卡梅倫:英國訪客簽證有效期延至兩年

UK visitor visas for Chinese tourists will be valid for two years - four times the usual six-month limit for a standard visitor visa - from January, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday.

英國首相卡梅倫於週三宣佈，中國訪客從明年1月起可享受有效期延至兩年的英國訪客簽證，是現有標準下六個月有效期的四倍。

He also announced plans for a new 10-year multi-entry visa for Chinese tourists at no extra cost.

他還宣佈了針對中國旅客的一個10年多次入境簽證的新計劃，而且不需額外費用。

New arrangements being piloted will offer better value in both cost and convenience as the UK mobile fingerprinting service to capture the biometrics needed for visa applications is extended from nine Chinese cities to 50 - making it far easier to apply.

新計劃將給中國遊客帶來更高的性價比和便利性，獲取簽證申請所需生物信息的英國指紋錄入服務，將從現有的9個城市擴展至50個城市，使申請英國簽證更加容易。

The government is also discussing with the Chinese government the potential to expand the existing UK network of 12 visa application centers - already more than any other EU country.

中英政府還商議了關於增加現有的12個英國簽證申請中心數量的潛在可能性，目前該數量已經多於任何其他歐盟國家。

The changes amount to a much better deal than the standard Schengen visitor visa which is limited to a maximum 90 days, and puts the UK on a par with the 2014 US offer.

這些改變將使英國簽證比有效期最多爲90天的標準申根訪客簽證更具吸引力，同時使英國可與美國2014年提出的的簽證服務相媲美。

Chinese tourists currently contribute 500 million annually to the UK economy with record numbers visiting to make the most of the retail opportunities and visitor attractions on offer - up 35 percent between April and June this year compared to the same period in 2014, according to latest figures from VisitBritain.

中國遊客現在每年爲英國經濟貢獻5億英鎊，破紀錄的訪英人數爲零售業和旅遊景點帶來巨大的收益。根據英國旅遊局最新數據，今年四月至六月，中國訪英人數較2014年同比增長35%。

Overall, visit visas issued to Chinese nationals have almost trebled over the past five years from 115,000 in 2009 to 336,000 in 2014, with spending increased by 326 percent. With every Chinese visitor spending on average 2,688 per visit, visitor visa extensions will enable them to maximize their spending power even further.

總的看來，發給中國的訪客簽證數量在過去五年幾乎翻了3倍，從2009年的11.5萬份增至2014年的33.6萬份，中國訪客在英消費額增長了326%。每個中國遊客在每次行程平均花費2688英鎊，訪客簽證有效期的延長，將使中國訪客能進一步擴大其消費能力。

Overall inbound tourism, one of its fastest growing services, was worth more than 26 billion to the UK economy in 2013, so the benefits of increasing Chinese visitors can also be seen in job creation where, for example, every 22 additional Chinese visitors create an additional job in the sector.

入境旅遊業是增長最快的服務業之一，在2013年爲英國經濟貢獻超過260億英鎊的收入。所以增加中國訪客的益處還體現在隨之增加的就業，比如每增加22名中國訪客，就能爲該行業增加一個新的就業。

"China is becoming one of our fastest-growing tourism markets, so making it easier and more convenient for Chinese visitors to come to the UK is extremely important. That is why the announcement I'm making today is great news for our tourism industry and great news for the British economy enabling us to maximize Chinese spending power even further," Cameron said.

卡梅倫說：“中國正成爲我們增長最快的旅遊市場之一，所以使中國訪客更容易方便地來到英國非常重要。這也是爲什麼我今天宣佈的消息對我們的旅遊業而言是個好消息，對英國經濟也是個好消息，這使中國訪客能夠進一步擴大其在英消費能力。”