China visa free entry

Visa-free visits of up to 30 days

China has opened visa-free entry for tourism, business, family visits and transit to holders of ordinary passports from a long and growing list of countries: most of the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and several Gulf states among them. Sweden was added in November 2025, and British and Canadian citizens from 17 February 2026. Stays can last up to 30 days.

Check the current list with the National Immigration Administration of China (nia.gov.cn) or your nearest Chinese embassy. Diplomatic and official passports follow separate agreements.

Will China be visa-free in 2027?

The policy currently runs until 31 December 2026. China has renewed it every year so far, most recently in late 2025, when Chinese embassies announced the extension to the end of 2026. When we checked in October 2026, no extension into 2027 had been announced for most countries.

If your trip is in 2027, check nia.gov.cn or your Chinese embassy's website before you book anything you cannot cancel, and look again closer to the date. Separate mutual visa-exemption agreements, such as those with Singapore and Thailand, do not depend on this deadline.

240-hour visa-free transit

Travellers from the eligible countries (about 55, including the United States) who are flying on to a third country (not back where they came from) can stay up to 240 hours (10 days) without a visa. You must enter at one of the designated ports (65 airports, seaports and stations in 24 provinces and regions after the November 2025 expansion) and stay within those provinces and regions. Hong Kong and Macau count as a third destination, so Shanghai to Hong Kong qualifies.

You need an onward ticket with a confirmed date and seat within the 240 hours, and you should tell the airline at check-in that you are using visa-free transit.

What to bring

• A passport valid for the whole stay (many airlines ask for six months).
• Your onward ticket, for visa-free transit.
• Your hotel bookings: the hotel registers your passport with the police at check-in.

After you arrive: registration

Visa-free visitors follow the same rule as everyone else: you are registered with the police where you stay. A hotel does it when it scans your passport. In a friend's home or a rented flat you register yourself within 24 hours, online or at a police station: see China police registration, and book a hotel that accepts foreigners to skip the step.

Book a hotel that accepts foreign guests

Hotels in mainland China need police approval to register foreign guests, and some, mostly small budget hotels and guesthouses outside the big cities, do not have it. Hotels listed on international booking sites almost always do.

On Trip.com, each hotel's policy section says whether it accepts guests from all countries; Staylist shows that line on each hotel page. Book before you arrive rather than walking in, and bring your passport: the hotel scans it and registers you, so you do not need to visit the police yourself. Our guide to hotels that accept foreigners in China covers check-in, deposits and payment.