24-hour UK visas offered to Chinese visitors

The British Embassy in Beijing on Monday said it will offer a 24-hour super priority visa service for visitors from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou starting from August 11.

The British immigration minister James Brokenshire said in Beijing that the price for the service will be 600 pounds (about 6,600 yuan).

The Super Priority Service will be open to all business visitors, family visitors and general visitors who have evidence of compliant travel to the UK, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or Schengen Countries within the last five years, according to the British Embassy.

The service will also be available to general work routes and Intra Company Transfer applications, as well as dependents for work visas applying at the same time. Tier 5 Sports people and Entertainers are also included.

In 2013, the UK issued a total of 373,000 visas to Chinese applicants, up 31 percent year on year, according to the British immigration data.