China visa-free entry: who can go, and until when

Ordinary passports, up to 30 days per visit, for entries until December 31, 2026. China added these countries in waves since December 2023.

• Andorra
• Argentina
• Australia
• Austria
• Bahrain
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Brunei
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Chile
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Kuwait
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Monaco
• Montenegro
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• North Macedonia
• Norway
• Oman
• Peru
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia
• Saudi Arabia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• Uruguay

Permanent agreements with no end date. Most allow up to 30 days per visit; some allow longer stays or cap the total over 180 days — the checker shows the terms for your passport.

• Albania
• Antigua & Barbuda
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belarus
• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Dominica
• Ecuador
• Fiji
• Georgia
• Grenada
• Kazakhstan
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mauritius
• Qatar
• Samoa
• San Marino
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Singapore
• Solomon Islands
• Suriname
• Thailand
• Tonga
• United Arab Emirates
• Uzbekistan

Up to 240 hours (10 days) for travellers passing through China, entering through one of 65 designated ports.

• You must travel on to a third country or region — a round trip back to where you came from does not qualify. Hong Kong and Macau count as a separate region.
• Carry a confirmed onward ticket leaving within 240 hours. The time counts from 00:00 on the day after you arrive.
• Stay inside the provinces listed below; some are limited to certain cities. In Guangdong you can leave from any open port.
• For tourism, business and visits. Work, study and journalism need a visa.
• Your hotel registers your stay; in a private home, register with the police within 24 hours.
• Shanghai's guidance asks for a passport valid for more than 3 months.

Provinces you can travel within

Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Shanxi

Limited to certain cities

• Heilongjiang: Harbin
• Shanxi: Taiyuan, Datong
• Jiangxi: Nanchang, Jingdezhen
• Guangxi: Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin, Wuzhou, Beihai, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Guigang, Yulin, Hezhou, Hechi, Laibin
• Sichuan: Chengdu, Zigong, Luzhou, Deyang, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Yibin, Ya'an, Meishan, Ziyang
• Yunnan: Kunming, Yuxi, Chuxiong, Honghe, Wenshan, Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Dali, Lijiang

• Albania
• Argentina
• Australia
• Austria
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Brazil
• Brunei
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Chile
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Mexico
• Monaco
• Montenegro
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• North Macedonia
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Qatar
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Vietnam

Up to 30 days, for Hainan only: enter through a Hainan port and don't travel on to the rest of the mainland. Not for work or study.

• Albania
• Argentina
• Australia
• Austria
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Brazil
• Brunei
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Chile
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malaysia
• Malta
• Mexico
• Monaco
• Montenegro
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• North Macedonia
• Norway
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Qatar
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Thailand
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Vietnam

Hong Kong and Macau run their own immigration. Most passports can visit both without a visa, for different lengths of stay — the checker shows yours. Entering the mainland from either one follows the schemes above.

