China implements visa-free entry policy for cruise ship passengers

19-05-24

The National Immigration Administration announced on Wednesday the full implementation of a visa-free entry policy for foreign tourist groups arriving by cruise ships in coastal provinces of China. This policy is effective immediately.

Under this new policy, foreign tourist groups consisting of two or more individuals can enter China visa-free through any coastal cruise port and stay for up to 15 days. These groups must be organized and received by China’s domestic travel agencies and must travel together on the same cruise ship to the next port when leaving China. Their activities are limited to the coastal provinces, municipalities, and Beijing.

The visa-free entry is available at ports in 13 cities: Tianjin, Dalian in Liaoning province, Shanghai, Lianyungang in Jiangsu province, Wenzhou and Zhoushan in Zhejiang province, Xiamen in Fujian province, Qingdao in Shandong province, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Beihai in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and Haikou and Sanya in Hainan province.

To further support the development of cruise tourism, seven additional cruise ports have been designated as transit visa-free ports for citizens of 54 countries. These ports include Dalian, Lianyungang, Wenzhou, Zhoushan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Beihai, facilitating foreign passengers to transfer and depart via cruise ships from these locations, according to the immigration administration.