Which countries are visa free for both Chinese and Swiss citizens?
I'm planning to meet my girlfriend. She's Chinese, while I'm Swiss. And we're having some trouble finding out which way would be the best to meet each other. Because we both would not like to tell our parents about that yet.
So I've been researching and I found that Chinese people are allowed to go to San Marino for 90 days without any visa. For me, being Swiss, I'm perfectly allowed to go there, too. But there are some questions regarding that plan.
How does she get to San Marino without having an Italian visa? I mean, she would need to cross Italy. I've read the Italians will grant Chinese people transit to San Marino without a Schengen visa or transit visa. Is that true? If so, how would you do that transit?
If the plan mentioned above does not work, what do you recommend would be the easiest way to meet each other?
ADDED
For clarification purposes, I would like to reply to some things that have been stated here.
First of all, I can assure everybody that this is not a romance scam. We've met over a year ago and have been calling each other for almost every day in the last 11 months. Additionally she wanted me to come to China, not the other way around. It was actually my idea, that she'd come to Europe.
And she's currently in Hainan as a student, so it wouldn't be that obvious to her parents if she left for a week or two.
I've first just asked this question because I wasn't sure about the idea with San Marino. It sounded ridiculous to me too, and because there wasn't any other information on the internet I thought I'd give it a try and ask.
So I think this question is answered for me now. Either she's going to get a Schengen visa for Switzerland (which I'm not sure exactly how) or I'll try to get to Hong Kong (but where I'm not sure, if she actually can go to Hong Kong as a Chinese citizen from the mainland?) somehow. Thank you all for your willingness to help.
Best Answer
San Marino is landlocked and does not have a commercial airport, so the only way to get there is to cross the land border from Italy, which requires one already to have entered the Schengen Area, with all the visa requirements that implies.
Thus the visa-free agreement between San Marino and China is in practice irrelevant for your girlfriend. It is just the symbolic reciprocal counterpart of an agreement that allows Sammarinese citizens to enter China visa-free.
Pictures about "Which countries are visa free for both Chinese and Swiss citizens?"
How many countries can you visit visa free with a Swiss passport?
As of 13 April 2021, Swiss citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 187 countries and territories, ranking the Swiss passport 7th in terms of travel freedom (tied with the passports of Belgium, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States), and the highest of the EFTA member states, according to ...Which country Chinese dont need visa?
Where Can Chinese Citizens Travel Without a Visa?CountryAllowed stayAlbania90 daysAntigua and Barbuda30 daysArmenia90 daysBahamas3 months29 more rowsWhere can Chinese citizens go visa free?
Visa requirements for Chinese citizens were lifted by Micronesia on 18 December 1980, the Bahamas on 12 February 2014, Indonesia in 2015, Grenada on 10 June 2015, Ecuador on 1 March 2016, Morocco on 1 June 2016, Tonga on 19 August 2016, Saint Kitts and Nevis on 1 January 2017, Serbia on 15 January 2017, Tunisia on 15 ...Do Chinese citizens need a visa for Switzerland?
Switzerland schengen visa is required for Chinese citizens. The stay is usually short with a period of 90 days and visa expires in 90 days. Applicant is required to be present when applying for Switzerland schengen visa. A total of 12 documents are required for applying Switzerland schengen visa.Chinese passport enjoys visa-free access to more countries
More answers regarding which countries are visa free for both Chinese and Swiss citizens?
Answer 2
Considering that the Swiss passport is quite stronger than the Chinese passport, you should have a look at which countries a Chinese citizen can go easily (no visa or VoA). And from that list pick one that you can go to easily.
This is the map (source):
Among the easier countries:
- Tunisia & Morocco, no visa.
- A few countries in Asia ask for no visa, or a very easy VoA/eVisa: Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand.
Morocco and Thailand are very nice in the winter. Good choices right there.
Answer 3
https://travelfreedom.io/compare/?compare=ch|cn
Click on "Show Map" and select "Exclusive" mode, and you'll be able to see which countries you can both travel to.
Answer 4
There exists a transit regime to landlocked jurisdictions within Italy, just not quite for everyone.
I've read the Italians will grant Chinese transit to San Marino with out a Schengen visa or transit visa. Is that true?
It is, basically, the same thing, as with transit to Vatican City. Namely that in exceptional cases, Italy would grant such transit upon very strict conditions. For instance, if a Chinese national had a yacht moored in international waters, and would get to San Marino by a helicopter, they would have to apply to Italian Foreign Ministry for a permission to do so, and such a transit would be granted provided they don't land on Italian soil. Or, if they arrived from outside of the Schengen Area by a private jet, and arranged a helicopter transfer from the airport to San Marino, transferring under border guard officer's supervision.
In other words, it is very well off limits to ordinary people, so, unless your girlfriend has a private jet or a yacht, forget it. Go to Belgrade, and meet up there, it's a lovely city, unless you head to the suburbs.
Answer 5
She's not getting into San Marino without a Schengen visa, as San Marino doesn't have a passenger airport.
Suggestions in Europe are Serbia, Moldova, Ukraine or Turkey. Swiss can go there visa-free (except in Ukraine, your ID card is enough), while Chinese can enter Serbia visa-free, get a visa on arrival in Ukraine and Turkey, or get an e-visa in Moldova and Turkey.
All of this said, first and foremost find out whether this person is for real.
Answer 6
Based on Wikipedia pages for visa requirements for Chinese and Swiss citizens, I've made a list of countries that will let you both in either visa-free, or with a visa-on-arrival, or on an eVisa.
Those countries are:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Bolivia
- Brunei
- Cambodia
- Cape Verde
- Comoros
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Gabon
- Georgia
- Grenada
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Palau
- Qatar
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Samoa
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Sri Lanka
- Suriname
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- Vanuatu
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
That is a total of 72 countries to choose from! Do review specific entry requirements for each country you might want to choose, as the list does not take into account any additional requirements such as using a specific port of entry.
Also, while San Marino is technically on that list, I believe there's no port of entry that would be directly inside San Marino and therefore not require a Schengen visa.
Thus, your girlfriend would be unable to enter San Marino without a Schengen visa.
Answer 7
As Mawg suggested in the comments, the best option is probably just for you to go to China. It shouldn't be difficult to get a Chinese visa as a Swiss citizen and it will probably be much easier than for her to leave China.
This also solves another issue, which is quite likely the actual problem here: it doesn't require sending her any money and, thus, rules out this being a romance scam (which, honestly, it probably is.) If she objects to you visiting her in China without sending her money, this is almost certainly a romance scam. If the scenario is real, it will be much easier for her to meet you somewhere near but not at her home without her parents finding out than for her to fly halfway around the world without her parents finding out. In the more likely case that it isn't real, her trying to find excuses of why you need to send her money in order to be able to meet will confirm to you that it isn't real.
As an aside, if you've exchanged e-mails with her, you may wish to check the Received-From headers to see whether the source IP address is even in Hainan at all (or China at all, for that matter.)
Please also read this question: My online friend is asking for money in order to visit my home country. Is this a legit request or a scam?
Answer 8
Found this handy dandy comparison tool that might help:
https://www.passportindex.org/comparebyPassport.php?p1=cn&p2=ch&fl=&s=yes
Does a side by side comparison of countries, passports, and visa requirements.
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Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Tranmautritam, Karolina Grabowska, Tetyana Kovyrina