China rolls out ‘ASEAN visa’ for 10 member states and Timor-Leste

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Eligible applicants will be granted a maximum stay of 180 days.

To further facilitate cross-border travel in the region, China has rolled out an ‘ASEAN visa’ for the 10 member states of ASEAN and the observer country Timor-Leste, as announced by China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a regular press conference on 3 June 2025.

The ‘ASEAN visa’, which builds upon the visa-free arrangement between China and countries such as Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, as well as China’s ‘Lancang-Mekong visas’ programme for Mekong countries, offers five-year multiple-entry visas to eligible applicants from the 11 countries visiting China for business purposes, along with their spouses and children, for a maximum stay of 180 days.

The full list of countries benefitting from this new ASEAN visa arrangement are:

• 10 member states of ASEAN
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cambodia
  • Indonesia
  • Lao PDR
  • Malaysia
  • Myanmar
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam
• Observer country
  • Timor-Leste

Those with specific questions regarding visas to China are encouraged to contact the diplomatic and consular missions in their countries.

In addition, China has extended a trial visa-free policy to ordinary passport holders from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026, marking the first time that China’s unilateral visa-free programme includes Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Currently, the number of countries granted unilateral visa-free entry to China has increased to 43.

Image / Xinhua - gov.cn