Putin Proposes Making Visa-Free Regime Between Russia and China Permanent

© изображение сгенерировано ИИ

Russia is open to discussing the transition of the existing visa-free travel regime with China to a permanent basis, reports TASS. This was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

According to Putin, Moscow is ready to work together with Beijing on formalizing the visa-free arrangement if the Chinese side finds it beneficial and appropriate.

Putin noted that the introduction of the visa-free regime has already had a positive impact on tourism between the two countries. In the first half of 2026, mutual tourist flows increased by 43%.

The current regime allows Chinese citizens to enter Russia without a visa for up to 30 days. Initially, this measure was set to expire on September 14, 2026, but later the sides extended the visa-free period until the end of 2027.

China has also introduced a similar regime for Russian citizens. As a result of the simplified entry process, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Russia has significantly increased. According to Chinese Ambassador to Moscow Zhang Hanhui, in the first quarter of 2026, the number of Chinese tourists to Russia nearly doubled.

A permanent visa-free regime, if agreed upon by both sides, could be the next step in developing tourism and cultural exchanges between Russia and China.