On October 15th, China implemented a visa-free policy for citizens holding ordinary passports from four countries: Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and Slovenia, expanding the network of countries eligible for visa exemption.
On that day, flight MF812 from Amsterdam landed in Xiamen, bringing over 200 passengers into the arrival hall for border control procedures. Among them was Mr. ABAIZD from Germany, who was visiting China for the first time. He expressed that the visa-free policy greatly benefits short-term travel and business in China.
According to statistics provided by the Xiamen Border Control Station, since the first phase of the visa-free policy was launched on December 1st of last year, more than 110,000 visitors have entered Xiamen without a visa, accounting for 35% of all foreign arrivals, marking a 19-fold increase compared to the previous year.
As more countries join the visa-free “club,” an increasing number of international travelers are arriving in Xiamen. To facilitate exchanges between domestic and foreign personnel, border control has implemented measures to make the entry process smoother for foreign visitors.
Michael, a traveler from the United States, headed directly to the self-service immigration card filling terminal in the arrival hall. With the guidance of border officers, he completed the entry form, which was then printed out. He effortlessly took the entry card and headed to the inspection lane for his immigration checks.
“It’s really convenient,” Michael shared. “I work at Xiamen University and frequently travel back and forth between China and the U.S. The entire process is very efficient, and the steps for filling out the card are clear and easy to follow.”
Mr. Bai Weizhen, a traveler from Malaysia, noted, “I filled out my information on the plane and upon arriving in Xiamen, I just scanned a QR code to get my entry card. It’s very convenient!”
Vanessa from France highlighted another advantage of the online entry form: “Once you fill it out for the first time, the system records your commonly used information and auto-fills it for the next submission. This is really handy for frequent travelers.”
Currently, Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport operates passenger routes to 26 regions, including France, the Netherlands, and Australia. The combination of visa-exempt travel and direct flights is further bridging Xiamen’s connection to the world. The implementation of the visa-free policy not only saves time for citizens from these countries regarding visa applications, but it also significantly enhances the efficiency of border control processing.
