Health

South Korea to resume short-term visas for Chinese citizens

Seoul, Feb 10 (EFE).- South Korea will once again issue short-term visas for Chinese citizens starting this weekend, the government announced Friday.

They were initially halted due to the huge wave of infections in China after Beijing dropped its zero-Covid policy.

Seoul decided to resume issuing the visas after determining that the peak of the Covid-19 wave in China had passed, an interior ministry official said during a government meeting, according to Yonhap news agency.

In December, the Chinese government suddenly announced the end of its quarantine policy, which opened the door for its citizens to travel around the world again, after which Seoul announced on Jan. 2 various restrictions for those coming from the neighboring country over concerns that new variants could spread throughout South Korea.

Travelers from China must undergo a Covid test before departure and upon arrival in South Korea and, in the even of a positive result, undergo a mandatory seven-day quarantine.

Added to this had been a halt on the granting of short-term visas to Chinese citizens, with only diplomats and public officials or those traveling for humanitarian reasons or essential business trips exempt.

The move prompted Beijing to restrict short-stay visas for South Korean citizens in retaliation. EFE

asb/tw

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