June

03

Italy eases visa restrictions for Chinese tourists

by silvia.spessato

categories Italy Rules & Law

tags Italy Visa 

news

Rome introduced several actions to make it easier for Chinese citizens to get a visa. As announced by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the visa application process can now be started at the nearest consular office. This might not seem like such a radical innovation, but until a few months ago everyone had to go to the office closest to their household residence – the so-called hukou – or, alternatively, to the place in which a Chinese worker is allowed to live with a temporary permit.

THE GREEN TRACK IS OPEN - The Ministry explains that the initiative is a measure “to foster the tourism and business flows to Italy and follows other recent innovations for faster visa emissions by consular offices.” In fact, in March a fast track (“green track”) was introduced in Guangzhou, Southern China, to exempt from consular interviews all travelers going to Italy with a selected list of major tour operators such as the popular Ctrip. Under this system, the waiting time to get an Italian visa is expected to fall from six days to a maximum of 72 hours. At the same time, the Consulate General in Guangzhou began talks with China Southern Airlines to start direct flights to Rome. The Guangdong Province, together with adjacent areas, represents the main place of origin of the Chinese citizens living in Italy. Moreover, visa applications in the city once known as Canton surged 20% from 2012, hitting 57,000 in 2013. Tourism was stated as the reason for travel on many of these visa requests.

A MATTER OF GOLD - Last October, the United Kingdom opened the way to speeding up the release of tourist visas as a way to attract wealthy travelers. With its top luxury brands (duty-free, according to Beijing), Italy is the first choice for Mandarin-speaking tourists to spend their money, according to the 2013 Hurun Report on “The Chinese Luxury Traveler.” In addition to Guangzhou, the “green track” is scheduled to be launched in Chongqing by the end of this year.

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Commented by Bill Frankish, 29.08.2017

We at the Candlewood Suites Calgary Airport North, closely located to the Calgary airport YYC, have been certified by the China Tourism Academy as having reached the JADE STANDARD of "Welcome Chinese" Certification. As such we greet each guest with a special Welcome envelope with Chinese information on our extended stay hotel. Guests receive slippers, tea, and have access to kettles and rice cookers at no charge. Some items are available in our little convenience store called The Cupboard, and there is a Chinese Super Market about 2 kilometers away which has a full selection of food items, commonly found in China, including live fish. Also at the same shopping area, an authentic Chinese Restaurant called The T. Pot , China Bistro From our location we have easy access to main highways to take you to Banff National Park, or the Royal Tyrrell Museum, an excellent Dinosaur museum. Candlewood Suites is an excellent location with cooking facilities which provides a great home base as you travel to various attractions in the area.