China, Canada Establish New 10-Year Visa Scheme

Qualified passport holders from Canada and the People's Republic of China are now able to apply for visas in each other's countries that will be valid for up to 10 years. 

On the heels of a similar deal between China and the United States announced in November 2014, the new visas are available immediately. In both the US and Canada deals, Chinese passport holders found themselves having to apply annually for student visas, and Chinese business people were also in need of visas with longer validity.

Although no more details were immediately available for the China-Canada arrangement, the US deal has made it simpler for US passport holders to receive 10-year, multi-entry visas with 60-day stays. The visas remain valid even after the expiration of the passport, with the visa remaining the same price as prior visas in the same categories. 

In 2014 more than 100 million Chinese travelers went abroad, and spent USD 163 billion. As such granting better visas to PRC citizens, while not quite at the same level of the visa waivers enjoyed by countries such as Japan and South Korea (at least for US travel), it's certainly a big step in a positive direction – and makes visa processes for US and Canadian passport holders a whole lot nicer.

Photo: Asiapacificmemo.ca