The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and the National Immigration Administration announced new measures on Wednesday to allow foreigners with three types of valid Chinese residence permits to enter China. The new measures stipulate that foreigners with valid Chinese residence permits for:
- work
- private affair
- reunion
It will be allowed to enter the country from midnight on September 28, 2020 and is not necessary to re-apply for a visa.
If a foreign citizen’s residence permit (one of the above three types) expires after midnight on March 28, 2020, the holder may apply for the corresponding visa to the Chinese embassy abroad with the expired residence permit and relevant materials under the condition that the reason for coming to China remains unchanged. The authorities also pointed out that foreigners entering China should strictly abide by China’s epidemic prevention and control regulations, including 14 days of compulsory quarantine at designated places and health examination required by local authorities.
CONVID-19 in China is currently controllable, so the relevant departments made some new adjustments to the entry measures for foreigners. In order to control the epidemic, China announced the strict travel ban and temporarily forbade almost all foreign residents’ access to China on March 28, 2020. Now, the long-waited lifting of the travel ban is coming.
According to the travel ban implemented on March 28, 2020, foreigners are not allowed to enter China even if they hold the valid visas and work permits. Diplomatic personnel and those who come to China “to engage in necessary economic, trade, scientific and technological activities, as well as for urgent humanitarian needs” are exempt from restrictions. Due to the ban, many foreign employees and entrepreneurs are prevented from entering China until the pandemic control measures are lifted.
In general, Chinese officials have been trying to gradually lift travel ban to allow more international inflows and outflows. However, as the pandemic outbreaks again in many other countries (e.g., Europe, North America and Latin America), the existing entry rules may change at any time.
We will follow up the further changes in China’s entry policy. If you have any questions about the measures to return to China in the current situation, welcome to contact us at any time.