Do you need a visa to visit China in 2026?
- Visa-free entry, up to 30 days — around 50 nationalities, no paperwork before you fly
- 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit — 57 nationalities, 65 ports, 24 provinces
- Everyone else needs a tourist (L) visa — usually issued within a week
Three ways to enter China — which one is yours?
China liberalised entry rules faster than any other major destination between 2024 and 2026. Today the majority of visitors from Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas can travel to China with no visa at all. The three routes below cover almost every traveller; everything further down this page explains the detail, the paperwork and what happens in 2027.
Visa-free entry
Unilateral visa-free policy for around 50 nationalities — including Spain, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Brazil.
- No application, no fee
- Tourism, business, family visits, exchange, transit
- Currently valid until 31 December 2026
Visa-free transit
Ten days visa-free when you are travelling on to a third country, for 57 nationalities (including the USA) through 65 ports in 24 provinces.
- Needs an onward ticket to a third country
- Stay inside the permitted regions
- No end date announced
A visa is required
If your nationality is on neither list, apply for a tourist (L) visa at your local Chinese embassy, consulate or visa application centre.
- Standard processing ≈ 4 working days
- Express service available
- Most visas are multi-entry
Visa-free entry to China for up to 30 days
China's unilateral visa-free policy (试行单方面免签) lets ordinary-passport holders of around 50 countries enter China for business, tourism, visiting family or friends, exchange visits and transit for up to 30 days per visit — no application, no fee, no invitation letter required in advance. You can travel independently or in a group, and you may depart from any country, not only your own.
The 30 days are counted from 00:00 on the day after you enter, up to 24:00 on the 30th day. Bring proof of your purpose (return flights, hotel bookings, an itinerary) — border officers may ask, and China's National Immigration Administration recommends carrying it.
Until when is it valid?
| Group | Valid until | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | 31 December 2027 | Extended on 20 May 2026 — the longest-running of the trial schemes |
| Brunei | No end date | Open-ended arrangement |
| All other participating countries (around 48) | 31 December 2026, 24:00 | No extension announced as of 9 October 2026 — see the 2027 outlook below |
Not covered by visa-free entry: working, studying, journalism and other activities that need prior approval — those always require a visa, whatever your nationality.
Which nationalities are on the list?
The unilateral list (ordinary passports, 30 days, tourism/business/family/exchange/transit):
On top of that list, China has full mutual visa-exemption agreements with roughly thirty countries — including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Belarus, Serbia, Mauritius and Ecuador. Under an agreement, ordinary-passport holders travel visa-free in both directions; most allow up to 30 days per entry, and a few (Malaysia, Thailand) cap total stays at 90 days within any 180-day period.
If you are not sure which list your passport is on, — it covers 242 passports and tells you the exact scheme that applies to you.
240-hour visa-free transit — 10 days, 57 nationalities
China's 240-hour visa-free transit is the single most under-used rule in Chinese travel. If you hold a passport from one of 57 countries and you are travelling from one country to another through China, you can enter without a visa for up to 10 days (240 hours) and travel inside the permitted areas of 24 provinces — enough for a full Beijing–Xi'an or Shanghai–Hangzhou itinerary.
The three conditions
- A passport from one of the 57 eligible countries (see the list below).
- A confirmed onward ticket with a date and seat to a third country or region — Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan all count as separate destinations for this rule.
- Enter and leave through one of the 65 approved ports. You do not have to use the same port to enter and exit.
Tourism, business, family visits and transit are all allowed. Working, studying and journalism are not — those need a visa. A separate, simpler 24-hour transit visa-free rule applies to all nationalities at every open port, provided you stay inside the port area.
The 57 eligible nationalities
Main approved ports (65 in total)
| Region | Ports include |
|---|---|
| Beijing | Capital International (PEK), Daxing International (PKX) |
| Greater Shanghai | Pudong (PVG), Hongqiao airport (SHA) — note the Hongqiao railway station is not eligible |
| Guangdong | Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN), Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX), West Kowloon high-speed rail station (Hong Kong side), Hengqin and the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge road crossings |
| Sichuan / Chongqing | Chengdu Tianfu (TFU), Chengdu Shuangliu (CTU), Chongqing Jiangbei (CKG) |
| Others | Xi'an (XIY), Hangzhou (HGH), Nanjing (NKG), Kunming (KMG), Xiamen (XMN), Qingdao (TAO), Harbin (HRB) and fourteen international sea ports |
The 24 participating regions cover most of the China you would want to see, but seven mainland regions are outside the scheme and need a visa: Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang and Tibet. Tibet also requires a separate Tibet Travel Permit that must be arranged through a licensed Chinese agency — 71Asia Tours arranges it as part of its Lhasa and Everest itineraries.
