The first ten-year travel visa with multiple entries have been issued to Americans just days after the US and China reached a deal on visas at APEC in Beijing, reported ECNS. 

23-year-old researcher Edmund Downie was the first US citizen to receive the newly extended visa at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. Under the agreement, student visas will be valid for five years, while tourist and business visas will be valid for ten years. The agreement does not change the length of time a visitor is allowed to stay in the country, but the validity of the visa itself. In other words, people will still only be able to stay for 30 days on each entry in most cases.

Visas for each country were previously only valid for one year.

“It eases the process of visa acquisition and makes it more affordable,” Downie said, while adding this will help Americans to learn more about China.

US Secretary of State John Kerry was present at a ceremony at the US Embassy in Beijing last week where the first ten-year visas were issued to Chinese citizens.

Kerry emphasized the mutual benefit both countries will gain, saying, “This will pay huge dividends for American and Chinese citizens and it will strengthen both of our economies.”

Through this agreement, the White House hopes to attract more Chinese tourists as a way to boost employment and inject billions into the US economy. A White House statement said that by 2021, Chinese travelers will contribute $85 billion to the US economy and support 440,000 jobs. The agreement will also “quadruple” the current number of Chinese visitors coming to the United States.

Previously, China represented an untapped source of tourism for the US.  The White House noted “Chinese travelers persistently rank the United States as their top desired travel destination, but only slightly more than 1.8 percent of total outbound travelers go to the United States.”

President Obama made the visa policy announcement at a speech during APEC in which he said he wanted China “to do well”, saying, “”The United States welcomes the rise of a prosperous, peaceful and stable China.”

In light of the many tensions between the two countries, President Obama also raised US concerns over China’s stubbornly fixed exchange rate, restricted markets, and press freedoms and human rights.

Obama also touched upon the protests happening in Hong Kong over universal suffrage, saying, “Our primary message has been to make sure violence is avoided,” adding that the US would “continue to have concerns about human rights” in China.

President Obama emphasized he would stick to his ideals, saying, “We’re not going to stop speaking out on behalf of the things that we care about.”

Photo: ecns

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Furthermore, Shenzhen Daily notes that when China last updated the immigration rules in 1986, there wasn’t much consideration that foreigners would move to China and stay forever, let alone bring family along with them.  But times have changed.

By the end of 2011, 4,752 foreigners were granted permanent residency in China. This is a minuscule number compared with other countries — and even Hong Kong — yet shows that some laowai really are staying for the longest of hauls.  Meanwhile, the number of foreigners entering or leaving China topped 54 million last year, the Shenzhen Daily said. With this kind of traffic, the old visa rules just weren’t cutting it.

China Briefing has a good outline of the changes.  Among them, three new types of visas are being introduced:

The R Visa — For highly-skilled and in-demand senior executives and high-level talents

The Q Visa — For overseas Chinese returning for family reunion purposes

The S Visa — For the families of foreigners who wish to come to China for family reunion purposes.

Below is a list of the other visa categories, from China Briefing:

C Visa

• Applicable to train attendants, air crew members and seamen operating international services, and to their accompanying family members

D Visa

• Applicable to foreigners who are to reside permanently in China

F Visa

• Applicable to foreigners who come to China for exchanges, visits and inspections

G Visa

• Applicable to foreigners who transit through China

J Visa

• J-1 Visa: Applicable to resident foreign journalists in China (long term stay – more than 180 days)
• J-2 Visa: Applicable to foreign journalists who make short trips to China for reporting tasks (short term stay – less than or equal to 180 days)

L Visa

• Applicable to overseas tourists (those traveling with tour groups can be issued a group L Visa)

M Visa

• Applicable to foreigners who come to China for business or commercial activities

Q Visa

• Q-1 Visa: Applicable to foreigners who apply for entry into China for family reunification with Chinese relatives or foreigners with permanent residency in China, as well as to those who need to visit China for adoption issues (long term stay – more than 180 days)
• Q-2 Visa: Applicable to foreigners who come to China for a temporary visit to Chinese citizens or foreigners with permanent residency in China (short term stay – less than or equal to 180 days)

R Visa

• Applicable to senior-level foreign talents and foreign nationals whose special skills are urgently needed in China

S Visa

• S-1 Visa: Applicable to spouses, parents, parents-in-law and children under 18 years old of foreigners who stay in China for study or working purposes, and to foreigners who need to reside in China for other personal reasons (long term stay – more than 180 days)
• S-2 Visa: Applicable to family members of foreigners who stay in China for study or working purposes, and to foreigners who need to reside in China for other personal reasons (short term stay – less than or equal to 180 days)

X Visa

• X-1 visa is applicable to foreigners who come to China for a long-term study period (more than 180 days)
• X-2 visa is applicable to foreigners who come to China for a short-term study period (less than or equal to 180 days)

Z Visa

• Applicable to foreigners who apply to work in China

As usual, we’re quite lucky in this part of the world. Many laowai stationed in more far-flung regions of the country must buy air tickets and fly to Korea, Russia, Japan, or Hong Kong on visa runs. We have the convenience of just popping across the border.

Whichever visa you qualify for, just make sure it’s updated and valid.

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