China suspends multiple-entry visas, slows visa processing in Hong Kong

Min Lee, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HONG KONG - Travel agents say China has stopped issuing multiple-entry visas and is slowing visa processing for travel to the mainland.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry denies there has been any change in policy.

But local travel agents say authorities in several cities, including Hong Kong, have told them of the changes.

They say the restrictions went into effect in late March and are to continue until after the Beijing Olympics in August.

They speculate that Chinese officials may have ordered the restrictions to keep tighter watch on tourists ahead of the Olympics following widespread international condemnation of Beijing's crackdown in Tibet.

Andrew Work, executive director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, says the move is already causing hardship for chamber members who frequently travel to China on business.

"We've got a lot of members who travel on short notice. Somebody says, 'I need you to go, close a deal here,"' Work said.

Protesters have disrupted the Olympic torch relay in Paris and London in the past few days and there have been suggestions the entire international portion of the torch relay may be scrapped.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu denied there had been any change in policy.

"China's visa policy is formulated according to China's laws and regulations and in line with international practices," Jiang said at a regularly scheduled news conference.

"I have checked this information and China did not stop granting multiple entry visas to foreign visitors."

Hong Kong-based travel agent Forever Bright Trading Ltd. said on its website that multiple-entry visas were suspended from March 28 until Oct. 17. The Beijing Olympics are scheduled to take place Aug. 8-24.

Travel agent Luk Tak said Chinese authorities were now only issuing single-or double-entry travel visas to foreigners in Hong Kong, scaling back a visa program that used to issue multiple-entry business visas that lasted up to three years.

Visa Express, a Paris-based visa service for travellers to China, posted a notice to its website saying that as of March 27 and "following information from the Chinese Embassy" the agency could only issue single or double-entry visas limited to 30 days.

An official at another Hong Kong travel agency, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the best visa his agency can currently obtain is a double-entry visa valid for three months. He said China has also suspended one-day travel visas to the neighbouring Chinese city of Shenzhen, a popular shopping destination.

Luk said fewer Chinese offices are handling visas. His agency used to submit applications to offices at the Chinese foreign ministry's Hong Kong office, Shenzhen and another neighbouring Chinese city, Zhuhai. Now, only the Hong Kong office is handling applications.

As a result, visa processing times have slowed from same-day to next-day turnaround, Luk said.

The travel agency official who declined to be named said the visa restrictions may be due to the Olympics so Chinese authorities "have a better control over the people coming in."

Former British colony Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 but has retained separate political and economic systems. It allows visa-free access to citizens of major western countries, so foreigners often use the city as a base to travel to mainland China.

© The Canadian Press, 2008