UK Visa System Opens Door to Chinese Tourists

The United Kingdom will take significant steps to facilitate visa applications by Chinese citizens, according to The Guardian.

UK’s chancellor of the exchequer, George Osbourne, has heralded two aspects of the more open visa system:

As a first step, Britain will make it easier for Chinese business leaders to visit the UK by introducing a 24-hour “super priority” visa service. That’s down from the current 3-5 days processing, says the New York Times.

In the biggest step, a separate pilot scheme will allow selected Chinese travel agents to apply for UK visas simply by submitting the application form used for the EU Schengen visa.

The scheme is aimed at the high-end tourism market, after figures showed that wealthy Chinese tourists are not bothering to apply for a UK visa after applying for a Schengen visa, which allows them to visit 22 out of the 28 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

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Hat tip to Fred Rocafort.