From 17 December 2025 until 31 December 2026, travellers applying for Chinese visas of up to 180 days at the embassy in Stockholm or the consulate in Gothenburg will no longer need to submit fingerprints. A notice posted on 18 December says the exemption covers tourist (L), business (M), family visit (Q2/S2) and short study (X2) categories. Applicants for long-stay visas that require a residence permit in China—such as work (Z) or journalism (J1)—must still provide biometric data.
The step extends Beijing’s ongoing campaign to make post-pandemic entry procedures less onerous for visitors from Europe. By scrapping fingerprints, consular officers can process dossiers entirely online, cutting an in-person appointment that typically added two weeks to the timeline and an extra SEK 500 in fees. According to travel-data firm ForwardKeys, Sweden sent 67 000 visitors to China in 2024; industry insiders expect the easier process could lift that figure by 40 % in 2026, especially among MICE and exchange-program travellers.
Corporate mobility teams should note that the embassy still requires an online application form, photo upload and signed business invitation where relevant. However, employees can now courier passports rather than appear in person, reducing travel time to Stockholm for applicants based in Gothenburg, Malmö or northern cities.
![Chinese Embassy in Sweden Suspends Fingerprint Collection for Short-Term Visa Applicants]()
To help organisations take full advantage of the fingerprint waiver, VisaHQ offers a streamlined, end-to-end service for China visa processing. Through its dedicated portal for Swedish travellers (https://www.visahq.com/china/), clients can complete application forms online, receive expert document checks and arrange secure courier collection of passports, ensuring compliance while minimising time away from work.
China is piloting similar fingerprint waivers this winter at visa centres in Denmark, Austria and the Czech Republic. If the trials succeed, sources in the National Immigration Administration say the policy could be rolled out EU-wide in mid-2026, complementing the unilateral 30-day visa-free scheme already granted to 45 countries.
Practical tip: check that travellers have no previous Chinese visas issued after their last passport renewal; otherwise officers may request fingerprints to verify identity. Applicants who previously failed biometric collection owing to scars or skin conditions are automatically exempt.
The step extends Beijing’s ongoing campaign to make post-pandemic entry procedures less onerous for visitors from Europe. By scrapping fingerprints, consular officers can process dossiers entirely online, cutting an in-person appointment that typically added two weeks to the timeline and an extra SEK 500 in fees. According to travel-data firm ForwardKeys, Sweden sent 67 000 visitors to China in 2024; industry insiders expect the easier process could lift that figure by 40 % in 2026, especially among MICE and exchange-program travellers.
Corporate mobility teams should note that the embassy still requires an online application form, photo upload and signed business invitation where relevant. However, employees can now courier passports rather than appear in person, reducing travel time to Stockholm for applicants based in Gothenburg, Malmö or northern cities.
To help organisations take full advantage of the fingerprint waiver, VisaHQ offers a streamlined, end-to-end service for China visa processing. Through its dedicated portal for Swedish travellers (https://www.visahq.com/china/), clients can complete application forms online, receive expert document checks and arrange secure courier collection of passports, ensuring compliance while minimising time away from work.
China is piloting similar fingerprint waivers this winter at visa centres in Denmark, Austria and the Czech Republic. If the trials succeed, sources in the National Immigration Administration say the policy could be rolled out EU-wide in mid-2026, complementing the unilateral 30-day visa-free scheme already granted to 45 countries.
Practical tip: check that travellers have no previous Chinese visas issued after their last passport renewal; otherwise officers may request fingerprints to verify identity. Applicants who previously failed biometric collection owing to scars or skin conditions are automatically exempt.
