CHINA: Australians can stay for 30 days without a visa from 30 November 2024

China is working on encouraging Australians to visit its shores. Back in July, it introduced 15-day visa-free travel for Australians to China. Now, the Chinese Embassy in Canberra has announced you can visit visa-free for 30 days. That sure beats having to queue at a Chinese Embassy for a few hours, once to apply and then, to pick up your passport as I did back in 2009.

The new policy will take effect in a few days, on 30 November 2024, and is scheduled to remain in place until the end of 2025. I guess they can tell who is in the country and for how long with all that facial recognition and CCTV.

Who is eligible?

Visa-free entry applies to the usual visa categories of visits, including business, tourism, family visits, and transit. Australian citizens who hold ordinary passports are covered. Diplomatic passport holders and those who do not fit the categories outlined will still have to apply for a visa.

The 30-day entry period applies to 40 countries, including Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and a range of European countries.

Multiple entry for up to 5 years is also possible for Australian Passport holders for tourism, business, and family visits, but you will need a visa for that.

Cost and inconvenience saving

Previously, there was an AU$100 charge per person for a single-entry tourist visa, no more!

You also won’t have to appear in person at a Chinese visa office at least a fortnight before your travel date. I remember negotiating the permanent Falong Gung protest group outside the offices in Sydney’s Camperdown.

2PAXfly Takeout

With China open and no visa required, it’s a good time to visit. Chinese airlines are increasing their flights to Australia, although some other airlines are reducing services or completely abandoning the destination.

Qantas has suspended its Sydney to Shanghai flights and British Airways is pausing its London-Beijing route until November 2025 at least. Scandanavien Airlines (SAS) and Virgin Atlantic have completely withdrawn from China.

The Chinese market has shrunk. Due to the invasion of Ukraine, flight restrictions on Russian airspace have also been imposed. This makes getting to and from Asia from Europe longer. Longer flights mean higher fuel consumption, which makes flights more expensive.

Chinese airlines, are not subject to Russian airspace restrictions, so they still fly the same routes to Europe and elsewhere.