Singapore is expected to be visa-free
China and Singapore held a meeting of the China-Singapore Joint Committee on Bilateral Cooperation (CJBC) in Tianjin to further advance cooperation between the two countries. Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong revealed at the meeting that on the basis of the increasing number of flights between China and Singapore, the two sides will strengthen people-to-people exchanges between the two countries through a 30-day visa-free arrangement. The Chinese side responded that at present, the competent authorities of the two countries are in close communication on specific matters.
China's trial visa exemption for six countries increased by 39% in the number of arrivals within three days
According to the notice issued by ***, from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, China will try to implement a unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from six countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia. Holders of ordinary passports from the above-mentioned countries can enter China visa-free if they come to China for business, sightseeing, visiting relatives and friends, and transiting for no more than 15 days.
On the first day of China's visa-free entry policy for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia, a total of 2,029 people from relevant countries entered China without visas. According to statistics, the number of Chinese entering the above six countries on that day increased by 12 compared with the previous day54%。
From December 1 to 3, the number of people entering the country continued to rise, with nearly 180,000 people entered China, an increase of 39% per day from November 30. Among them, nearly 7,000 people came to China through visa-free, accounting for 39% of the total number of arrivals from the six countries.
Malaysia has announced the latest visa-free entry instructions and material requirements
Starting from 1 December, Malaysia has implemented visa-free access for Chinese nationals within 30 days of entry.
The competent authority of Malaysia has recently announced the latest entry instructions, requiring foreign citizens to fill in the MDAC (i.e. Malaysia Electronic Arrival Card) online within 3 days before entering Malaysia, and print a paper version of the MDAC confirmation letter to present to the immigration ** when entering the country. Passengers are also required to bring their passports, hotel reservations, return tickets and other materials when entering the country. Those who enter Malaysia to engage in activities that require prior approval from the competent authorities of Malaysia, such as Xi or work, or intend to stay for more than 30 days, should still apply for a visa corresponding to the purpose of entry before entering the country.
China has given zero tariff treatment to 98% of the products of the six countries
In accordance with the announcement of the Customs Tariff Commission on giving zero tariff treatment to 98% of the tariff items of least developed countries, according to the exchange of letters between China and relevant countries, from December 25 this year, China will implement zero tariff on products originating in 98% of the tariff items of 6 least developed countries, including Angola, Gambia, Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Mali and Mauritania.
**The Office of the Customs Tariff Commission said that China will continue to gradually grant zero-tariff treatment to 98% of the tariff items of all least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China according to the progress of the exchange of letters.
The UK has announced its new immigrant visa policy
Recently, British Home Secretary James Cleverly announced a new measure to curb immigration.
Last month's official UK data showed that net migration to the UK surged to 74 in 202250,000 people, a record. Subsequently, the United Kingdom introduced this immigration program.
These changes include an increase in the minimum wage required for skilled workers overseas, from the previous annual wage of $2£620,000 to £3£870,000. Cleverly said the standard would disqualify 300,000 people from coming to the UK in the future. In addition, the minimum income for a family visa has also risen to 3£870,000.
Singapore and China will soon be visa-free