JAKARTA - The Chinese government has implemented a visa-free policy for visits of up to 30 days for citizens of the United Kingdom and Canada starting today, February 17, which coincides with the 2026 Chinese New Year.
"China decided that starting February 17, 2026, it will implement a visa-free policy for Canadian and British citizens holding ordinary passports," the Chinese Foreign Ministry website said, quoted by Antara.
The reason for the implementation of this policy is to make it easier for Chinese citizens and foreign nationals to move.
"Canadian and British citizens holding ordinary passports can enter China without having to arrange a visa for business, tourism, family or friend visits, exchanges and visits, and transit with a stay of no more than 30 days," it reads.
The visa-free policy is valid until December 31, 2026. The visa-free policy for British citizens was announced earlier during British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to China on January 28-31, 2026 to meet President Xi Jinping.
However, at that time it was not announced when the visa-free policy would be effective.
In addition to visa-free travel, the results of the meeting between Xi and Starmer also resulted in a reduction in import tariffs on British whiskey by China from 10 percent to five percent as well as the signing of 12 intergovernmental cooperation documents in the fields of trade and economic exchanges, agriculture and food, culture, and market regulation.
Before PM Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also visited China on January 15-16, 2026. From the meeting between Carney and Xi Jinping, it was agreed to allow 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles to enter Canada every year at a tariff of 6.1 percent.
In return, Beijing will reduce tariffs on Canadian agricultural exports, including canola seed oil, from 85 percent to 15 percent.
China itself has concluded visa-free agreements with 29 countries and a unilateral visa-free policy that offers visa-free entry to citizens of 48 countries.
Indonesia itself also enjoys a 10-day visa-free transit for Indonesian citizens starting June 12, 2025. In Southeast Asia, reciprocal visa-free agreements have been implemented for citizens of Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.
China also announced a visa-free policy for six Gulf countries that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, China also announced a visa-free policy for holders of ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay.
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