Chinese travellers will soon need a full US visa to visit Saipan and the rest of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Department of Homeland Security has suspended EVS-TAP — the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program — effective October 30, cutting off the visa-free route that had been running since February 2025.
The scheme let pre-screened Chinese nationals fly directly to the CNMI without a US visa, with stays capped at roughly 14 days and no onward travel to Guam or the US mainland. More than 3,000 people used it in fiscal year 2025. Now, both new applicants and existing authorisation holders are caught by the suspension. Anyone already admitted and legally present when it takes effect can finish their authorised stay, but future trips will require a standard US nonimmigrant visa.
DHS framed the move as a national security call, not an economic one. In a Federal Register notice, the department cited smuggling cases in which Chinese nationals were convicted of moving people from the CNMI to Guam — where some were later found near sensitive military sites — plus broader worries about espionage, birth tourism, visa overstays and organised crime. The military build-up in the region, including the restored Tinian air base and Guam's strategic role, is clearly the backdrop. Officials also pointed to past problems with Chinese-linked casino operations in the CNMI, including money laundering and labour violations.
The local reaction is a mix of resignation and alarm. Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds said she immediately pressed the White House and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who assured her the programme is suspended, not permanently terminated, and that his department will work with the commonwealth on a fix. But she warned that a long suspension would hit an already fragile tourism economy, with airlines, operators and workers all exposed. Tour operator Jay Wolfe of Axe Murderer Tours said the decision wasn't surprising given weak local controls, but noted Saipan's visitor numbers are already so low that losing another market could push tourism businesses under.
For travellers, the practical takeaway depends on your passport. Chinese nationals planning a Saipan, Tinian or Rota trip should assume a US visa application is now required, with processing times to factor in — or consider postponing until the programme's fate is settled. Everyone else is unaffected: the CNMI's entry rules for other nationalities, including the Guam–CNMI visa waiver for certain countries, are not part of this change. The wider story to watch is how the CNMI rebuilds its tourism base, which has long leaned heavily on Chinese and Korean arrivals, while the US military footprint in the islands keeps growing.
