Guides / Entry

Do you need a visa
for China?

Choose the country on your passport. You'll see which visa-free route applies to you, how long you can stay, and when that policy is due to end.

Checked against official sources on 27 Sep 2026. Entry rules change often — the date matters.

Ordinary passports only. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents, and diplomatic or service passports, follow different rules.

Your result will appear here.

The four routes in

30-day visa-free entry

Stay up to 30 days for tourism, business, visiting family or friends, exchanges or transit. Days are counted from midnight after the day you arrive. Work, study and journalism still need a visa. For most countries on this list the policy runs until 31 Dec 2026 (Brunei: no end date; Russia: 31 Dec 2027).

Mutual visa exemption

A two-way agreement between China and your country. Stays are generally limited to 30 days per entry, though some agreements set different terms — check the one that applies to you.

240-hour visa-free transit

Up to 10 days without a visa, but only as a genuine transit: you must arrive from one country or region and leave for a different one. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan count as different regions, so London → Shanghai → Hong Kong can work; London → Shanghai → London can't.

Countries whose only visa-free option is this one:

Hainan 30-day visa-free entry

Stay up to 30 days, but only on Hainan Island, entering through a Hainan port. Most eligible countries already have wider options. The one for which Hainan is the only visa-free route:

Sources

Every list above comes from these pages. If they disagree with this page, they are right and we are out of date.

The data behind this page is public: visa-free-china.json.

This is a planning aid, not legal advice. Airlines decide whether to board you and Chinese border officers decide whether to admit you. Confirm with the Chinese embassy or consulate for your country before you book. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll correct it and credit you.