Travellers moving between China and Singapore will be able to enjoy a 30-day mutual visa exemption agreement starting from the beginning of next year. The new initiative was shared by the Singapore foreign ministry on Thursday, 7 December: “Both countries will work out the implementation details of the mutual 30-day visa exemption arrangement and implement it in early 2024.”
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin confirmed the agreement but didn’t specify the length of the stay. “At present the competent authorities of the two countries are in close communication on specific matters,” Wang Wenbin told a news briefing. “Both China and Singapore look forward to the early implementation and coming into force of relevant arrangements.”
The agreement was reached amid the 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in Tianjin, which Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Winister, Lawrence Wong, co-chaired. According to him, traveller flow between the two countries are increasing and have almost reached pre-Covid-19 levels.
“The 30-day mutual visa exemption arrangement between our two countries will also support such progress, which can promote more personnel exchanges and strengthen the cornerstone of bilateral relations”, Wong told Singapore’s Chinese language paper Lianhe Zaobao.
Singapore’s Central Bank and the People’s Bank of China are also looking to start a program which will allow travellers from both China and Singapore to use China’s e-CNY digital currency in the context of tourism spending.
Moreover, aside from the introduction of the 30-day mutual visa exemption, China will not have foreign equity limits for Singapore investors in 22 sectors such as construction, retailing and wholesale and architectural services, Singapore’s trade ministry explained.
Before Covid-19, China had a 15-day visa-free entry for citizens of Singapore and Brunei, which resumed earlier this year, on July 26th. The visa-free entry can be used for different purposes, such as business, sightseeing, visiting friends and relatives or transit. On the other hand, Thailand and Malaysia already introduced visa exemptions for Chinese tourists earlier in 2023.