If you need a visa: the Chinese tourist (L) visa, step by step
Travellers from countries outside the visa-free lists — for example India, South Africa, Indonesia (for regular entry), Mexico or the Philippines — need a tourist visa (category L). It is a straightforward process if you start early.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 · Apply online | |
| 2 · Book an appointment | |
| 3 · Give biometrics | |
| 4 · Collect |
Documents to prepare
- Passport valid for at least six months with two blank pages.
- One recent photo on the required background (the online form tells you the exact size).
- Bookings: return flight reservations and hotel confirmations, or an itinerary. 71Asia Tours issues a booking confirmation for any tour you reserve with us.
- Invitation letter if you are visiting a company or a private host (not needed for most tourist trips).
- Travel insurance — not a formal requirement for the visa itself, but strongly recommended and required for some border checkpoints. Our travel insurance page covers trips inside China.
Visa fees depend on your nationality and the number of entries requested, so check the fee table of your local visa centre. Validity varies too: single-, double- and multiple-entry visas are issued, and a number of nationalities (including the USA, Canada, Israel, and several Latin American countries) can obtain multiple-entry tourist visas valid for up to ten years, with stays of 30–60 days per entry.
Planning a trip around your visa?
If your visa is valid for 30 days per entry, an eight- to fourteen-day private itinerary covers Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Chengdu and the Yangtze with a relaxed pace. If you are entering on 240-hour transit, we build nine-day routes that start and finish at approved ports.
Tell us your passport, your dates and how long you may stay — we will design around it and confirm the current rules with you before you pay.
Special routes, regional schemes and neighbours
Hainan Island: 30 days visa-free, 61 nationalities
A separate scheme lets ordinary-passport holders of 61 countries enter the island province of Hainan visa-free for 30 days, individually or in a group. You must fly into and out of a Hainan airport and stay within the province — the perfect warm-weather alternative to a resort in Southeast Asia.
Hong Kong and Macao
Both are separate immigration areas with their own rules: most European, American and Asia-Pacific passports enter visa-free for 30 to 90 days. Trips between Hong Kong/Macao and mainland China still follow mainland rules, but the 240-hour transit scheme specifically counts Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as valid "third regions" — which is why the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge and the West Kowloon high-speed rail station are the two headline non-airport entry points.
APEC Business Travel Card
Holders of a valid APEC Business Travel Card travel visa-free to China for up to 60 days per entry for business purposes, at any port of entry.
On arrival: a practical checklist
- Passport with six months' validity and blank pages — no other document replaces it.
- Arrival card: fill in the inbound card (paper or the electronic version at the kiosk) with your address in China.
- Fingerprints: collected at self-service kiosks or the officer's desk for most visitors aged 14–70.
- Registration: hotels register foreign guests automatically. If you stay in a private home, you must register at the local police station within 24 hours.
- Money: Alipay and WeChat Pay both accept international Visa/Mastercard now; cards work in city hotels and larger shops. Carry a little cash for small towns.
- Connectivity: buy an eSIM or a local SIM, and download your booking vouchers offline before you fly.
- Health: there are no vaccination or test requirements to enter China, and no health declaration form since 2024. Travel insurance remains a sensible precaution.
Will China's visa-free policy continue in 2027?
This is the question we are asked most often by travellers booking winter and spring 2027 trips, and the honest answer has two halves.
What is already confirmed for 2027
- Russia: visa-free entry for ordinary passports runs to 31 December 2027 (extended on 20 May 2026).
- Brunei: no expiry date at all.
- 240-hour visa-free transit: no end date has ever been announced, and the country list has only grown — Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan joined on 20 August 2026, taking the scheme to 57 nationalities and 65 ports.
- Mutual visa-exemption agreements: typically signed for five years and renewed automatically, so the ~30 agreement countries are the most durable visa-free route of all.
What is still open
The unilateral 30-day policy for the remaining ~48 countries — including Spain, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Australia and Canada — is currently written to expire on 31 December 2026. As of 9 October 2026 no extension has been announced. That is normal: the last two extensions were confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only weeks before the deadline.
Why an extension looks likely — but is not yet guaranteed
- The policy has already been renewed twice (2024 → 2025 → 2026) and has kept expanding: more countries, longer lists, more ports.
- Officials publicly present visa-free entry as a permanent pillar of inbound tourism rather than a pilot, and describe the aim as "releasing the visa-free dividend".
- The numbers are compelling — inbound arrivals have grown sharply, with roughly three in four foreign visitors now arriving visa-free.
- Russia's 2027 extension shows the direction of travel, and both sides have discussed turning visa-free arrangements into permanent ones.
What 71Asia Tours does for travellers entering China
We are a China-based tour operator, founded in 2013 and selling direct to travellers from Europe and the Americas. We run private and small-group tours, day trips, entrance tickets, transfers and river cruises across China with Spanish- or English-speaking guides, and every booking is confirmed online instantly. Visas are issued by the Chinese government, not by us — but entry rules shape everything else we do, so here is what we can genuinely help with:
- A free visa checker covering 242 passports, reviewed monthly by our team (open it from the button at the top of this page or from the footer).
