The gift that China’s President Xi Jinping‘s seems to bring with him on every state visit lately is improved visitor visa regulations for both People’s Republic of China passport holders to that country, and sometimes for visitors from that nation to China.

The United Kingdom (UK) is no exception, and a new visa policy between the two countries was announced October 21. "From January, new visitor visas for tourists from the People’s Republic of China will be valid in the UK for two years – four times the usual six-month limit for a standard visitor visa – bringing significant benefits to the UK economy, Prime Minister David Cameron announced today. He also announced his intention to go further with plans for a new 10-year, multi-entry visa for Chinese tourists at no extra cost," the UK government announced via its website. For people affected by this change, read the entire announcement here, there is a lot of information about new visa application centers and more.

Air China has used this week to announce  or remind the public about a whole bunch of new direct routes. There’s Beijing-Islamabad-Karachi in Pakistan, beginning October 26, three times per week; there’s Beijing-Newark service, which was previously announced, also starting October 26, four times per week, and in direct competition with fellow Star Alliance member United Airlines‘ flights between the two cities, although United flies daily; Beijing-Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, four times per week; and Beijing-Colombo, Sri Lanka, commencing October 27, three times per week. Must be a cool time to be a member of Air China’s international flight crews.

Finally, Indonesia is implementing strict new visitor visa rules beginning January 1, to crack down on people misusing those visas in order to gain employment. Specifically, "according to new rules, foreigners’ visas will be rejected in case if during the past 12 months the visitor has had two visas on arrival (paid or free) or a social/tourist visa B211." First-time travelers need not worry, but if you just bought a timeshare in Bali, or plan to spend every holiday there, you may need to look into a different kind of tourist or retirement visa.

Quite a bit for this week. ‘Til Tuesday, one road flat safe.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on October 23, 2015

The new 10-year visas available to US passport holders will make travel to China easier for those who qualify, but applicants face the same standards as before.

The United States of America-China Chamber of Commerce (USCCC) posted some clarifying information to its website regarding the visas and their use:

"U.S. passport holders eligible for Chinese short term business (M) and tourist (L) visas will be issued multiple-entry visas valid for 10 years. In order to qualify for 10-year visas, US passport holders must have more than one-year validity remaining on their passport. Once a 10-year visa has been issued, the validity of the visa does not expire if the holder renews his/her passport. The visa holder can travel carrying the old passport with valid Chinese visa along with the new passport. The cost for the visas will remain the same.

"Qualified U.S. students may receive student residency permits valid for up to five years depending on the length of their educational program. There will be no changes to visa processing for non-US passport holders.

"As international relations can change quickly without advanced notice, we urge you to take advantage of this new policy and apply for your China visa at your earliest convenience. In addition, if your passport expires in less than one year, we encourage you to consider renewing your passport."

Relatively high standards for L visas are one reason Beijing has seen declining tourism numbers for 2013 and in recent quarters. Programs such as 72-hour, visa-free travel to Beijing have not been sufficiently easy or welcome to make the city attractive as a destination.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on November 24, 2014.

Photos: Max Braun (Flickr)

Stolen passports from as many as three nations that qualify for Beijing’s 72-hour, visa-free travel policy may have allowed the unidentified passengers to board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, avoiding the scrutiny to which their identities and documents would have received during a normal China visa application.

The stolen foreign passports, originating from Austria and Italy, respectively (and perhaps two more, one from Russia and another from China), are all qualifying nations from a list of 45 countries permitted to visit or transit Beijing without applying for a visa. The process also simplifies visits for business people making only short trips to the capital. The passengers using the Austrian and Italian passports were booked on onward flights to Amsterdam aboard Dutch airline KLM, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Visitors are required to have confirmed air tickets and if necessary, onward visas, to third countries, making the policy more like a transit visa. Visitors are not permitted to go beyond the Beijing municipality during their stay, but it is unlikely that a traveler motivated to go farther would be discovered at provincial road border crossings into or out of Beijing. The time limit would certainly restrict distance, since air travel and probably rail travel would not be possible without the visa-free entrance being noticed. Those using the program must also depart from Beijing. Participants must register there arrival with the Public Security Bureau, like all foreign visitors.

Launched on January 1, 2013, the program was designed to spur tourism, but underperformed in 2013, attracting only 14,000 of a target 20,000 visitors. According to the English website of Beijing Capital International Airport, the following nations are eligible for the visa waiver program: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia , Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar.

As of 11:30pm Beijing time on Sunday, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 remained listed as missing, with 239 passengers and crew aboard. Bound for Beijing, the flight left Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia at 12:40am Friday, and disappeared from radar about two hours later. It was scheduled to land in Beijing at 6:30am. On Sunday, reports of debris were reported by navy ships from Vietnam, but could not be confirmed as being from the missing aircraft.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger on March 10, 2014.

Photo courtesy of ibtimes.com via theebijinger