China began to adjust its visa policy this week, under the global COVID-19 pandemic, to allow more foreigners to travel to China.
Several Chinese diplomatic institutions in foreign countries have notified about the expansion of the scope of visa services to foreign nationals.
According to the new policy, foreign nationals who are family members of Chinese citizens orforeigners with Chinese permanent residence permits can now apply for a Chinese visa for a family reunion or to visit relatives.
The family members refer to spouses, parents, spouse's parents, children, spouses of children, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren.
Foreign nationals and accompanying family members coming to China for business reopening in all fields can also apply.
Visa applications for tourism, medical treatment and other private purposes, however, remain suspended.
Foreign nationals who are to travel to China should be vaccinated before entering China with COVID-19 vaccines approved for emergency use or licensed for use by China or the World Health Organization (WHO).
At the same time, an official invitation letter is no longer needed for foreign nationals who are coming to China for employment, but the foreigner work permit in China or the notification letter of the permit is indispensable.
Last month, China relaxed the COVID-19 health rules for people who travel from overseas to the country.
The travelers no longer need to provide seven-day health monitoring records and immunoglobulin M (IgM) test results before the trip. Instead, they need to take two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests at different laboratories within 48 hours before the trip, and one test must be done within the last 24 hours.