- Itineraries that fit your entry rules — 30-day visa-free, 240-hour transit, or a 30-day Hainan stay.
- Booking confirmations for your visa application and Tibet Travel Permits arranged with the licensed partners we use on every Lhasa departure.
- Chinese-speaking local support on the ground, and answers in English or Spanish within one business day.
- Travel insurance for China for travellers who want the extra cover — see our insurance page.
China visas and visa-free entry: frequently asked questions
Can I visit China without a visa in 2026?
For most travellers, yes. Around 50 nationalities — including Spain, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Brazil — can enter China visa-free for up to 30 days per visit for tourism, business, family visits, exchange or transit. A further 57 nationalities, including the United States, can use the 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit if they continue to a third country. Everyone else needs a tourist (L) visa.
How long can I stay in China without a visa?
Up to 30 days per visit under the unilateral visa-free policy; up to 240 hours (10 days) under the visa-free transit scheme; 30 days if you enter Hainan under the island scheme; and up to 60 days per entry with an APEC Business Travel Card. Under mutual visa-exemption agreements the usual limit is 30 days per entry, and a few agreements cap total stays at 90 days within any 180-day period.
Which countries have visa-free entry to China?
The unilateral list covers Andorra, 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, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Uruguay, plus Argentina. Roughly thirty more countries have full mutual visa-exemption agreements, among them Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the UAE and Serbia.
What exactly is the 240-hour visa-free transit?
It allows ordinary-passport holders from 57 countries to enter China without a visa for up to 10 days when travelling from one country to another through China. You need a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan count), and you must enter and exit through one of 65 approved ports, staying inside the permitted areas of the 24 participating provinces. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan do not count as the "third country" if they are your point of origin or destination of the same trip leg — they count as onward destinations.
Do US citizens need a visa for China?
For normal entry, yes — the United States is not on the unilateral 30-day visa-free list. But US passport holders can use the 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit when continuing to a third country, and US citizens can typically obtain a multiple-entry tourist visa valid for up to ten years. If your itinerary begins and ends in China, apply for a visa before you travel.
Do British, Spanish and other EU citizens need a visa?
No, for visits of up to 30 days. The United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, Hungary, Monaco, Andorra and Liechtenstein are all on the unilateral visa-free list, currently valid until 31 December 2026. Longer stays, work and study still require a visa.
Can I work, study or report from China without a visa?
No. Working, studying and journalism are outside every visa-free scheme and require the appropriate visa (Z, X or J categories) obtained before departure. Visa-free entry is for business meetings, tourism, family visits, exchanges and transit only.
How do I apply for a Chinese tourist visa?
Complete the online COVA application form, then submit your passport, photo, bookings and form at a Chinese embassy, consulate or China Visa Application Service Centre, where fingerprints are taken. Standard processing takes around four working days; express service is usually available. Apply at least a month before departure in peak season, since appointments fill up.
Do I need travel insurance to enter China?
It is not a formal entry requirement for most nationalities, and there has been no health declaration or test requirement since 2024. We still recommend travel insurance for any China trip — 71Asia Tours offers travel insurance for China that covers medical costs, trip cancellation and delays for the dates of your trip.
Is China visa-free for 2027?
Partly confirmed. Russia is visa-free until 31 December 2027, Brunei has no expiry, the 240-hour transit scheme has no announced end date, and mutual visa-exemption agreements renew automatically. The unilateral 30-day policy for the remaining ~48 nationalities is currently written to end on 31 December 2026; no extension has been announced as of 9 October 2026, though the policy has been renewed twice before and officials describe it as a permanent feature of inbound tourism. Check this page for updates.
Do I need a separate visa for Hong Kong, Macao or Tibet?
Hong Kong and Macao are separate immigration areas — most passports enter visa-free for 30 to 90 days, and no Chinese mainland visa is needed for those stops. Tibet is on the mainland and is not part of the 240-hour transit scheme: all foreign visitors need a Tibet Travel Permit arranged in advance through a licensed Chinese agency, which 71Asia Tours provides with its Tibet itineraries.
Sources & disclaimer. Compiled by 71Asia Tours from official announcements by China's National Immigration Administration (nia.gov.cn), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese visa application service (visaforchina.cn). Last reviewed 9 October 2026; this page is checked every month and updated within days of any policy change. Entry rules can change at short notice and the final decision always rests with China's border inspection authorities — this page is guidance, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for confirmation from your nearest Chinese embassy or consulate.
Ready to use those 30 days?
Private China tours with Spanish- or English-speaking guides, instant online confirmation, and itineraries built around the entry rules that apply to your passport.