Do you need a China visa? It depends on your passport
Updated 2026-09-22: Hongqiao Airport offers free luggage storage for visa-free transit passengers.
Whether you need a visa for China comes down to your passport, and there are four separate routes in without one. Find your country in the table below before you book anything.
Which route your passport gets
| Route | Whose passports | Stay | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unilateral visa-free | 50 countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Russia, Brazil and most EU states | Up to 30 days | Tourism, business, family visits or transit. The policy runs to 31 December 2026; for Russia it runs to 31 December 2027, and for Brunei it has no end date |
| Mutual visa exemption | 29 countries whose treaties cover ordinary passports, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Serbia and the UAE | Set by each treaty | Purposes and length come from the agreement, not from a blanket 30-day rule |
| 240-hour visa-free transit | 57 countries, including the United States, Mexico, Indonesia, Vietnam, Czechia and Ukraine | 10 days | You must be travelling on to a third country with a confirmed, dated onward ticket. Entry only at 65 ports across 24 provinces, and you stay inside the permitted areas |
| Hainan province only | 61 countries, including the US, Czechia, Mexico and Lithuania | 30 days | Hainan only. Leave the island for the mainland and you need a visa |
| 24-hour transit at any port | Every nationality | 24 hours | You cannot leave the port's restricted area; step outside it and you must apply for a temporary entry permit |
| None of these | The remainder | ā | Apply for a visa before you travel |
Before you fly
- Your passport, not your residency. The lists go by the nationality of the passport you hold. Some EU passports qualify for 30 days visa-free while Czech, Lithuanian and Ukrainian ones do not ā those nationalities enter only via 240-hour transit or Hainan.
- Validity. For the transit route your passport needs at least three months' validity left, and the onward ticket must have a confirmed seat and date.
- How the clock runs. On the 30-day scheme the stay is counted from 00:00 on the day after you arrive, so a late-evening landing gives you the full 30 days.
- Purpose. None of these routes cover work, study or journalism, which need a visa and prior approval.
- Register your address. Hotels do it for you. If you stay anywhere else, register with the local police within 24 hours.
Visa-free entry saves paperwork, not money. Chinese hospitals generally expect payment before treatment, so medical cover is worth arranging before you go; Faye writes short-term travel policies for China trips.
Protect your China trip with comprehensive travel insurance ā from ~$5/day
If you would rather weigh the options yourself first, compare all the main insurers before you buy.
Indian and Nigerian passports, among others, appear on none of these lists ā those travellers need a visa from a Chinese visa application centre before departure.
Last checked: 2026-09-22
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