How to Travel to China Without a Visa - Latest Updates

China has introduced a number of visa-free policies to allow foreign nationals from a wide range of countries to travel to China without a visa. These include unilateral visa-free policy, mutual visa exemption, visa-free transit, and visa-free short stays to entire Mainland of China and certain regions. In this article, we cover all of China’s visa exemption policies that are currently in place and explain who can and how to benefit from them.

As of September 14th, 2025, China has extended the unilateral 30-day visa-free policy to 48 countries in total (Countries unilaterally granted visa-free access by China).

In-Depth Guide

Content Preview

That’s to say, ordinary passport holders of the 48 countries can enter China and stay for up to 30 days without a Chinese visa for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, exchange visits, or transit purposes. Those who do not meet the visa-free conditions still need to obtain a Chinese visa before entering.

Note: Compared with the previous list, Sweden has been added, Malaysia removed from the 48-country unilateral list because China and Malaysia have implemented a permanent visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders effective on July 17, 2025, allowing stays of up to 30 days per entry, with a maximum cumulative stay of 90 days within any 180-day period.

1. 30-Day Visa-Free Policy

China has signed mutual visa exemption agreements with 29 countries. Nationals of these countries holding applicable passports may enter China for short-term travel without applying for a visa in advance, usually for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, exchange visits, or transit purposes. The general maximum stay for each entry is 30 days.

Europe (12): Albania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Serbia, Seychelles, San Marino, Suriname, Dominica, Malta, Monaco, Andorra

Countries with mutual visa exemption agreements with China:

Update: On June 27, 2025 the new policy also expanded the designated open ports for 240-hour visa-free transit policy to 65 across 24 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities)

On December 17, 2024, China’s National Immigration Administration announced to further optimize the visa exemption transit policy. According to the announcement, the previous 72 and 144-hour visa-free transit will be extended to 240 hours (10 days). What’s more, the new policy also added 21 new ports for visa-free entry and exit, and expanded the designated open ports to 60 across 24 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities).

Key Tips & Recommendations

💡 China Silk Road Tours
💡 China Tours from Beijing
💡 China Tours from Shanghai
💡 China Tours for Expats
💡 Natural Adventure Tours
💡 Great Wall of China Tours
💡 Popular Provinces to Visit Guizhou ToursInner Mongolia ToursJiangxi ToursTibet ToursXinjiang ToursYunnan Tours
💡 Popular Cities to Visit Beijing ToursChengdu ToursChongqing ToursDunhuang ToursGuilin ToursHangzhou ToursHarbin ToursHong Kong ToursHuangshan ToursPingyao ToursSanya ToursShanghai ToursSuzhou ToursXiamen ToursXian ToursZhangjiajie ToursZhangye Tours
💡 Classic China Group ToursBeijing Group ToursXian Group ToursXinjiang Group ToursSilk Road Group ToursTibet Group Tours
💡 Classic China Group Tours

Plan Your China Trip with Confidence

Let our expert travel advisors help you navigate every detail — from itinerary design to logistics.