CHINAMATE

POLICY / ENTRY

China visa policy, in plain English

Four visa-free routes exist side by side, each with its own country list. Most confusion comes from applying one route’s list to another route. Lists below were checked against the National Immigration Administration and the MFA policy FAQ on 30 October 2026.

01 · ROUTE ONE

30-day unilateral visa-free entry — 50 countries

China unilaterally admits ordinary passports from 50 countries for up to 30 days, for business, tourism, family visits, exchange visits and transit. No application, no fee, no invitation letter. The stay counts from 00:00 on the day after entry.

Europe (35): France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Asia (7): Brunei, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain. Oceania (2): Australia, New Zealand. Americas (6): Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Canada.

Validity: the policy runs to 31 December 2026 for 48 of the countries, to 31 December 2027 for Russia, and with no set end date for Brunei. The United Kingdom and Canada were added on 17 February 2026. The United States is not on this list — US passports use route three or four below.

02 · ROUTE TWO

Mutual visa exemption agreements

A second, older set of country pairs exempt each other’s ordinary passports by treaty. The traveller-facing members include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Serbia, Belarus, Armenia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Fiji and the Maldives. The usual allowance is up to 30 days. Because treaty terms differ by country, confirm your passport’s exact allowance with the Chinese embassy where you live.

03 · ROUTE THREE

240-hour visa-free transit — 57 countries, 65 ports

If your passport is not on routes one or two, a transit itinerary may still get you in. Nationals of 57 countries — including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and Indonesia — can enter through any of 65 designated ports in 24 provinces and stay up to 240 hours (10 days), counted from 00:00 the day after entry.

The four conditions must all hold: an eligible passport; a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region with a fixed date and seat; entry through a designated port; and travel kept inside the permitted area. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan count as third regions for this policy. A ticket back to the country you arrived from breaks the route.

Worked examples live in our arrival guides, starting with Beijing arrival and the 240-hour rule. Test your own passport and route in the visa checker.

04 · ROUTE FOUR

Hainan 30-day visa-free — 61 countries

Hainan province runs the widest list of all: 61 countries, 30 days, entry through any open port on the island, as long as you stay in Hainan. It covers passports the national list leaves out — the United States, Indonesia and the Philippines among them. Arrive on a direct international flight or via Hong Kong, register with a Hainan travel agency only if your entry category asks for it, and keep the island boundary in mind: a side trip to the mainland needs another route.

05 · SOURCES

Sources and status

Entry policy changes with little notice. Recheck the official list for your passport before booking anything non-refundable.