.
We will monitor the situation closely and provide updated information once available.
Should you have any questions, please contact the following:
Maggie Hu
Immigration Manager – China
Santa Fe Relocation
China
D: (86-21) 6233 9700 ext. 134
M: +13917317947
E: maggie.hu@santaferelo.com
Robert Day
Group Head of Immigration Operations
Santa Fe Relocation
London
M:+447990021125
E: Robert.Day@santaeferelo.com
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