Brazil and Portugal are the two Portuguese-speaking countries whose nationals no longer need an entry visa to visit the island of Hainan in southern China, provided the stay does not exceed 30 days, announced the State Administration for Immigration, whose officials said the measure would come into effect in May.
The visa exemption to visit the island since 2000 has covered citizens of 21 countries and since 2010 citizens of 26 countries for group trips of between 15 and 21 days. The new regulation eliminates the need to travel in groups but maintains the requirement to have the trip intermediated by a travel agent.
The deputy director of that state department, Qu Yunhai, said the move aims to attract more foreign tourists in order to develop the island’s tourism industry.
This announcement comes about a week after China’s President Xi Jinping visited Hainan to attend the Boao Forum for Asia 2018 and the Chinese government announced plans to convert the island into a free trade zone in order to attract foreign direct investment.