China's 30-day visa-free entry covers 50 countries, but for 48 it ends on 31 December 2026 with no extension yet announced. The full lists, plus 240-hour transit and Hainan.
Cover image: The terminal at Beijing Daxing International Airport (file photo) — photo by Tyg728, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) lists 50 countries whose citizens can enter China without a visa for up to 30 days on an ordinary passport. For 48 of them, that visa-free entry ends at 24:00 on 31 December 2026 (Beijing time), and no extension had been announced as of 19 October 2026. Russia is covered until 31 December 2027, and Brunei has no published end date.
The 30-day list is one of several separate regimes, and adding the lists together double-counts most passports. Mutual agreements give Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the UAE and others visa-free stays not tied to the 2026 deadline. The 240-hour transit scheme covers 57 countries, including the United States, and Hainan has its own 30-day scheme for 61.
Last checked: 20 October 2026.
Which countries can enter China visa-free for 30 days?
The NIA's list, compiled from Foreign Ministry information as of 17 February 2026, groups the 50 countries by region:
- Europe (35): Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
- Asia (7): Bahrain, Brunei, Japan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
- Americas (6): Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.
- Oceania (2): Australia and New Zealand.
Only ordinary passports qualify, for the purposes the NIA lists: business, tourism, visits to relatives and friends, exchange visits and transit. Work, study and journalism need a visa.
The clock is precise. The NIA says the stay "is calculated from 00:00 on the day following the date of entry". Land at 23:00 on 1 March, and 2 March is day one; by our count, 31 March is day 30.
Has China extended visa-free entry into 2027?
Not for the 48, as of 20 October 2026. A notice from the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in London, dated 4 December 2025, extended the policy for 46 countries "until 24:00 on December 31, 2026" and added the UK and Canada from 0:00 on 17 February 2026, to the same end date.
Russia is on a separate timetable. Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on 20 May 2026 that China had extended visa-free entry for Russian citizens until 31 December 2027, the Shanghai government reported. Brunei is on the NIA list with no end date on any official page we found.
We found no announcement on the 48 on the NIA's English notice board or in the Foreign Ministry's daily press-conference transcripts up to 20 October 2026. At its quarterly press conference that day, the NIA reported 8.992 million visa-free entries by foreign nationals in the third quarter, 77.5 per cent of all foreign entries and up 24.1 per cent year on year, but its summary announced no renewal. Those are the pages to watch. Some Asia itineraries face two deadlines, because South Korea's K-ETA exemption also ends on 31 December 2026.
Without a renewal, 40 of the 48 would still have the 240-hour and Hainan schemes, by our comparison of the NIA's lists. Eight would not: Andorra, Bahrain, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Oman, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. Their citizens would then need a visa for independent trips beyond 24-hour transit.
Which countries have mutual visa-free agreements with China?
Mutual exemptions are treaties in which each side waives visas for the other's citizens, with no link to the unilateral list's end date. The NIA's agreements table, current as of April 2025, includes these for ordinary passports (30 days per visit unless stated; several also cap stays at 90 days in any 180):
- Asia and the Gulf: Singapore (since 9 February 2024), Thailand (since 1 March 2024), Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the Maldives.
- Europe and the Caucasus: Serbia, Belarus and Georgia; Albania, Armenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (up to 90 days in any 180); San Marino (within three months).
- Americas, Africa and the Pacific: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Suriname, the Seychelles, Mauritius (60 days), Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Tonga.
Malaysia's agreement came later, taking effect on 17 July 2025: 30 days per visit and no more than 90 days in any 180, according to the Beijing government.
Singapore is easy to misfile. Its 30 days come from a mutual arrangement, not the unilateral list, so the 2026 deadline does not apply to it.
How does China's 240-hour visa-free transit work?
The 240-hour scheme is for onward journeys. Under the NIA's transit page, dated 20 August 2026, citizens of 57 countries can enter through any of 65 designated ports and stay up to 10 days with an ordinary passport and an onward ticket "with confirmed seats and departure dates" to a third country or region. On our reading, a ticket straight back to where you started does not qualify.
- Europe (40): Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
- Asia (9): Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
- North America (2): Canada and the United States.
- South America (4): Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.
- Oceania (2): Australia and New Zealand.
