An announcement was made on December 5 confirming that Beijing will implement a 72-hour visa-free policy for foreign visitors from 45 countries starting on January 1, 2013. Foreigners holding “third country” visas and plane tickets (Beijing is just their transfer) can stay in Beijing for 72 hours. However, they will not be permitted to leave Beijing during this time and they must depart from the capital. In the past, foreigners in transit could only stay in Beijing for a maximum of 24 hours and could not exit the airport.

Countries permitted to use 72-hour visa waiver

European Schengen countries	Austria, Belgium, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hellenic, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Other European countries	Russia, the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine
Americas	United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile
Asia Pacific	Australia, New Zealand
Asian countries	Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, The United Arab Emirates, Qatar

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Keywords: Beijing visa waiver 72-hour visa-free China