Australians get visa-free travel to China

Australians with an eye on traversing the Great Wall of China, feeling dwarfed by Shanghai’s skyline or savouring the tea culture of Hangzhou will soon have the ability to do so without a visa, while multi-year visas are also on the cards.
Revealed following discussions between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Canberra this week, the arrangement would see Australia added to the country’s visa waiver program, alongside New Zealand and a host of European nations.
Entry would be valid for stays of up to 15 days. Longer visits would still require a Chinese visa, which must be arranged in person at approved visa offices in Australia at least two weeks in advance, starting from around $95 per person.
Australians visiting China currently do so primarily on a Category L tourist visa, which is valid up to one one year and permits a stay of up to 30 days per entry, and a Category M business visa, which allows one stay of up to 30 days but is valid for only 90 days after being issued.
Prime Minister Albanese says “Australia and China have renewed and revitalised our engagement. We have agreed across a range of MoUs [memorandum of understanding] and arrangements today to continue to drive our practical cooperation as we continue the process of stabilising the relationship.”
A timeframe has not yet been revealed, though the news has already been welcomed by tour operators, including China travel pioneer Wendy Wu, who says the visa-free policy “will make short trips more accessible and straightforward, and we’re positive it will encourage a robust return to destination China for Aussie holidaymakers.”
The new visa-free policy is aimed at boosting tourism and re-establishing ties between the nations, and follows a similar announcement in May, which added 12 countries including Germany, France and Italy for stays up to 15 days for business, tourism or visiting relatives and friends.
Premier Li confirmed multi-year, multi-entry visas were also progressing, following on from an in-principle agreement reached between the Australian and Chinese governments in November last year.
“We agreed to provide each other with reciprocal access to five-year multiple entry visas for tourism, business and visiting family members – so as to better facilitate personal exchanges, China will also include Australia in its Visa Waiver Program,” Premier Li adds.
The relevant departments of both the Australian and Chinese governments will now set to work finalising the details of the new visa.
Australia is serviced by six Chinese airlines, including Air China, Beijing Capital Airlines, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Xiamen Air.
Additional reporting by Chris Ashton.