JAKARTA - British and Canadian citizens get special rights from the Chinese Government. For them, a visa-free policy will be imposed for visits for 30 days.
The policy starts from Chinese New Year, namely on February 17, 2026.
"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's website said, quoted by ANTARA, Monday, February 16.
There are certain reasons why this policy is given to citizens of the two countries, namely to make it easier for the mobility of Chinese citizens and foreign nationals.
"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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