 FSM-China Visa Exemption Agreement in Draft PhaseBeijing, China (FSM Embassy): March 26, 2009 - In a follow up to last week's release by the Embassy, the Embassy has received favorable consideration to its request for consultation for a possible agreement between the two Nations for visa exemption. The Counselor Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has provided a "draft" Agreement to the Embassy for review and consultations. The draft Agreement is to exempt visa requirements for FSM citizens holding Diplomatic and Official Passports. China currently has similar Visa exemption agreements with sixty-six countries. The Embassy has transmitted the Agreement to Palikir for review and consideration. Once the draft agreement has been agreed upon by both sides, the Embassy shall work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to finalize and sign the respective visa exemption agreement. Currently, the FSM does not require Chinese Nationals to acquire Visa prior to entry into the FSM. The current practice is that foreign visitors are issued an entry permit upon arrival as long as they possess a valid passport and roundtrip ticket. As for FSM citizens visiting China, all FSM passport holders are required to apply and acquire a Visa prior to their arrival in China. The current Draft agreement is a step forward to the status quo as it will exempt FSM diplomatic and official passport holders from Visa requirements when visiting China. For further information, contact the FSM Embassy in Beijing at Ph: (86) 1065324708 or e-mail address: embassy@fsmembassy.cn. |