Palacios: New visa for Chinese tourists something we need to look into
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios is unsure if the promulgation of a new visa type is going to change anything with respect to Chinese tourists coming to the CNMI, but he acknowledged it is something that they need to look into.
Palacios said in an interview last week that he has learned about Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider’s (R-Tinian) joint resolution that asks him to advocate for the increased security for the tourism industry, through the promulgation of what’s called the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program.
Once that resolution goes through the legislative process, that’s when the Palacios-Apatang administration will look into it, he said.
He said if the resolution passes the Senate, it will go to the House of Representatives, so they will study it in the coming days and see if there is a need to possibly advocate for that program.
EVS-TAP was one of the recommendations of 902 Consultation special representatives in their report dated May 15, 2019, to then-president Donald Trump.
As envisioned by the 902 panels, the CNMI EVS-TAP would be a subprogram of the Guam-CNMI Visa Program that balances visitor ease with enhanced security provisions and transparency.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the CNMI EVS-TAP will allow prescreened nationals of the People’s Republic of China to travel to the CNMI without a visa under specifc conditions.
Hofschneider’s Senate Joint Resolution 23-07 asks Palacios to request for the publication of the interim rule creating the CNMI-EVS-TAP by DHS.
Palacios said the U.S. House of Representatives is predominantly Republican right now, and this is a Republican House that’s calling to take away the visa waiver for Chinese tourists entering the CNMI.
“So I don’t know how successful we’re [going to] be with them. But it’s something that we need to probably formally consider,” Palacios said.
Four U.S. senators and 28 U.S. House members signed a letter dated Nov. 30, 2023, requesting DHS to revoke the discretionary parole program that allows it to let Chinese tourists enter the CNMI without a tourist visa.
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios
