China’s National Immigration Administration announced on Tuesday an expansion of its visa-free transit policy, increasing the maximum stay for foreign nationals to 240 hours from the previous 72 or 144. This expansion includes the addition of 21 new entry ports, among them Wuxi Shuofang Airport.
Wuxi Shuofang Airport currently operates eight international passenger routes connecting to cities including Osaka, Incheon, Nha Trang, Singapore, and Bangkok, averaging 22 international flights daily.
Wuxi Immigration Inspection Station data reveals a significant increase in activity this year: over 7,400 inbound and outbound flights (a 125% year-on-year increase), over 820,000 personnel (a 134% year-on-year increase), and over 91,000 foreign arrivals and departures (a 245% year-on-year increase). More than 10,000 visa-free foreign travelers transited through Wuxi this year, a 16.4-fold increase compared to last year, primarily for tourism and visiting relatives and friends.
Earlier this year, Wuxi launched the “Ten Measures to Facilitate the Entry and Stay of Foreign Nationals in Wuxi,” providing streamlined processes for entry/exit, payments, business, living, travel, consumption, education, and healthcare.
Following the implementation of the 240-hour visa-free transit policy, Wuxi will enhance customs clearance services. This includes optimizing entry site layouts, designating processing areas for visa-free transit, managing foreign national stays, coordinating visa-free transit with port visa requirements, and promoting the policy through multi-lingual channels to foreign-funded enterprises, chambers of commerce, travel agencies, and airlines. Passenger service stations will offer services such as booking attractions, processing mobile SIM cards, facilitating mobile payments, and further support foreigners’ studies, lives, and work in Wuxi.
Source: Wuxi Immigration Inspection Station
CONTACT: Contact person: Mr. Feng, Tel: 86-10-63074558
