First lot of visa-free passengers from Switzerland enter China

Border police officers check documents of travelers at a border checkpoint of the Shanghai Pudong International Airport in east China's Shanghai, March 14, 2024. (Photo by Wei Wenheng/Xinhua)

KUNMING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- With visa-free access, three Swiss nationals arrived in southwest China's Yunnan Province via Mohan Port on Thursday.

They are the first batch of passengers from the six European countries, namely Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg, which enjoy China's visa exemption.

"The customs entry is very fast and convenient, and I think I will come to China again," said Kamber Gian Thomas, 25, a Swiss passenger.

According to the visa-free policy, which is effective from Thursday to November 30 this year, citizens with ordinary passports from the six European countries are allowed to stay in China for business, sightseeing, visiting families and friends as well as transit for no more than 15 days.

On Thursday, east China's Shanghai City also saw 67 passengers from the six European countries enter via the Pudong Airport, according to the airport's border checkpoint.

The application of the policy once again marks China's visa-free countries scope expansion after the China-Thailand mutual visa-free agreement came into effect on March 1.