China Visa-Free Checker

Choose your passport and trip type to see if you can enter China without a visa. As of October 17, 2026, 50 countries get 30 days visa-free, 28 more have mutual exemption agreements, and 57 qualify for 240-hour visa-free transit at eligible ports including Guangzhou. Official sources prevail.

Your passport

Your trip Visiting only China, then flying home Flying on after China to a different country or region than where you started

Rules by nationality

The three ways to enter China without a visa

30-day unilateral visa-free entry. China lets citizens of 50 countries stay up to 30 days for business, tourism, visiting family or friends, exchange visits or transit.

Mutual visa exemption. 28 countries have agreements with China that waive visas for short visits; the allowed stay depends on the agreement.

240-hour visa-free transit. Citizens of 57 countries can stay up to 10 days when travelling from one country to a third country or region through China, entering at an eligible port such as Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

The fine print

30-day visa-free entry (unilateral or mutual) covers business, tourism, visiting family or friends, exchange visits and transit only. Work, study and journalism still need a visa.
Unilateral visa-free entry runs until December 31, 2026, for 48 of the 50 countries, until December 31, 2027, for Russia, and has no end date for Brunei. Check again before booking trips for 2027.
The 30 days are counted from the day after you enter, for up to 30 consecutive calendar days. You can use visa-free entry repeatedly; there is currently no limit on the number of entries.
Ordinary passports only. Travel documents and temporary or emergency passports do not qualify.
Mutual visa exemption agreements generally allow up to 30 days per stay.
240-hour transit: the permitted area covers 24 provinces. In Guangdong the whole province is permitted, and you may leave from any open port in Guangdong. Work, study and journalism are not allowed.
West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong (Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed rail) is one of the Guangdong ports for 240-hour transit, so you can enter there visa-free if you meet the transit rules.
Border officers make the final decision. Carry proof that matches your purpose, such as hotel bookings, an onward ticket or an invitation letter.
You can fill in the arrival card online before you travel, free, on the NIA website, 12367 app or WeChat and Alipay mini programs.
Foreign tour groups of 2 or more, organised by a travel agency registered in Hong Kong or Macao, can enter the 9 Greater Bay Area mainland cities and Shantou visa-free for up to 6 days.
Hainan Province has its own 30-day visa-free entry for ordinary-passport holders from 61 countries, for tourism, business, visits, family, medical treatment, exhibitions and sports (not work or study). It is valid only within Hainan.
Foreign tour groups of 2 or more arriving on a cruise ship and received by a travel agency in China can enter visa-free at cruise ports in 13 cities, including Guangzhou and Shenzhen. They can stay up to 15 days in the coastal provinces and Beijing, and must stay with the same ship until it leaves China.
Seven groups are exempt from filling in entry information: holders of a Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card; holders of a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (non-Chinese citizens); travellers on a group visa or group visa-free entry; passengers transiting directly within 24 hours without leaving the port's restricted area; passengers entering and leaving on the same cruise ship; people entering through designated fast lanes (e-channels); and foreign crew of exit-entry transport vehicles.

Official sources

Checked on October 17, 2026. If anything here differs from these sources, the sources are right.

This tool summarises public rules and is not legal advice. Confirm with the National Immigration Administration or a Chinese embassy before you travel.