Travel Gossip: China Extends Visa-Free Travel to Ireland

By Billy Jiang, January 18, 2024

In a surprising diplomatic twist, Premier Li Qiang of China declared on Wednesday, January 17, that China will unilaterally implement a visa-free policy for citizens of Ireland.

This announcement comes on the heels of the recent decision to grant similar privileges to Swiss citizens.

Chinese Premier Li made this announcement during his official visit to Dublin, expressing optimism that Ireland would foster an open, fair, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.

Interestingly, Chinese Premier Li's announcement in Ireland followed his visit to Switzerland on January 14, where he attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting and conducted official discussions.

In both European nations, China has now established one-sided visa-free policies.

China's recent diplomatic moves have been notable, especially the decision in November to grant 15-day visa-free entries to citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia.

Looking ahead, China and Thailand are set to reciprocally waive visa requirements for each other's citizens from March, further expanding China's list of visa-free arrangements.

For detailed information on the evolving list of countries enjoying visa-free privileges and other nuances of the policy, your questions are all answered right here:

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[Cover image by Billy Jiang/That's]