Two-year visa
for Chinese visitors
now launched!
13 January 2016
A two-year visitor visa scheme for Chinese nationals was launched on 11 January 2016.
The new visit visa costs the same amount as a current six month visit visa (£85), but is four times longer in duration, granting Chinese visitors to the UK better value for their money.
The new scheme:
- Enables Chinese visitors to make multiple trips to the UK over a longer period of time;
- Provides eligible Chinese nationals with value for money and a better visa deal than the standard Schengen visitor visa which is limited to a maximum of 90 days; and
- Enables British visitors to China to benefit from the same visa arrangement.
To be eligible for this visa you must be coming to the UK for tourism or business purposes (such as attending a conference or investigating setting up a business).
The UK government is also planning to improve the UK visa application process for Chinese nationals by extending its mobile fingerprinting service, which captures the biometrics needed for application, from nine to 50 Chinese cities.
Plans to expand the existing network of UK Visa Application Centres in China are also being discussed.
Equally, the rising number of British citizens visiting China will find that they too will benefit from this scheme, as the Chinese government has reduced its two-year visit visa fee to the equivalent of £85 and, for the first time, is matching the UK’s offer of a 10-year visitor visa.
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