China visa & visa-free entry

Which door do you fit?

Most visitors no longer need a visa. Check these in order.

1. 30-day visa-free — the common case

Ordinary passport holders of around 45 countries can enter mainland China with no visa for up to 30 days, for tourism, business, family visits or transit. The list covers almost all of the EU, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Russia, and — since 17 February 2026 — Canada, alongside a longer-standing group (Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and others) that has had 30-day visa-free entry for years.

Much of this list is a trial that currently runs until 31 December 2026. It has been extended before, but confirm it still applies to your travel dates, and confirm your own nationality, with your local Chinese embassy or visa centre — that is the authority. The maintained country table on Wikipedia’s visa-policy page is a useful cross-check.

Not covered: notably the United States and India. Those passports use door 2 or 3.

2. 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit

If 30-day visa-free doesn’t cover your nationality, you can still skip the visa when you are passing through China between two other places. Per the National Immigration Administration:

• Your passport is one of the 55 eligible countries — a list that includes the US, Canada, the UK, most of Europe, Australia, Japan and more.
• You hold a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region, leaving within 240 hours. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan count as separate regions.
• You enter and leave through an approved port — 60 ports across 24 provinces, including the main international airports. You may leave from a different port than you entered.
• The 240 hours start at 00:00 the day after you arrive, not at your landing time.
• Once admitted you may travel across provinces within the permitted areas; the old single-city restriction has been dropped.

3. A tourist (L) visa

Everyone else — and anyone wanting a longer stay, multiple entries, or a non-transit visit on a passport that isn’t on the 30-day list — applies before travelling, at a Chinese embassy, consulate or visa application centre in their country of residence. Your local centre publishes the current document list and fee.

Filling in your entry card online

Since 20 November 2025 you can complete the arrival card online before you fly, through the NIA website or its mini-programs in WeChat and Alipay, instead of filling a paper form on the plane.

Common mistakes

• Paying for a visa your nationality no longer needs.
• Treating 240-hour transit as a tourist entry — no onward third-country ticket, or a trip longer than 10 days.
• Entering or leaving at a port that isn’t on the approved list.
• Overstaying — visa-free days and transit hours are hard limits, not grace periods.

Hong Kong and Macau

Both are separate immigration zones with their own, usually generous, visa-free rules. Crossing from Hong Kong or Macau into mainland China counts as a new entry — you need 30-day visa-free eligibility, a fresh transit entitlement, or a visa.

• Work, study, journalist and employment trips — those need a Z, X, J or other visa whatever your nationality.
• Stays longer than your visa-free allowance, or extending once you're in China.
• The Tibet Travel Permit — always required on top of any visa or visa-free entry, arranged through a licensed tour operator.
• Hong Kong and Macau, which run their own separate immigration with their own visa-free rules.