Seoul lifts visa limits on short-term travelers from China

South Korea says it will remove the entry restrictions it placed on short-term travelers from China since the start of the year as officials see the COVID-19 situation in that country as stabilizing.

South Korea in early January stopped issuing most short-term visas at its consulates in China, citing concerns about a virus surge in the country and the potential for new mutations. China abruptly eased coronavirus restrictions in December, raising the prospect of millions of Chinese traveling abroad again for the first time in three years.

South Korea also required all passengers from China, Hong Kong and Macao to submit proof of negative tests taken with 48 hours before their arrival and put them through tests again once they arrive.

Following an anti-virus meeting on Friday, the government decided to normalize short-term visa applications at its consulates in China from Saturday. The testing requirements were maintained but officials say those steps could be relaxed later depending on virus developments.

The South Korean virus measures prompted China to retaliate by suspending South Korean short-term visa applications, raising business concerns in a country that heavily depends on exports to China.

China called the South Korean move a “step in the right direction towards reducing barriers to people-to-people exchanges between the two countries,” and indicated it would likely respond in kind.

South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare said 1.4% of Chinese short-term travelers tested positive after their arrivals, compared to nearly 22% in the first week of January. As of Friday, eight of them remained in quarantine at designated hotels, compared to around 140 quarantines in early January.

South Korea had previously said it would maintain the measures until the end of February, guarding a further spread of the virus in China following the Lunar New Year holidays in late January.