IAG puts pressure on Theresa May over Chinese visas
British Airways parent IAG is urging Theresa May to fulfill the Government’s promise to introduce a new 10-year visa for Chinese visitors.
IAG is questioning why no progress has been made on a visa trial announced during the Chinese state visit to the UK in October 2015.
It made the appeal as the Prime Minister prepares to visit China later this month.
In a letter to the Home Secretary, Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, said: "We need a step change on China. We make it hard for Chinese tourists to visit. The USA charges £119 for a 10-year visa while Britain charges £767.
"Making it easier for Chinese businesses and tourists to come to the UK is critical to boosting our economy and enhancing global trading links, especially post Brexit. We continue to lose out on the new jobs that Chinese investment and affluent tourists bring."
IAG is also calling for the Government to implement two key proposals from the UK China Visitor Alliance. It says new biometric visas issued by Schengen countries should be recognised by the UK and parents of Chinese students studying in the UK should be granted visas.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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