Chinese embassy relaxes visa policy for Pak visitors

ISLAMABAD: The Chinese Embassy announced here on Thursday that it would be providing maximum comfort to the Pakistani applicants, who intend to visit China.

Since April 1 this year, the Embassy has implemented new policy for F and M visas. According to the new rules, those applicants who have visited China more than 3 times since January 1, 2016, who work for the companies registered in local Chambers, or who hold passports with marks of Government Officer or Government Employee are exempted from submitting barcode invitation letters.

These invitation letters are usually issued by Chinese local governments or big enterprises and difficult to obtain.

According to statistics, the visa issuance volume from April 1 to June 15 rose 11% over the same period of the previous year, among which the business visa volume reaches around 15,000, a growth of 19%.

Many visa applicants find that there are two female Pakistani employees receiving them in the Consular Section of the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, which makes some applicants, especially those Urdu speakers feel pleasantly surprised.

Yang Lianchun, Director of the Consular Section, said that more Pakistani staff have been hired in his section and taken responsibilities of facilitating the applicants, such as frequently helping to bridge the gap in language barriers for Urdu-speaking applicants. “All of our consular officers speak English only. When we have interviews with Urdu-speaking applicants who visit China for the first time, we will sometimes reject them as we can’t make sure of their visit purposes due to language barriers. However, Pakistani employees can not only help lessen the applicants’ emotional anxiety but solve the problem easily.” He said.

Hiring more Pakistani staff in the Consular Section is actually under the instructions of Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing. Since his arrival the Ambassador has specially taken steps to facilitate Chinese visa application. His constant meetings with the chambers of commerce and industries won huge support from the local business community.