Who can visit China visa-free for 30 days right now

Photo: Big Dodzy / Unsplash

If you last looked into a China visa before 2024, forget most of what you found. The list of passports that can come for up to 30 days without a visa has grown in stages, and in 2026 it took in the UK and Canada too. For a lot of readers the honest answer to "do I need a visa?" is now no.

For some it's still yes, and the details matter more than the headline. Here's how it works, who's left out, and what to sort before you go to the airport.

The short version

The rest of this page fills in the edges. If you only read one thing: check your exact passport on the National Immigration Administration site before you book, not on a blog, this one included.

The 30-day list, by region

According to the Shanghai government's English portal, updated in August 2026, the unilateral scheme covers 50 countries:

• Europe (35): 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, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
• Asia (7): Brunei, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.
• Americas (6): Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Canada.
• Oceania (2): Australia and New Zealand.

The UK and Canada were the most recent big additions. Both became eligible on 17 February 2026, after their prime ministers visited Beijing in January. Sweden joined in November 2025, when the foreign ministry also extended the whole scheme to the end of 2026.

Notice who isn't there: the United States, India, Mexico, Lithuania and the Czech Republic among others. If your country has a mutual-exemption agreement instead, the terms are slightly different (that 90-days-in-180 cap), so read your own country's line on the foreign ministry list.

What "30 days" actually means

This is where people get caught. A few rules that the official wording spells out and most summaries skip:

• The clock starts at midnight after you land. Arrive at 11pm on the 1st and the 1st doesn't count. You then get 30 calendar days in a row.
• Allowed purposes: tourism, business, visiting family or friends, exchanges, transit, plus things like conferences, exhibitions, sports events and short study camps.
• Not allowed: work, study, journalism. Turning up to start a job "visa-free" is a good way to be refused at the desk.
• Ordinary passports only. Emergency or temporary travel documents don't qualify. If you've lost your passport and travel on an emergency one, you'll need a visa.
• Your passport must be valid for the whole stay. That's the legal minimum. My own rule, from dealing with border desks in a lot of countries, is six months left, because airline staff often apply the stricter number.
• Multiple entries are allowed and no limit is stated, but each trip has to match a permitted purpose. A passport full of back-to-back 30-day stamps can draw questions at the desk.
• It works by air, sea or land, at any open port of entry.

The real border is often the check-in desk

In May 2025, The Points Guy reported the case of a US family flying Miami to Paris to Shanghai in late December 2024. They were travelling on the 240-hour transit rule, which was valid for their plan. But their onward flight out of Shanghai was on a different airline that the check-in agents couldn't see, so the booking looked like a one-way ticket into China. Air France refused to board them. They reached Shanghai six days late, paid extra to reroute, and only months later did the airline admit the mistake and pay compensation.

My take: immigration officers in China know these rules well. Check-in agents abroad sometimes don't, and airlines get fined for carrying passengers without valid entry documents, so when in doubt they say no. Make their job easy:

• Print the official policy page for your passport, or keep a screenshot that works offline.
• Carry a printout of your onward or return flight, with the 13-digit ticket number.
• Get to the airport early if your trip is anything other than a simple return.
• If an agent refuses you, ask calmly for a supervisor and show the printout. Arguing at the counter rarely works. Paper often does.

If you're American (or not on the list)

You have three realistic routes:

1. A tourist (L) visa. The normal choice for a regular holiday. It takes paperwork and lead time, so start well ahead. Your local Chinese visa centre lists current requirements.
2. The 240-hour transit rule. Up to 10 days without a visa if you're flying on to a third country or region (Hong Kong and Macau count). You must enter and leave through designated ports, and stay inside the permitted area. US to Shanghai to US doesn't qualify; US to Shanghai to Seoul does. The full rules are in our 240-hour transit guide.
3. Hainan. The island province has its own 30-day visa-free scheme for 59 nationalities, the US included. It's only useful if Hainan is the trip.

If you're tempted to bend a transit itinerary to avoid a visa, don't. A mismatch between your ticket and your plan is exactly what gets people stopped.

Before you fly: a checklist

1. Confirm your passport is on the current list. NIA site, or your local Chinese embassy page.
2. Check passport validity and blank pages.
3. Book a ticket out within 30 days of arrival, and print it.
4. Book your first night's accommodation in your own name and save the address in Chinese. A hotel handles your accommodation registration; staying with friends means registering with the local police within 24 hours.
5. Fill in the arrival card online. Since 20 November 2025 you can do it before travel on the NIA website, or by searching "NIA 12367" in Alipay or WeChat. It saves filling in paper at the hall.
6. Set up your phone and payments at home. A roaming eSIM and a card linked to Alipay before you leave make the first hour after landing much calmer. See eSIM vs local SIM and linking a card to Alipay.

At the immigration desk

For most visitors it's quick: fingerprints, a photo, a stamp. Visa-free arrivals sometimes get a question or two about the trip. Have these within reach, not packed in the hold:

• Your passport.
• Your return or onward ticket.
• The name and address of your first hotel.
• For business trips, an invitation letter is helpful, though not always asked for.

Answer simply and consistently with what's on paper. "Tourism, Beijing and Xi'an, ten days, flying home on the 14th" is the whole conversation.

Why the airports feel busier

The policy has had a visible effect. Official figures put 2025 foreign arrivals above 82 million, with about 30.1 million visa-free entries, up 49.5% on the year. In the first half of 2026, 77.7% of foreign entries were visa-free. The South China Morning Post reported in April 2026 that about 3.16 million South Koreans visited China in 2025, up 36.9%, and linked much of that to Korea's place on the visa-free list.

What that means in practice: the famous spots are busier than they were a few years ago, especially around Korean and Japanese public holidays as well as Chinese ones. Book high-speed trains and timed-entry sights earlier than you'd think.

Quick questions

Can I extend once I'm here?

Only for a real need, and only by applying for a stay permit at the local public security exit-entry office before your 30 days run out. Don't plan a trip around it. Overstaying, even by a day, is treated seriously.

Can I pop to Hong Kong and come back for another 30 days?

Technically, multiple entries are allowed. In practice, doing it repeatedly to effectively live here invites questions at the border, and the policy isn't meant for that. If you want to stay months, get the right visa.

Do children on their own passport qualify?

Yes, minors are covered on the same terms as adults, provided their own passport is on the list.

What happens after 31 December 2026?

Nobody outside the government knows yet. The scheme has been extended each time so far, most recently on 3 November 2025, but book early 2027 trips with refundable fares until there's an announcement. We track it in what we know about next year.

Sources: National Immigration Administration; Shanghai government: visa-free entry policy; China Briefing; Bloomberg via BNN (Nov 2025 extension); Time Out (UK addition); Danish Embassy in China (digital arrival card); The Points Guy (denied boarding case); SCMP (South Korean visitors). Policies change, and the official site always wins.

If something here has changed, email me. I re-check every guide and update the date at the top.

Written by David, who lives in China. About me

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