Visa Policy
Newest adopted countries with visa-free to China
France;
Switzerland；
Germany;
Italy;
Malaysia;
Singapore;
Netherlands;
Spain;
Switzerland;
Thailand;
Ireland；
Austria；
Belgium；
Luxembourg；
Hungary；
Maldives;
Kazakhstan;
Antigua and Barbuda;
Albania;
The United Arab Emirates;
Barbados;
Bahamas;
Belarus;
…
For a complete list of countries with visa exemptions to China, please visit the link below.
http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/wgrlh/lhqz/lhqzjjs/202312/t20231208_11197270.shtml
For all other countries, please visit the official China embassy website.
The Latest Visa Policy
– On January 15, China announced that it would grant Switzerland a unilateral visa-free policy, and Switzerland would also provide more visa conveniences for Chinese citizens and Chinese companies investing in Switzerland.
– On January 2, Thai Prime Minister Seta Ta announced that China and Thailand will permanently exempt visas for each other’s citizens starting in March. At a press conference held by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on January 2, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that further strengthening of cultural exchanges between China and Thailand and mutual visa exemption are in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries.
– On November 24, China foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning announced that in order to promote higher quality development between China and foreign countries, China has decided to implement visa-free policy for the following six countries including France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia. From December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, ordinary passport holders from the six countries above can come to China visa-free for business, tourism, visiting relatives and can stay in China for up to 15 days.
– The National Immigration Administration has officially implemented five measures to facilitate foreigners coming to China from January 11, further opening up the relevant ways for foreign nationals to come to China for business, study and tourism, and better serve to ensure a high level of opening-up and promote high-quality development. The five measures include: 1. Relaxation of conditions for foreigners coming to China to apply for port visa; 2. Foreigners can transit directly through Beijing Capital Airport and other airports 24 hours a day without going through inspection procedures; 3. Foreigners in China can apply for visa extension, replacement and reissue at their nearest location; 4. Foreigners in China who need to enter and exit multiple times can apply for a re-entry visa; 5. Simplify application materials for visa documents for foreigners in China.
Visa-free entry to Mainland China
A foreign citizen can enter China without a visa under any one of the following circumstances:
1) Direct Transit
In accordance with international practices, China has adopted a 24-hour visa-free transit policy for foreign nationals of multiple countries at all international ports of entry. Any passenger holding interline tickets with confirmed seats to transit to a third country or region via China by international flights, sea vessels, or trains does not have to apply for a visa if his/her stay period in China is less than 24 hours and he/she does not leave the port of entry. In the case where the passenger concerned needs to leave the port, a temporary entry permit from the entry/exit border inspection authority at the port shall be required.
2) Transit in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Chengdu etc. within 72/144 Hours
Foreign nationals from 54 countries are currently eligible for the 72/144-hour transit visa-free policies which are effective at 31 ports in 23 cities of 18 provinces in China. These countries include Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, 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, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Passengers from these countries holding valid international travel documents and interline tickets with confirmed dates and seats, who are going to transit to third countries (or regions) via China within specific time frames, can apply for visa-free transit at the entry/exit border inspection authorities in the designated visa-free transit city ports. The authorities will handle all temporary entry procedures, with the duration of stay of each passenger to be calculated from 00:00 on the day following entry
(For the list of 54 countries, please refer to
http://en.nia.gov.cn/n162/n227/c116266/content.html）
3) Holders of Valid APEC Business Travel Card
The tourist groups from the 10 member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) of ASEAN, which are organized and received by qualified travel agencies in China, can enter and exit China without visas via Guilin Liangjiang International Airport in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Tourists in this case are restricted to the city of Guilin, and their stay periods must not exceed the maximum allotted time of 144 hours.
4) Foreigner’s Permanent Residence Card Holders of the People’s Republic of China.
5) Holder of valid Residence Permit for Foreigners issued by Public Security Bureau.
Foreign citizens entering China for the purpose of study or employment or as resident foreign journalists must apply for a residence permit at local public security authorities within 30 days of entry into China. Permit holders may stay in China and enter or exit China multiple times without the need of a visa during the validity period of the permit.
