Travelers from China who wish to go to Ireland and the U.K. for a short-term period can now do so with only a single visa, announced the Irish and British embassies in China.
A new program set up on Oct. 28 called the British-Irish Visa Scheme permits Britons with some visitor visas to travel to Ireland and Irish people with some short-stay visas to travel to the U.K. Chinese nationals who want to explore the two countries only have to file a single visa application.
"If you are playing golf in London and all of a sudden want to experience playing in Dublin, or vice visa, then the scheme is designed for you," said Irish ambassador to China, Paul Kavanagh, during the opening event held in Beijing.
The British-Irish Visa Scheme only covers the Irish short-stay visas that Chinese nationals applied for after the Oct. 28 launching. Additionally, the new scheme covers Chinese travelers who have a U.K. visitor visa that is not a visitor for civil partnership or marriage and visitor in transit.
The U.K. and Ireland have imposed a one-direction visa scheme since 2011. Travelers who held a U.K. short-stay visa were allowed to pass through their borders even without an Irish visa.
In the previous year, there were 30,000 Chinese nationals who possessed U.K. visas and traveled to Ireland. A surge of up to 50,000 travelers is anticipated in 2015.
According to the British ambassador to China, Sir Sebastian Wood, the new scheme will grant new economic advantages for the three countries involved.