Are Australian citizens now or in the very near future about to get ten year visas for China?
So a year or so ago there was some announcement between China and USA to increase tourist visa validity to ten years. I thought this was related to some free trade agreement.
Now I believe the Australian and Chinese governments also made a similar free trade agreement around the same time.
Searching the Internet now I can find mentions of Chinese citizens being able to get ten year visas for Australia. I'm not sure if that's already started or still to come.
But so far I couldn't find anything about whether Australian citizens can or will soon be able to obtain ten year visas for China. Can we? Or will we be able to soon? Do we have some idea when it could be?
Best Answer
It does not seem so. At least not related to the free trade agreement. It likely depends on politics and those are hardly forecastable.
First of all, the 10-year visa for Chinese citizens you refer to were not agreed upon in ChAFTA, the free trade agreement you mention.
You can find the text of that here. Annex 10-A has the commitments of Australia "on the movement of natural persons" but that text only handles business visa and the maximum duration mentioned is four years.
The commitments of China for movement of natural persons can be found in Annex III. I'm not sure I understand all the legalese there but I believe the relevant text is on page 74 here and also that only handles business type visa.
An easier-to-understand breakdown is here. In summary, the ChAFTA only discusses business visa and ten-year visa are not even mentioned there. Your only hope could be Article 10.6 of the agreement:
ARTICLE 10.6: COMMITTEE ON MOVEMENT OF NATURAL PERSONS
1. The Parties hereby establish a Committee on Movement of Natural Persons that shall meet within two years of entry into force of this Agreement, or as agreed by the Parties or on the request of the FTA Joint Commission, to consider any matter arising under this Chapter.
2. The Committee’s functions shall include:
(a) reviewing the implementation and operation of this Chapter; and
(b) identification and recommendation of measures to promote increased movement of natural persons between the Parties; and to improve the commitments undertaken by the Parties under this Chapter, on a mutually advantageous basis.
Now all of this only refers to the free trade agreement and chances are that you are looking for a tourist visa that is completely unrelated. My guess is that your politicians are not aware that this is a desire of their citizens and have not made a strong point of this in their negotiations. It also seems that China is not very eager to give away 10-year visa, having done so only for Americans so far. Edit: and Israelis, thanks to @JonathanReez in comments.
Not sure it is any consolation, but also the Australian 10-year visa for Chinese citizens are only a pilot program for now.
Pictures about "Are Australian citizens now or in the very near future about to get ten year visas for China?"
Can Australians get visa for China?
Do Australians must acquire a Visa to travel to China? Yes, visitors with an Australian passport are required to apply for a Tourist eVisa.Is China issuing visa now?
Based on the latest situation of Covid-19 prevention and control, starting from 3 November 2020, the Consular Department of the Commissioner's Office are ready to accept visa applications through the Chinese Visa Application Service Center from applicants who intend to travel to China for any of the following purposes.Can I get a 10-year Chinese visa?
The "10-year Chinese Visa" is multi-year and multi-entry business, tourism, and family-visit visa issued for Canadians who meet the requirements in terms of the agreement on facilitation of people-to-people exchanges between China and Canada on March 9, 2015. The visa is valid for up to 10 years.How long can an Australian stay in China?
How Long can Australian citizens stay in China for? You will be able to stay in China for a total of 30 days Per Entry and this eVisa is for a Single Entry.Australian Immigration News Update: Jobs and Skills Summit, New Zealanders fast track to Citizenship
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