The permitted area matters as much as the clock. The NIA's ports table opens 18 provincial-level regions in full: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Chongqing, Guizhou and Shaanxi. Six allow named cities only: Taiyuan and Datong (Shanxi), Harbin (Heilongjiang), Nanchang and Jingdezhen (Jiangxi), 12 cities in Guangxi including Nanning and Guilin, 11 in Sichuan including Chengdu, and nine cities and prefectures in Yunnan including Kunming, Dali and Lijiang. Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet), Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Jilin are absent.
Cross-province travel within the permitted areas is allowed. Tourism, business, visits and family reunions are fine; work, study and news reporting need a visa.
Ports include Beijing Capital and Daxing airports and two linked to Hong Kong, West Kowloon Station and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, though Hong Kong itself has separate visa rules. Any transit passenger with a confirmed onward ticket can also use 24-hour transit while staying in the port's restricted area; our guide to layover visas covers airside transit.
Who can use Hainan's 30-day visa-free entry?
Hainan's separate scheme lets ordinary-passport holders from 61 countries enter through any open port in the province and stay up to 30 days within Hainan, for purposes including tourism, business, family visits, medical treatment and conferences, but not work or study, according to the NIA. The clock again starts at 00:00 on the day after entry.
The 61 are the 57 transit countries plus Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, by our comparison of the NIA lists.
That overlap explains some confusing rows. Passports from the United States, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Indonesia and Vietnam have neither 30-day entry nor an ordinary-passport mutual agreement on the NIA's lists, but they qualify for 240-hour transit and Hainan. The Philippines has Hainan only. India is on none of the lists, so for independent travel only 24-hour transit applies.
| Scheme | Who qualifies | Maximum stay | Where you can go | Main condition | End date (as of 19 October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unilateral 30-day exemption | 50 countries | 30 days | No area limit stated | Ordinary passport; listed purposes only | 48 countries: 31 December 2026. Russia: 31 December 2027. Brunei: none published |
| Mutual agreements | Treaty partners such as Singapore and Thailand | Mostly 30 days per visit | No limit stated | Terms of each agreement | None in the NIA table |
| 240-hour transit | 57 countries | 10 days | Permitted areas of 24 regions | Onward ticket to a third country or region | None stated |
| Hainan 30-day entry | 61 countries | 30 days | Hainan only | Entry via a Hainan port | None stated |
| 24-hour transit | All nationalities | 24 hours | Port restricted area | Confirmed onward ticket | None stated |
Frequently asked questions
Is China visa-free for US citizens?
Not under the 30-day policy: the United States is not on the NIA's 50-country list. US passport holders can use 240-hour visa-free transit with a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region, or Hainan's 30-day scheme on the island. Other independent trips to China need a visa.
Has China extended visa-free entry beyond 31 December 2026?
Not for the 48 countries whose 30-day access ends at 24:00 on 31 December 2026, as of 20 October 2026. Russia is covered to 31 December 2027 and Brunei has no published end date. Last year's notice from the London visa centre is dated 4 December 2025.
What is the difference between 30-day visa-free entry and 240-hour transit?
The 30-day policy covers 50 countries, with no onward-ticket or area condition in the NIA's terms. The 240-hour scheme covers 57 countries for up to 10 days, needs a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region, and limits you to permitted areas in 24 provincial-level regions.
Which passports would need a visa if the 30-day policy is not renewed?
By our comparison of the NIA's lists, eight: Andorra, Bahrain, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Oman, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. They are on the 30-day list but not on the 240-hour transit or Hainan lists. The other 40 countries facing the deadline would keep both of those narrower options.
Sources
- National Immigration Administration, List of Countries Covered by Unilateral Visa Exemption Policies
- National Immigration Administration, third-quarter 2026 immigration data (in Chinese, 20 October 2026)
- Chinese Visa Application Service Center (London), Notice on the Extension of the Unilateral Visa-Free Policy
- Shanghai Municipal People's Government, China extends visa-free policy for Russia to Dec 31, 2027
- NIA, Visa-Free Transit Policies
- NIA, Regional Visa-Free Entry Policies for Foreign Nationals
- NIA, Details of Mutual Visa Exemption Agreements
- Beijing Municipal Government, China-Malaysia Mutual Visa-Free Agreement Takes Effect Today
