Visa application for Chinese visitors are being simplified by Singapore, Canada and Indonesia, and Germany has also decided to expedite and simplify its visa process for Chinese by the end of the year.
Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore announced it will issue 10-year multiple-entry visas to eligible Chinese nationals from June 1.
Canada announced it will expand the scope of its visa-free transit waiver to include Narita Airport and Haneda Airport in Tokyo and Seoul-Incheon Airport as application points for Chinese en-route to the USA from June 1. Previously Canada had announced six Asian airports including Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Manila and Taipei as application points for the visa-free transit waiver.
Last October, the Chinese and German governments both set a goal for a 48-hour visa application process which was achieved for corporate travelers to Germany in May 2015. By the end of the year regular travelers will also be able to collect their visas in two days and not be required to submit as many documents. Currently Schengen visa applicants are required to submit hotel reservations for each day of their visit but German visa applicants will only be required to submit one hotel reservation.
India, Indonesia and China will begin to test a shortened visa application process of a few days for six-month valid visas in July 2015. Applicants will only be required to submit a proof of credit letter from the issuing nation’s foreign trade department of the chamber of commerce.(Translation by David)
