China News Service, Beijing, March 30 (Reporter Li Yanan) Liu Haitao, director of the Border Inspection and Management Department of the China National Immigration Service, said in Beijing on the 30th that in response to the recent adjustment of visa policies for foreigners coming to China, foreigners who really need to come to China can ask Chinese embassies and consulates re-apply for visas.
The State Council ’s joint prevention and control mechanism held a press conference on the same day to introduce the latest situation of preventing and controlling overseas epidemic input in accordance with the law.
On March 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the National Migration Administration jointly issued a public announcement that from 08:00 on the 28th, foreigners will temporarily suspend entry with current valid visas and residence permits. Liu Haitao said at the press conference that this is a restrictive measure taken to effectively prevent the risk of imported epidemic from overseas, and it is a temporary restriction measure taken as a last resort with reference to the current practice of many countries.
Liu Haitao said that the scope of the suspension of entry mainly includes the following: foreigners who currently have a valid visa to stay in China, a residence permit, and an APEC business travel card. At the same time, the implementation of port visas is also suspended, 24 hours, 72 hours, 144 hours of transit visa exemption, Hainan entry visa exemption, Shanghai cruise visa exemption, 144 hours visa exemption for foreigners from Hong Kong and Macao to enter Guangdong, and visa exemption for Guangxi from tourist groups from ASEAN countries. And other visa-free policies.
He specially reminded that foreigners holding diplomatic, official and courtesy visas, as well as C-type visas issued mainly to employees of entry-exit transportation vehicles, will not be affected by this entry restriction.
Liu Haitao said that other foreigners who come to China to engage in necessary activities such as economic and trade, science and technology, and cooperation in epidemic prevention and epidemic prevention, as well as foreigners who really need to come to China for urgent humanitarian reasons, can re-apply to Chinese embassies and consulates abroad. visa. The National Immigration Administration will work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine visa entry policies based on the development and changes in the epidemic situation. If the above policy measures are adjusted, they will be released in a timely manner.
Liu Haitao emphasized that during the epidemic prevention and control period, the State Administration of Immigration focused on promoting the implementation of a closed-loop management system for epidemic control from transportation, port quarantine, personnel dynamic trajectory information sharing to destination delivery, and community prevention and control. Centralized isolation measures are an important part of this closed-loop management system.
He pointed out that for mainland residents leaving the country, the border inspection personnel must check the latest entry records during the inspection. If there are entry records within 14 days, they must resolutely prevent exit and transfer them to the competent department of the place of origin to deal with them according to law. Any foreign tourists who come to China in violation of the regulations during the quarantine period will be handed over to relevant authorities in accordance with the law and will be prohibited from re-entering them within a certain period of time.
Liu Haitao specially reminded that Chinese and foreign immigrants should consciously abide by the requirements of the centralized quarantine measures after entry. It is illegal to enter or leave the country in violation of the centralized quarantine rules. Immigration and border inspection authorities will transfer them to the relevant competent authorities for handling in accordance with the law.
He pointed out that the immigration and border inspection authorities also recently discovered that mainland residents still travel to and from the epidemic-critical countries through non-essential reasons such as tourism and visits, increasing the risk of infection.
"Relevant passengers are also advised to take the overall situation of epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic as well as life safety and physical health as the priority, and try to postpone or cancel outbound trips for unnecessary reasons. (Finish)