Chinese Embassy announces resumption of student visas for Pakistanis, entry for business card holders

Islamabad: China has announced resumption of visas for long-term Pakistani (international) students receiving academic education in China and also allowed entry for business card holders.

The Chinese Embassy made the announcement on its official website. “From now on, long-term international students receiving academic education in China can apply for the student visa (X1visa) by submitting the form of Visa Application for Study in China (JW201 or JW202) and the school admission notice (fresh student) or no objection to returning China certificate (continuation study),” the embassy wrote on the website.

It added: “As per the latest visa application policy, from 0:00 on 24 August 2022, foreign nationals holding APEC business travel card holders and foreign students with valid study residence permits are permitted to enter China.”

Earlier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) offered discounts of 10 percent for Pakistani students on flights between Pakistan and China.

At present, the national flag carrier is operating two weekly flights on Islamabad-Chengdu-Islamabad and Islamabad-Xian-Beijing-Islamabad routes.

The students who are returning to their homeland from China after completion of their education could immediately take benefit from the discount, the airline said.

A large number of Pakistani students enrolled in the Chinese universities are staying back in Pakistan following Covid-19 travel restrictions and want to return to China to join physical classes. The Chinese government has started accepting the Pakistani students back in phases.

On June 20, a special PIA flight brought the first batch of Pakistani students from Islamabad to Xian, China. These students were stuck in the motherland because of Covid-19.

The PIA has resumed its passenger flights between Pakistan and China section after a gap of nearly six months as the airports in Xian and Beijing closed for the international flights in wake of Covid-19 prevention and control measures.

Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) last week asked the students desirous to return to China for resumption of their studies to register till August 10 which is the last date of form submission.

Previously the HEC had given the deadline of July 20 for the students who stranded due to COVID-19 for returning to China to resume their studies however, it extended the deadline till August 10 to facilitate the students who were unable to register.

According to HEC, the information will be shared with the Chinese authorities for further procedure and verification of the submitted documents.