A foreigner conducts business at the Wuxi station of China Immigration Inspection. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]
Wuxi has rolled out an upgraded set of measures designed to make the city more accessible and welcoming to foreign nationals for business, work, living and tourism.
The Convenience Measures for Foreigners in Wuxi 2.0 builds on an initial package introduced two years ago, which made Wuxi the first city in the province to adopt a comprehensive, integrated approach to foreigner services.
The first phase focused on foundational services — including 144-hour visa-free transit and the expanded acceptance of foreign bank cards — while the new version aims to refine the experience based on feedback from actual users and an assessment of what worked.
The new package focuses on three core areas: Entry and immigration, daily living and residency, as well as spending and payments.
Arrival halls now feature dedicated processing zones that handle both 24‑hour and 240‑hour visa‑free transit applications in a single stop. A newly introduced online filing system for arrival cards has cut processing time to under 20 seconds. Customs clearance is being expedited through smart baggage screening and integrated one‑pass inspection. In addition, a cross‑provincial document transfer service covering Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces, as well as Shanghai, allows travelers to submit visa applications locally and receive fast‑track issuance upon entry.
High‑standard immigration service centers and permanent residence ID card stations now offer one‑stop services including consultations, appointments and on‑site card issuance. The "Five‑Star Card" initiative expands the use of permanent residence IDs for transport, healthcare and insurance. More than 100 service windows and clinics tailored to foreign patients are being set up, while the city is exploring the possibility of wholly foreign‑owned hospitals. Foreign students are also now eligible to enroll in public and private primary and secondary schools as well as kindergartens.
More than 3,000 key merchants will accept foreign bank cards, up from the initial 10 shopping districts. Duty‑free shops are being upgraded, inbound duty‑free stores are being fast‑tracked, and tax‑refund outlets are expanding under a new 2.0 policy that allows small‑value refunds without the physical inspection of goods. Consumption vouchers targeted at foreign visitors are being distributed at airports, ports, shopping districts and hotels, and merchants are offering direct discounts upon presentation of flight tickets, passports or foreign cards. Approval procedures for commercial performances by foreign artists have been simplified, and the city is encouraging more international shows to broaden entertainment options.
The spectrum of measures reflects Wuxi's broader effort to transition from simply attracting foreign visitors to making them want to stay — and return.
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