SEAToday.com, Singapore-Singapore and China have agreed to a 30-day mutual visa-free entry for their citizens. The agreement was signed by the Government representatives from both sides on Thursday (1/25).

With this agreement, Singaporeans and Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports can enter China or Singapore without a visa for 30 days if they are traveling for business, sightseeing, visiting friends and family, or other private affairs. 

The mutual 30-days visa exemption agreement will provide "greater convenience to citizens of Singapore and China traveling to each other’s country for business and leisure", the Singapore Embassy in Beijing wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday (1/25). 

"It will also strengthen our people-to-people ties, promote mutual understanding, and bring about greater economic opportunities for Singapore and Singaporeans." The embassy added that it looked forward to more business travel, tourism, and exchanges between the two countries.

The agreement between the two countries will formally be effective on February, 9, just a day before Chinese New Year. 

The agreement between the two countries will formally be effective on February, 9, just a day before Chinese New Year. So, from 9 February 2024, holders of ordinary passports issued by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will be exempted from visa requirements for a stay of up to 30 days in Singapore. However, there are some conditions:

1. There will be no refund of the visa processing fee for those who had earlier applied.
2. Similarly, holders of ordinary passports issued by Singapore will be exempted from visa requirements for a stay of up to 30 days in the PRC. This reciprocal visa exemption arrangement was announced at the 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation on 7 December 2023 and subsequently affirmed through an exchange of diplomatic notes between Singapore and the PRC.
3. Under long-standing agreements, holders of diplomatic, public affairs, and service passports issued by the PRC are exempted from visa requirements for a stay of up to 30 days in Singapore.
4. Holders of all other travel documents issued by the PRC must continue to apply for an entry visa before traveling into Singapore.

Plans for the 30-day mutual visa exemption agreement were announced nearly two months ago, during the highest-level annual bilateral forum between Singapore and China. (DKD)