Visa Exemption for Mainland China and the visa-free policy for short-term visits

China has signed mutual visa exemption agreements with 157 countries covering different passports, and enjoys comprehensive mutual visa exemption with 23 countries including Thailand, Singapore, the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates, FM spokesman Wang Wenbin concluded.

May 8, 2024: China has extended the visa-free policy for short-term visits to China for 12 countries until December 31, 2025. The extension is “to promote exchanges between Chinese and foreign nationals”, and applies to citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Citizens of these countries with ordinary passports will be allowed to enter and stay in China visa-free for up to 15 days for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, and transit.

A foreign citizen can enter China without a visa under any one of the following circumstances:

1. Direct Transit

A foreign citizen who is transiting through China by air is exempted from a visa if he/she will stay only in the airport for no more than 24 hours and has a valid connecting ticket with confirmed seating on an international flight.

Citizens with passport or other international travel document, confirmed interline ticket and valid visa to the third country or region (if required) of the following 51 countries, can apply to stay in the transit cities without visa for 72 hours on direct transit via the following airports: PEK, PVG, SHA, CAN, CTU,CKG, SHE, DLC, XIY,HGH,KWL,KMG. (For more info, please check the airports' websites)

Albania, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Montenegro, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States.

2. Visiting the Pearl River Delta or Hainan Island

A foreign citizen holding an ordinary passport issued by any country with diplomatic relations with China is exempted from a visa if he/she is already in HKSAR or Macao SAR and joins a tourist group organized by a travel agency, which is registered in HKSAR or Macao SAR, for a visit to the Pearl River Delta region (including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing and Huizhou) and his/her stay is no more than 6 days.

A foreign citizen holding an ordinary passport issued by any of the following countries is exempted from a visa if he/ she joins a tourist group (of 5 or more persons) organized by an international travel agency registered in Hainan with the approval of China National Tourism Administration to visit Hainan Province and his/her stay is no more than 15 days: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Ukraine and United States. Citizens of Germany, Republic of Korea and Russia may join an international tourist group (of 2 or more persons) and can stay up to 21 days.

3. Citizens of Singapore, Brunei and Japan

A citizen of Singapore, Brunei or Japan with an ordinary passport is exempted from a visa if he/she visits China's mainland for tourism, business, or meeting with friends or relatives, and if he/she enters China through ports open to foreigners, and stays for no more than 15 days.

However, a visa is required for citizens of these three countries under any of the following circumstances: (1) An ordinary passport holder visits China for tourism, business, or meeting with friends or relatives, and stays for more than 15 days; or (2) An ordinary passport holder visits China for the purpose of study, work, permanent residency, official visits and news coverage.

4. Holders of Valid APEC Business Travel Card

The APEC Business Travel Card is a substitute of a multiple-entry visa valid for 3 years. A card holder who presents a valid passport whose image and biometric data exactly matches that on the APEC Business Travel Card can enter China multiple times during the validity of the card for a stay of no more than 2 months each time.

5. Holders of PRC Foreigner's Permanent Residence Card

6. Holders of Residence Permit for Foreigners

A Foreign citizen entering China on a D, Z, J1, Q1, S1 or X1 visa must apply for a residence permit at local public security authorities within 30 days of entry into China. Once approved, the permit holder is allowed to stay in China or enter/exit China multiple times for the duration of the validity of the permit. No visa renewal is necessary.

7. Bilateral Agreement

Based on bilateral agreements signed or reached between China and foreign countries, foreign citizens of some countries who meet certain requirements may visit China without a visa. Please see the List of Agreements on Visa Exemption signed between China and foreign countries for more information.