travel visa
China Expands Visa-Free Policy to 9 More Countries Including South Korea
November 1, 2024
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will extend visa-free entry to citizens from nine additional countries, including South Korea, Norway and Finland, the foreign ministry said on Friday. Starting Nov.8, nationals from these countries, which also include Slovakia, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein, will be allowed to enter China for business, tourism, family visits, or transit for up to 15 days without a visa, the ministry said. The policy will be in effect through Dec.31, 2025. (Reporting by Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo; editing by Philippa Fletcher)...
State Department Makes Important Progress in Reducing Visa Wait Times, Much More Work Needed
U.S. Travel Association | January 25, 2023
Steps taken in recent weeks to reduce visitor visa wait times for travelers to the United States—by up to half in some key markets such as India—mark substantive progress by the U.S. Department of State following months of consistent advocacy from the travel industry. “By enacting smart and effective policies, the State Department is taking an active role in investing in the travel economy’s recovery,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman. “State must remain laser focused on solving this critical issue and set clear goals and limits for acceptable wait times.” Interview wait times for the top 10 inb...
A Year After Borders Reopen, Biden Admin Inaction on Visitor Visas Exacerbates Int’l Travel Recovery
U.S. Travel Association | December 9, 2022
One year following the reopening of U.S. borders to inbound air travelers on November 8, outrageous wait times of more than 400 days for visitor visa applicants is delaying the recovery of the critically important international travel sector. U.S. visa wait times now average a staggering 400+ days for first-time visitor visa applicants in the largest countries for inbound travel. Visa interview wait times for potential travelers from Brazil, India and Mexico are now 317, 757 and 601 days respectively. These excessive delays are the equivalent of a travel ban, driving potential U.S. visitors to choose other countries. U.S. Travel ...
U.S. Travel Escalates Efforts to Reduce Visa Wait Times With New Portuguese, Spanish Websites
U.S. Travel Association | December 9, 2022
The U.S. Travel Association is escalating the consequences of lengthy visitor visa interview wait times by launching Spanish and Portuguese language versions of the website USVisaDelays.com. It will be shared widely in key source markets abroad where potential travelers are experiencing extreme wait times—years-long in some cases—simply to apply to visit the United States. “With the launch of these new multilingual websites, we aim to give a voice to potential visitors who are waiting hundreds of days just to get an interview to visit the U.S.,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman. “We cannot afford...
Business Travel to Face Headwinds, Government Must Address Visa Delays, Travel Disincentives to Protect Economy
U.S. Travel Association | October 17, 2022
WASHINGTON (October 17, 2022)—The latest Business Travel Tracker finds American companies increasingly paring back pandemic-era restrictions on business travel amid developing storm clouds in the form of persistently high inflation and a looming recession—pointing to the need for immediate government intervention to sustain a positive rate of growth. Many companies slashed their business travel budgets during the pandemic, but less than half of companies (42%) still have policies in place restricting business travel—down from 50% in Q2. Businesses have shown a willingness to get back on the road, with 78% of business travelers ex...
ICYMI: Millions of Travelers Say ‘NO’ to the United States Due to Staggering Visa Delays
U.S. Travel Association | October 13, 2022
Los Angeles Times: The U.S. Travel Assn. released a study Thursday, estimating that in 2023, the U.S. is projected to lose $11.6 billion in tourism spending because 6.6 million international travelers will be unable to get visitor visas to travel to the U.S. in a timely manner. Wait times of 400 days and longer to get an interview for a visitor’s visa have deterred potential tourists primarily from Brazil, India and Mexico, according to the study. (By Hugo Martin, Oct. 6, 2022) Bloomberg Law: “Excessive visa delays are essentially a travel ban—no one is going to wait 1-2 years to interview with a U.S. government official to gain pe...
