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Visa-free entry to China: who qualifies, and for how long

Last reviewed 22 October 2026

China's unilateral visa-free scheme now covers 50 countries, and the list has changed twice since most English guides were written — most recently to add the United Kingdom and Canada. The arrangement is also not open-ended: for 48 of those 50 countries it currently runs to a fixed end date. This page is the list, the dates, and the practical part: what a border officer actually checks.

The cliff date, up front. On the version of the official FAQ published on 11 September 2026, the scheme is in force for Brunei with no end date, for Russia until 31 December 2027, and for the other 48 countries until 31 December 2026. If you are reading this in autumn 2026 and planning a spring 2027 trip on a passport from one of those 48, the basis for that trip is an arrangement with about ten weeks left to run, and extensions are announced case by case. Check before you book non-refundable flights. We will keep re-checking.

The current list

Source: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Denmark, frequently asked questions on the unilateral visa-free policy, 11 September 2026 — dk.china-embassy.gov.cn Holders of an ordinary passport from the following 50 countries may enter China visa-free for business, tourism, visiting relatives or friends, exchange visits, or transit, for a stay of no more than 30 days:

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

What changed, and when

Source: National Immigration Administration, unilateral visa-free policy Q&A, 23 November 2025 — m.gmw.cn The immigration administration's own question-and-answer session in November 2025 listed 48 countries. That list did not include Canada or the United Kingdom, and it set two different end dates: Brunei had none, Russia ran to 14 September 2026, and the other 46 ran to 31 December 2026.

Source: People's Daily, "Visa facilitation bridges hearts and minds", 3 July 2026 — paper.people.com.cn By March 2026, the People's Daily was reporting 29 countries with full mutual visa exemption and 50 countries under unilateral visa-free entry.

Source: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Estonia, "Notice on the extension of the unilateral visa-free policy" — chinaembassy.ee A separate notice from the Estonian embassy — again without a date on the page we read — extends the arrangement for 45 countries to 24:00 on 31 December 2026.

So the version you are likely reading is out of date, and it is out of date in a way that matters. If your source says "48 countries" and gives Russia an end date of 14 September 2026, it is quoting the November 2025 version. That version is wrong on the count, wrong on two members, and wrong about Russia — whose exemption was extended to the end of 2027 and which is therefore not in the group that expires this December. We could not find the announcement that added Canada and the United Kingdom; we can only bound it: it happened between November 2025 and March 2026.

The conditions, in the embassy's own words

These are the answers to the questions the embassies actually publish, quoted in substance from the 11 September 2026 FAQ. They are the parts of the rule that are not on any list, and several of them would change a trip if you got them wrong.

QuestionThe published answer
How long is the stay? Up to 30 days, counted from the day after entry (免签入境停留期限自入境次日起计算), as 30 consecutive calendar days.
What document? A valid ordinary passport. Travel documents, temporary passports and emergency documents are not covered.
Can I come and go? Yes, the scheme may be used repeatedly. The published position is that there is currently no limit on the number of entries or on total days — but the activities must match the stated reason for entry.
Do I have to declare anything in advance? No. No prior declaration to a Chinese embassy or consulate is required.
Where can I enter? All sea, land and air ports open to foreign nationals, unless law or a separate bilateral arrangement says otherwise. If you arrive in your own vehicle, separate Chinese rules on self-driven vehicles apply.
Can I depart from a different country than my nationality? Yes — departure from any country or region outside China is permitted.
Do children get the same treatment? Yes, the conditions for minors are identical to those for adults.
What about a sports event, an expo or a summer camp? Attending a sports competition, an expo or a study tour in China for no more than 30 days is within the visa-free scope, on a valid ordinary passport.
What is not covered? Coming to China to work, study, or to report and cover as media is outside the visa-free scope. Journalists and press crews need a visa, and this is the requirement people most often trip over.

What happens at the border

This is the paragraph that no comparison guide reproduces, and it is the one that changes what you carry.

Source: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Denmark, FAQ, 11 September 2026 — dk.china-embassy.gov.cn Foreigners whose purpose of travel falls within the visa-free scope — business, tourism, visiting relatives or friends, exchange visits, or transit — are admitted after verification by the border inspection authorities. Where the purpose of travel does not match the permitted scope, or where another statutory ground for refusal applies, the border authority will make a decision not to admit the person.

The published advice that follows is the practical instruction: carry documents matching your stated reason for travel — an invitation letter, flight and hotel bookings. The embassy's wording is 建议携带邀请函、机票酒店订单等与来华事由相符合的证明材料.

So the official advice is to carry an invitation letter, your flight booking and your hotel booking, even if you are travelling alone and paid for everything yourself. Not because anyone expects you to be working, but because the check is on the stated reason for travel matching the permitted reasons, and a paper trail is what answers it. Print them, not just a phone screenshot — a phone that runs out of charge at the border queue is a bad argument.

Staying longer than 30 days

Source: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Denmark, FAQ, 11 September 2026 — dk.china-embassy.gov.cn If you intend to stay or reside for more than 30 days, you must obtain a visa matching your purpose before you travel, from a Chinese embassy or consulate abroad. If you entered visa-free and then need to stay longer for legitimate and proper reasons, you may apply to the exit and entry administration of the public security organ for the relevant stay document.

The same FAQ covers the lost-passport case: if the passport stamped by the border inspection is lost or damaged, and you take out an emergency travel document or replacement passport from your embassy or consulate, the border inspection will verify your identity, your entry record or your loss report and the embassy documentation, and where everything checks out and you have not overstayed, you may be processed for exit.

The regional schemes, which are separate

Source: People's Daily, 3 July 2026 — paper.people.com.cn These are distinct from the 50-country scheme and are worth knowing because they cover nationalities that the main list does not:

Separately, the 240-hour transit visa-free scheme is the route for a layover rather than a holiday. It has its own country list and its own rules, and it changed recently too — see the transit visa page.

How much this is actually being used

Source: People's Daily, 3 July 2026 — paper.people.com.cn In 2025, China recorded 82.035 million entries and exits of foreign nationals, of whom 30.08 million entered visa-free under some arrangement. In the 2026 May Day holiday alone, 436,000 visa-free entries were made, up 14.7% year on year.

Source: Xinhua Chinese-language commentary, 9 October 2026 — news.cn Foreign border crossings in the January–August 2026 period reached 61.29 million, up 19.5%, of which 23.72 million were visa-free entries, up 26.8%.

Where to go next

Sources

All were read in full on 22 October 2026. Captured copies of these sources are in the archive, with the byte count and a SHA-256 of each response.

What we did not verify