Swine flu: China toughens visa rules for Americans

Beijing, May 8: After the United States reported to have second highest number of Swine flu aka H1N1 influenza cases, the Peoples Republic Of China tightened visa rules for the US citizens.

A notice dated May 3 on the Web site for the Chinese Embassy and its consulates in the US said that all visa applications would now require six business days to process, with express and rush services for visa applications suspended until further notice.

However it is not clear why the rules have been changed. The new visa regulations which are effective from May 4 is applicable to all Chinese visas, including tourist and business categories. Now on the visa applicants are required to fill out a form declaring which nations and US states they had visited two weeks prior. Earlier the US nationals could obtain visas as little as one day.

OneIndia News