Complete Guide to China's Visa-Free Travel: Countries, Requirements & Policies (2024)

A global powerhouse, China is a culturally rich country with deep historical significance. For travellers heading to China, for work or tourism, the government offers multiple short-term travel options that don’t require a visa beforehand. If you’re considering a trip to China, read on for an overview of current visa-free travel policies, restrictions that may apply, and tips on planning for your trip.

We'll also talk about paying for your expenses in China, and introduce Wise travel card available to residents of supported countries as a convenient way to manage your money in China.

Table of contents
Which Countries Can Travel To China Without a Visa 15-Day Visa-Free Entry to China Eligible countries for 30-day visa-free entry China Transit Visa-Free Policies Requirements for Visa-Free Travel to China Application Process for Visa-Free Travel to China Tips for Traveling to China Meet Wise: Your Smart Travel Companion for China

Which Countries Can Travel To China Without a Visa

Many travellers from around the world can enjoy visa-free entry to China, as long as they meet the requirements. Here is a brief overview, with more details in the next sections:¹

• 15-day visa-free entry: Currently, citizens of specific countries can enter China without a visa and remain for 15 days for business, tourism, transit, and visiting friends or relatives.²
• 30-day visa-free entry: Singapore, Georgia, and Thailand nationals can remain in China for 30 days without a visa.³
• Direct Transit: Foreigners from all countries transiting through China to another country on an international plane, ship, or train and who will not stay in China for more than 24 hours, are exempt from a visa.⁴
• 72 or 144-hour visa-free transit: 38 exit/entry ports in China have the 72 or 144-hour visa-free transit for foreign nationals from 54 countries.⁵
• APEC Business Travel Card Holders: Foreigners holding a valid Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business travel card can enter China without a visa, as of May 2023.⁶
• Visa exemption for Hainan province: Hainan, an island province of China, offers 30-day visa-free entry for citizens from 59 countries for business, family visits, medical treatments, tourism, and sports competitions.⁷
• Visa-free entry to the Pearl River Delta (Guangdong province): Foreign nationals of countries with diplomatic relations with China and who are already in Hong Kong or Macau are exempt from visas if they travel to the Pearl River Delta for a maximum of six days.
• Travel permit to Hong Kong and Macau permanent residents: Starting from July 2024, Macau and Hong Kong permanent residents can enter China for business, tourism, and visiting relatives or friends without a visa and stay for a maximum of 90 days.⁸

15-Day Visa-Free Entry to China

China has granted 15-day visa-free entry to visitors holding passports from specific countries, including:⁹

France	Italy	Germany
Spain	The Netherlands	Malaysia
Switzerland	Ireland	Belgium
Hungary	Luxembourg	Austria
Australia	New Zealand	Poland
Greece	Slovenia	Portugal
Cyprus	Norway	Denmark

Entry requirements and restrictions

The 15-day visa-free entry to China has the following entry requirements and restrictions:

1. Your passport must be valid for your entire stay in China. Ideally, it should be valid for more than six months after entry.
2. Foreigners must register with the police within 24 hours of arriving in China. Usually, your hotel will take care of this, but if you’re in private accommodation you must register at a local police station.
3. The visa-free entry doesn’t require any registration with Chinese consular authorities.
4. Travellers don’t need to enter China directly from their home country but must have documents to prove the purpose of the trip.

So far, China has introduced a 15-day visa-free stay until 31 December 2025 for eligible travellers from the list above. Additional countries may be added to the list.¹⁰

Permitted activities and limitations

The 15-day visa-free stay is to help promote economic and business growth in China, but here is what is and isn’t allowed during a visit:

• You can enter China only for tourism, work, or visiting friends and relatives.
• You can’t stay more than 15 days. Generally, the period of stay ends at midnight on the 15th day after the entry date.
• There are no restrictions on the number of visits to China, but staying for a cumulative period of more than 90 days is not advised.

Some countries have a mutual visa-free entry policy with China that allows their nationals to enter and stay in China for 30 days. Check with your country’s consulate or the Chinese embassy where you are.

Eligible countries - 30-day visa-free entry and stay

Singapore, Thailand, and Georgian nationals can enter without a visa and stay in China for up to 30 days. However, Thai and Georgian nationals are restricted from staying for more than 90 days in total within 180 days.

Other countries with mutual visa exemption agreements allowing for a 30-day visa-free stay in China include:¹¹

Armenia	The Bahamas	Barbados
Belarus	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Dominica
Fiji	Grenada	The Maldives
Mauritius	San Marino	Serbia
Seychelles	Suriname	UAE

China Transit Visa-Free Policies

If you are just passing through the country, China has different visa-free transit policies for foreign nationals across accessible exit/entry points. Let’s dig into how it works.

