The visa-free regime was extended by China until December 2025 for 11 EU countries, Portugal was not included, The Portugal News reported on May 7.
Citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg will be able to stay in China without a special visa for up to 15 days if they came for tourism purposes, doing business or are passing through the country, said a Chinese representative of Diplomacy Lin Jian.
As of November 2023, a similar visa-free regime was in force for citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. It was supposed to end in December 2024. However, in March, Chinese authorities expanded visa-free travel to six more EU countries, and have now extended it for another year.
When it became known that the Portuguese would not be able to enter China without a visa, the Republic’s ambassador in Beijing, Paulo Nascimento, explained that “does not understand” With what criteria does the Chinese government select countries for visa-free travel and why is Portugal not one of them?
Source: Rossa Primavera
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