China to resume issuing short-term visas for South Koreans

SEOUL: China will resume issuing short-term visas for South Korean nationals on Feb 18, the Chinese embassy in Seoul said Wednesday (Feb 15).

The move follows South Korea’s decision last week to end COVID-linked travel restrictions on Chinese nationals – rules that sparked a furious response and tit-for-tat measures from Beijing.

From Saturday, the Chinese embassy in Seoul and other consulates “will resume issuing short-term visas for Korean citizens to visit China, for business, transit and other private affairs”, the embassy said on its official WeChat account.

China scrapped visa-free transit for South Korean and Japanese citizens last month after Seoul and Tokyo imposed COVID-19 measures on travellers from China, where coronavirus cases were surging at the time.

China has seen a boom in outbound travel after the government abruptly abandoned strict COVID-19 policies that included mandatory quarantines for all arrivals.