Coronavirus: China travel made easier from more than 12 countries, including Britain, France and Japan

Negative PCR result from a week ago and antibody test no longer required, multiple embassies say, days after similar notice for US flights

Effective times vary from immediate to weeks later in June, but mandatory quarantine on arrival to stay

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International passengers must still undergo varying periods of quarantine as required by their port of arrival in China. Photo: AP

Published: 7:00pm, 20 May 2022Updated: 7:18pm, 20 May 2022

Embassies of China in several countries have issued notices relaxing Covid-19 entry rules for overseas travellers, no longer requiring a negative RT-PCR test result from seven days before the flight or antibody test results.

This comes days after the Chinese mission in the US announced similar boarding rule relaxations for China-bound passengers as of Friday.

Travellers from at least a dozen other countries, including Britain, France, Spain, Poland, Japan, South Africa and Chile will now require only two RT-PCR tests carried out at varying times before departure.

Passengers from some, like those in the US, will still be required to produce a negative antigen test result from within 12 hours before the flight, taken at institutes designated by Chinese authorities.

Passengers can upload their test results to the designated site and apply for health QR codes – which are mandatory for entry to China – before the flight, the notices said. Effective dates for the relaxations vary from immediate to as late as next month.

After landing in China, however, travellers must still serve mandatory quarantine according to the requirements of their arrival city.