China’s visa-free list continues to grow, with eight more European countries being added.

Citizens of Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia and Latvia have now been granted visa waivers for the Asian nation.

Tourists from these countries, as well as Japan, will be able to enter China visa-free from 30 November 2024 until 31 December 2025.

Passport holders from Andorra, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovakia and Norway were recently added to the list, which grants them stays in China of up to 30 days without a visa.

Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Portugal and Slovenia were granted the access in October.

It brings the total number of European countries granted visa-free access up to 38.

In July, tourists from Poland, Australia and New Zealand were also granted unrestricted entry to China until the end of 2025.

Since the start of 2024, the scheme has been announced in stages, with various European nations and Malaysia also gaining visa-free access. It aims to encourage more people to visit China for business and tourism, and promote exchanges between Chinese citizens and foreign nationals.

Which European countries can travel to China visa-free?

Citizens of 38 European countries can stay in China without a visa for up to 30 days.

The full list of European countries now includes Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. Tourists from these countries will be allowed to enter China for short stays without a visa until the end of next year.

The aim is “to facilitate the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a briefing on the initial announcement made in November.

International travel to China is still bouncing back

China’s strict pandemic measures, which included required quarantines for all arrivals, discouraged many people from visiting for nearly three years. The restrictions were lifted early last year, but international travel has yet to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels.

China previously allowed citizens of Brunei, Japan and Singapore to enter without a visa but suspended that after the COVID-19 outbreak. It resumed visa-free entry for Brunei and Singapore in July but has not done so for Japan.

In 2023, China recorded 35.5 million entries and exits by foreigners, according to immigration statistics. That compares to 97.7 million for all of 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

From July to September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.

The Chinese government has been seeking foreign investment to help boost a sluggish economy, and some businesspeople have been coming for trade fairs and meetings, including Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook. Foreign tourists are still a rare sight compared to before the pandemic.

How else is China simplifying travel for Europeans?

Last year saw a surge in interest in China as a tourist destination among Europeans.

Data from online travel agency Trip.com showed a 663 per cent increase in overall bookings from Europe to China compared to 2022, and an almost 29 per cent increase on 2019.

The United Kingdom and Germany were among the top 10 sources of inbound travellers to China globally, the data shows.

Shanghai remains the most popular destination among Europeans with its alluring blend of modernity and tradition, followed by Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Sanya, a beachside city on the southern end of China’s Hainan Island, and Chengdu – the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province – are emerging destinations.

Beyond it’s new visa-free schemes, the country is further encouraging inbound tourism by promoting cultural and historical attractions in partnership with Trip.com. China is also enhancing tourism infrastructure by investing in technology, travel guides and e-payment systems.

Part of the UK’s second-busiest airpoort has been evacuated after police found a suspicious item in a piece of luggage.

It has created travel chaos on one of the busiest days of the week for travellers.

Most flights are delayed by anywhere between one and five hours.

Some passengers have taken to social media to say they have boarded flights that have then sat on the tarmac for upwards of an hour.

Gatwick airport has advised passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before heading to the airport. This can be done via airline websites, apps and social media channels.

Rail and road transport around the airport is severely disrupted due to the incident.

Authorities were called to the terminal at 8.20am local time after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item,” Sussex Police said in a statement.

“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with,” police said in a statement. “As a precaution, an EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) team is being deployed to the airport.”

Are Gatwick flights cancelled and what is the advice to passengers?

Almost all departing flights from Gatwick South Terminal are delayed by at least an hour for the rest of the afternoon and into this evening.

Arrivals are also impacted, with some expected to land four hours late.

Spanish airline Vueling ordered two flights from Barcelona to Gatwick, as well as a single flight from Seville, to turn around and return to their starting points. The corresponding outbound flights to Spain will also be grounded.

It is not yet clear whether passengers will be issued with refunds if they choose not to fly. It is worth checking your travel insurance policy to see whether it covers expenses during delays.

The airport has confirmed that flights to and from the North Terminal are unaffected.

The train station serving Gatwick has also been closed, Britain’s rail network operator said. Social media posts also show the roads around the airport severely congested.

“We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” the airport said.

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Authorities at London’s Gatwick Airport have said a security alert that forced the evacuation of one of the terminals and delayed dozens of flights has been “resolved and cleared by police”.

The South Terminal was closed at 11:55CET on Friday morning after police were called to investigate a ‘suspected prohibited item’ found in luggage earlier that morning.

Sussex Police said a bomb disposal team made the package safe and two people briefly detained during the investigation were allowed to continue their journeys.

The terminal reopened to passengers and staff at about 16:00CET, the airport said in a statement, but advised passengers to still expect some delays.

Passengers have been advised to check the status of their flight with their airline before heading to the airport.

The airport’s north terminal remained open throughout the security alert.

About 100,000 passengers were scheduled to fly into and out of Gatwick, Britain’s second-busiest airport, on Friday but many had to deal with long delays.

Nejadeen Braham was supposed to fly to Jamaica to pick up her children but said she couldn’t get into the south terminal.

“I saw everybody coming (out) from one direction,” she said.

“I was supposed to go inside, drop my bags and go through security. When I got here, I saw everybody coming down.”

Travellers faced long lists of delayed and cancelled flights on airport information boards.

Outside, long lines of arriving passengers waited for taxis, while others resorted to walking or hitchhiking when they discovered the heavily used airport train station was also closed by the security alert.

Several carriers, including BA and Norwegian reported delays.

Spanish airline Vueling ordered inbound flights from Barcelona and Seville to turn around and return to their point of departure.

Second security alert

The security alert at Gatwick was one of two that rattled London on Friday.

A road near the US Embassy was also shut down on Friday morning as police investigated a suspicious package found in the area.

London’s Metropolitan Police Service said it carried out a controlled explosion of what was later determined to be a “hoax device.”

The embassy said it resumed “normal business operations” at about 14:00CET, although all public appointments were cancelled for the day.