• NIA: List of unilateral visa-free countries (as of 2026-02-17)official
• MFA consular FAQ on unilateral visa-free entry, 2026-05-21 version (bilingual reprint, Beijing Foreign Affairs Office)official
• Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco: unilateral visa-free FAQ (updated June 2026)official
• Chinese Embassy in France: extension of 45 countries to 2026-12-31 and Sweden from 2025-11-10 (2025-11-04)official
• Chinese Embassy in Estonia: visa-free for Canada and the UK from 2026-02-17 to 2026-12-31official
• gov.cn (Xinhua): China to extend visa-free policy for Russian citizens to Dec 31, 2027 (2026-05-20)official
• gov.cn (Xinhua): ports expansion, extension to 2026-12-31, Sweden added; notes the 2023-12-01 start (2025-11-04)official
• Beijing Foreign Affairs Office: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia from 2023-12-01 (2023-11-27)official
• Beijing Municipal Government: visa-free for 6 European countries from 2024-03-14 (2024-03-08)official
• Beijing Foreign Affairs Office: New Zealand, Australia, Poland from 2024-07-01 (2024-06-25)official
• Beijing Municipal Government: Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia from 2024-10-15 (2024-10-08)official
• Beijing Foreign Affairs Office: Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, South Korea from 2024-11-08 (2024-11-04)official
• Beijing Foreign Affairs Office: Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Japan from 2024-11-30; stay raised to 30 days (2024-11-22)official
• Beijing Foreign Affairs Office: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay from 2025-06-01 (2025-05-15)official
• Beijing Foreign Affairs Office: Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain from 2025-06-09 (2025-05-28)official
• Beijing Foreign Affairs Office: Russia from 2025-09-15 (2025-09-02)official
• Changzhou Foreign Affairs Office (reprinting MFA and embassy notices): 15-day exemption for Singapore and Brunei resumed 2023-07-26official
• MFA press-briefing transcripts index (checked 2026-09-01 to 2026-10-22 for any extension)official
• MFA China Consular Service: Mutual Visa Exemption List (bilingual, published 2026-07-13)official
• Chinese Consulate-General in Lagos: Mutual visa exemption agreements table (updated to 2026-02-25)official
• NIA: FAQ on visa-free entry under mutual exemption agreements (30 per stay / 90 in 180 calculation)official
• Chinese Embassy in Albania: agreement in force 2023-03-18 (90 days in 180)official
• Chinese Embassy in Armenia: agreement terms (90 days within 180)official
• Chinese Embassy in Belarus: 30 days per stay, 90 per calendar yearofficial
• MFA treaty database: China–Bosnia and Herzegovina agreement (90 days in any 180)official
• MFA treaty database: China–San Marino 1985 agreement (up to three months)official
• MFA treaty database: China–Ecuador agreementofficial
• Chinese Embassy in Ecuador: visa information (2026-02-12)official
• Chinese Embassy in Malaysia: mutual exemption FAQ (30 days, 90 in 180)official
• Chinese Embassy in Thailand: mutual exemption termsofficial
• MFA Consular Department: China–Kazakhstan agreement in force 2023-11-10official
• Singapore MFA: China travel page (30 days visa-free)official
• NIA: Visa-Free Transit Policies (English, 2026-08-20; 57-country list and port table image)official
• NIA: 过境免签政策 (Chinese, 2026-08-20; 57 countries, 65 ports and permitted areas table)official
• NIA Announcement No. 4 of 2026: Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam added from 2026-08-20 (57 transit / 61 Hainan)official
• NIA: Indonesia added to the 240-hour policy from 2025-06-12official
• NIA: China's visa-free transit policy fully relaxed and optimized (2024-12-17/19)official
• Shanghai Municipal Government FAQ: London–Shanghai–Hong Kong qualifies; stay counted from 00:00 the next dayofficial
• Shanghai Municipal Government: passport valid for more than three months (2025-12-20)official
• Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office: 57-country transit list and 61-country Hainan list (2026-08-21)official
• NIA: Regional Visa-Free Entry Policies for Foreign Nationals (English, 2026-08-20; 61-country list)official
• NIA: 外国人区域性入境免签政策 (Chinese, 2026-08-20)official
• NIA Announcement No. 4 of 2026 (Chinese): Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam added, Hainan rises to 61official
• HK Immigration Department: Visit visa / entry permit requirements for the HKSAR (table updated August 2026)official
• HK Immigration Department: Pre-arrival Registration for Indian nationalsofficial
• HK Immigration Department: Visit and transit FAQofficial
• Macao SAR Government Portal (content by the Public Security Police Force): Immigration clearance of non-residents (last modified 2026-08-10)official
• Macao Public Security Police Force: applying for a Macao visa through a Chinese embassy or consulateofficial

We summarise official announcements and recheck them regularly, but rules can change at short notice. Confirm with the Chinese embassy or consulate and your airline before you travel.