A plane carrying the first group of passengers from Saudi Aribia, one of the four newly added countries to China's unilateral visa-free access list, landed at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport on Tuesday afternoon.
China launched a trial visa-free policy on Monday for ordinary passport holders from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. With this expansion, China now offers unilateral visa-free entry to 47 countries.
Under the policy, which will remain in effect through June 8, 2026, holders of ordinary passports from these four countries can enter China without a visa for up to 30 days for purposes such as business, tourism, family visits, cultural exchange, and transit.
"I really like the free policy for the visa. we are going to Shanghai with my friends for a trip. I really like China," said Muath Qarni, a traveler from Saudi Arabia.
"This is my first time in China. I will go to Hangzhou. I want to share from (a social media) platform," said Mashoq Abdullah, another Saudi traveler. The expansion means China now offers visa-free access to all six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar have already established reciprocal visa-free arrangements with China since 2018.
"As of June 9, nearly 2,000 passenger trips from GCC countries have passed through Shenzhen airport this year, marking a 154.4 percent increase year on year. Most travelers are here for tourism or business purposes," said Zhu Xiaosong, deputy captain of the fourth duty team of Shenzhen Airport Border Inspection Station of Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection.
Shenzhen welcomes first batch of visa-free passengers from 4 Gulf countries
Shenzhen welcomes first batch of visa-free passengers from 4 Gulf countries
