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On August 10, the Chinese Embassy in Denmark announced that citizens of the following European countries can now return to China: Albania, Ireland, Estonia, Austria, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Belgium, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Denmark, Germany, France, Finland, Netherlands, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Cyprus, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Those who hold relevant Chinese residence permits (i.e. work, personal affairs, family visit) may apply for a visa to China for free from any Chinese embassy or consulate in these countries.
It should be noted (and not confused), that ONLY those who already have a work permit and work visa can return to China to the previous workplace or just enter again since they already have a visa and permit.
It is, though, a very positive sign, and we should expect more restrictions to be lifted for EU countries within the next 2 months, making it possible for foreigners around the world to travel to China again, both as a worker or as a tourist.
Those citizens of EU countries who plan to apply for a work visa form the very start still can’t do it, as the Chinese embassy says. There will be a separate update later on when it will be possible to start the visa applications for tourist or work visas.
Last week, South Koreans were also given the green light to return to China, along with increasing reports of teachers abroad from select schools who have been able to receive invitation letters.
Distribution of COVID-19 cases worldwide, as of August 10, 2020. Image via ECDC
Fears of a second wave of COVID-19 in European countries remain; however, stricter restrictions have been imposed to curb the spread. Daily new cases in Europe have been kept under 25,000 since mid-May.
