On March 7, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would continue to introduce measures to facilitate the movement of people between China and other countries, further promoting exchanges between Chinese and foreign nationals. China has decided to expand the scope of visa-free countries to include Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg for holders of ordinary passports from these six countries.

From March 14 to Nov 30, 2024, nationals of the aforementioned countries who hold regular passports can enter China for business, tourism, visiting relatives, and transit purposes for up to 15 days without a visa.

The Hangzhou Immigration Inspection Station expects a significant increase in the number of arrivals from these six countries with the trial implementation of the visa-free policy.

The number of arrivals currently benefiting from the visa-free policy entering Hangzhou from these six countries has so far exceeded 17,000, more than quadruple last year's figure.

With the continuous introduction of visa-free policies and the gradual resumption of flight routes to Hangzhou, the volume of inbound and outbound passengers in 2024 is expected to further increase.