The government of São Tomé and Príncipe has decided to grant entry visas to all Chinese citizens wishing to visit the archipelago and exempt all Chinese holders of diplomatic and service passports from entry and stay visas, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Wednesday in São Tomé.
A statement signed by the MNE spokesman, Ambassador Francisco Fernandes, sent to Macauhub in São Tomé, said “citizens of the People’s Republic of China, holders of ordinary or common passports, are guaranteed entry visas on arriving in the national territory.”
The document adds that “Chinese citizens holding diplomatic and special service passports are exempt from visas for entry and stay in the national territory for a period of 15 days.”
This decision comes less than a month after the signing in Beijing of the general and sector-based Sino-Sao-Tomean cooperation agreement following the re-establishment in December of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and São Tomé and Príncipe, to the detriment of Taiwan.
The Government of São Tomé and Príncipe has advocated the promotion of tourism as a way to deepen cooperation with China, namely by granting facilities to the Chinese who travel to the archipelago, as well as by investing in tourism infrastructures, such as expanding São Tomé International Airport (macauhub)
