Argentina loosens visa requirements for Chinese tourists

[Photo/Xinhua]

The Argentinean government announced Tuesday that Chinese tourists, already owning a valid tourism visa for the United States or the European Union (EU), will no longer need a separate tourist visa for Argentina.

According to the government's official Gazette, President Mauricio Marci signed into law a decree stating that Chinese travellers must have an Electronic Travel Authorization for either of those two regions, which costs 50 US dollars.

Those without such a document "must request their visa at the relevant Argentinean consulates, as stipulated in bilateral agreements," said the statement.

The government considered that the new norm "was adapted to the requirements of migratory policy" and "sought to generate more agile and simplified processes for entry to the national territory."

"We have taken into account the control mechanisms carried out by certain countries to emit visas. It seems reasonable to consider the usual checks carried out by Argentinean consulates as complete, if they (Chinese tourists) have obtained visas for countries with rigorous control criteria," said the Gazette.

In April, Argentina's Tourism Minister Gustavo Santos said that Argentina wanted to increase ten-fold the number of Chinese visitors in 2019, compared to the 40,000 seen in 2015.