Can I visit China without a visa?

Who gets 30 days visa-free

The National Immigration Administration lists 50 countries whose ordinary-passport holders may enter for business, tourism, visiting family and friends, exchanges or transit, for up to 30 days per entry, counted from the day after arrival. Multiple entries are allowed and nothing has to be declared in advance.

Europe: France, Germany, Italy, the 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, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Russia. Asia and the Gulf: Japan, South Korea, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. The Americas: Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. Oceania: Australia and New Zealand.

For 48 of these the policy expires at midnight on 31 December 2026; Russia's runs to the end of 2027 and Brunei's has no end date. Sweden was added in November 2025 and the UK and Canada in February 2026. Every previous expiry has been extended, usually by an announcement in November, but as of this writing no extension past 2026 has been published. The United States is not on the list.

Separately, mutual visa-exemption agreements cover ordinary passports from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia (30 days, at most 90 in any 180), Georgia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

The 240-hour transit rule

Travellers from 57 countries, among them the United States, Mexico, Indonesia, Vietnam and almost every country on the visa-free list, may enter without a visa for up to 240 hours when passing through to a third country or region. Hong Kong and Macau count as third regions, so a flight home via Hong Kong qualifies. You need a passport valid for at least three months, a confirmed onward ticket within the 240 hours, and the arrival card. The clock starts at midnight after you land.

• Entry through 65 ports in 24 provinces, regions and municipalities, from Harbin to Hainan.
• You may move between the permitted provinces, but some allow only named cities (Shanxi, Jiangxi and Guangxi among them), so check the table for your route.
• Tourism, business and visits only; it is not a work or study route.
• If your nationality also has a 30-day exemption, that applies instead.

Everyone, whatever their passport, may transit for 24 hours without a visa, and ten airports let such passengers wait airside without passing border control.

Regional schemes

• Hainan: citizens of 61 countries may spend 30 days on the island without a visa, arriving at any Hainan port and staying within the province.
• ASEAN tour groups of two or more, booked through a Chinese agency, get six days in Guilin or Xishuangbanna.
• Cruise passengers in a group get 15 days through 13 coastal ports, leaving on the same ship.
• Foreign residents of Hong Kong and Macau can join six-day group tours to the Guangdong cities and Hainan.

At the border and in the first 24 hours

• Arrival card: since 20 November 2025 you can fill it in online before you fly, through the National Immigration Administration site, the 12367 app or a WeChat or Alipay mini program; the paper or QR version at the airport still works.
• Fingerprints are taken from foreigners aged 14 to 70 on entry.
• Registration within 24 hours: hotels do it when you check in. Staying with friends or in a rented flat, you or your host must register the address, online through the national filing system since September 2026 or at the local police station.
• Your passport must be valid for the length of your stay. The six-months-and-two-blank-pages rule applies to visa applications, not to visa-free entry.

If you do need a visa

Fill in the COVA form online, print the confirmation, then hand in the passport and papers at a Chinese Visa Application Service Center or consulate; some centres take walk-ins, others need an appointment. Regular processing is four working days and express three. Fees have been reduced through 31 December 2026: for most nationalities US$23 for single entry, US$34 double and US$45 or US$68 multiple, plus the service centre's own charge; US citizens pay a flat US$140 for any entry type. Many posts have also waived fingerprinting for stays of 180 days or less until the end of 2026.

Hong Kong and Macau

Hong Kong and Macau run their own entry rules, which admit most visitors visa-free for longer than the mainland does. Crossing between them and the mainland is a full border, so a trip that includes both needs the mainland entry sorted out separately, either under one of the rules above or with a visa.

Official sources

The rules above change; these are the pages to check before you travel, and the ones this guide was checked against on 2026-10-25.

• National Immigration Administration: unilateral visa-free countries the 50-country list, in Chinese, updated February 2026
• National Immigration Administration: 240-hour visa-free transit nationalities, ports and conditions
• National Immigration Administration: regional visa-free policies Hainan, ASEAN groups, cruises, Hong Kong and Macau groups
• Online arrival card fill in before you fly
• Chinese Embassy in the United States: visa-free FAQ plain-English answers on durations, purposes and passports
• COVA online visa application the form every visa application starts with
• State Council: visa-free entry for Russian citizens extended to 2027 20 May 2026

Related guides

• When to go
  When is the best time to visit China? Updated October 2026
• Paying for things
  How do I pay for things in China without a Chinese bank account? Updated October 2026
• Internet and apps
  Will Google and my other apps work in China? Updated October 2026

Start planning

Pick the places you want to see on the illustrated map, add them to a trip, and the planner lays out the days and the trains between them.