In an act of retaliation against recent restrictions on China arrivals into several countries, China has now suspended the issuance of short-term visas for travellers from South Korea and Japan.
South Korea and Japan are just two among several countries that have implemented restrictions on China since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy.
The Chinese embassy in Seoul announced yesterday (January 10) that it would no longer issue short-term visas to South Korean visitors and that the policy adjustment would remain in place until the discriminatory entry procedures against China, such as South Korea’s suspension of its issuance of short-term visas for Chinese nationals until the end of this month, had been removed.
Last week, South Korea introduced the requirement for travellers from China to undergo a PCR test on arrival, according to Reuters. Effective from Thursday (January 12), Chinese travellers will also need to provide a negative PCR test result taken within the 48 hours before departure or a negative Rapid Antigen test result taken within 24 hours before departure.
According to Kyodo News, China has also suspended the issuance of visas for travellers from Japan. Reservations for the visa procedures on the Chinese Visa Application Service Center website reportedly became unavailable in Japan yesterday, January 10.
Japan recently introduced the requirement for travellers from mainland China to provide proof of a negative test result taken prior to departure.