For up to 24-hour Transit

Foreign nationals from all countries get a 24-hour visa-free transit whenever they travel via China to their final destination. To qualify, you must:

1. Hold valid international travel documents and confirmed connecting tickets.
2. The stay period in China must not be more than 24 hours.
3. Remain within the airports or ports, if by sea. If you plan to leave the transit port, you must apply for a temporary entry permit.

For 72 or 144-Hour Transit

Currently, foreign nationals from 54 countries worldwide can benefit from a 72-hour visa-free entry offered at 38 exit or entry ports in 18 Chinese provinces. These countries are spread across almost all continents:

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

Here are the conditions for eligibility:

1. You must hold valid international documents and connecting tickets for transit via China to the third country.
2. The 72-hour visa-free China transit policy is available in the three provinces of Hunan, Heilongjiang, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
3. The 144-hour visa-free China transit policy is applicable in the provinces of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Region, Guangdong Province, Liaoning, Shandong, Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Fujian, Hubei, and Yunnan.
4. The 72 or 144-hour period starts from 0:00 on the day following the day of entry.

Check out the table below for a simplified way to understand China’s visa-free transit policy:

Policy	24-hour visa-free transit	72-hour visa-free transit	144-hour visa-free transit
Applicable countries	All countries	54 countries	54 countries
Entry/Exit ports	All international airports	3 provinces, 4 cities, and 4 ports	15 provinces, 23 cities, and 34 ports
Scope of permitted travel	Within the city limits of the entry port after applying for a temporary entry permit	Designated area of each port	Designated area of each port

Requirements for Visa-Free Travel to China

Here are a few of the requirements to enjoy visa-free travel to China:¹²

Valid passport requirements

Your passport should be valid for the entire period of your stay in China. However, you must ensure that your passport has at least six months of validity from the time of entry into China.

Confirmed travel tickets

You must show evidence of a return ticket. Foreign nationals on a layover in China without a visa must have tickets with a confirmed date and seat for their onward trip.

Temporary entry permits for transit

The 24-hour visa-free transit facility doesn’t allow travellers to leave the port of entry. However, you can apply for temporary permits with the exit/entry border inspection authorities and leave the port.

Itinerary

You may be asked to provide an itinerary or schedule for your stay in China at immigration. If you’re travelling with a tour group, you can provide the organised itinerary, or if you are visiting friends and family, you can provide details of your stay.

Accommodation registration

Foreign nationals travelling to China must register their details with the local police within 24 hours of entering China. Usually, the hotel where you stay does the registration automatically. However, if you get private accommodation, you must register your name at the local police station. Some cities, like Shanghai, allow for online registration.

Keep in mind that there may be additional requirements- it is best to check with your airlines and the embassies directly.

Application Process for Visa-Free Travel to China

Here is how to prepare for visa-free travel to China.¹³

Pre-travel preparation

1. Check which category for visa-free entry you fall into, depending on your nationality.
2. If you’re travelling for a stay in China, you must check to confirm whether you are eligible for the 72/144-hour or the 15/30-day visa-free entry.
3. Keep your international travel documents, such as passports, destination country visas, and confirmed flight tickets, ready for inspection at the Chinese entry port.

Arrival procedures

1. Gather your travel documents and have them easily accessible.
2. Fill out the landing card for foreigners in transit on arrival in China.
3. Be ready with your itinerary or schedule for your stay, plus accommodation details.
4. You should not leave the port without a temporary entry permit, even if your stay in transit is less than 24 hours.
5. Please check with the airline company about their boarding policy because you must enter and exit China through the same port. Guangdong province is an exception.

Border inspection process

Every visitor to China, while in transit or otherwise, has to go through the border inspection process. You must submit your travel documents for inspection at the border entry/exit port.

Visa-free entry into China doesn’t require any prior registration with a Chinese consular office.

Required forms

You don’t need to fill out any forms before arriving in China for a visa-free entry. However, you must complete the landing card at the entry port and present your international travel documents for inspection.

Restrictions & Exclusions

While China has a friendly visa-free policy for some, it’s important to note that there are specific restrictions and exclusions to keep in mind. Let’s take a closer look.

Ineligibility criteria

You may be deemed ineligible for a visa-free stay for the following reasons:

• You are not a national of any of the countries whose citizens are eligible for a visa-free stay in China
• The Chinese laws and administrative regulations don’t permit you to enter China
• Your travel document or passport is expiring within three months
• Your travel document contains a previous rejection stamp from a Chinese visa-issuing authority
• You have illegally entered, exited, resided, or worked in China in the last five years
• You have violated any Chinese accommodation registration regulations in the last two years
• You don’t show evidence of leaving the country once you’ve entered

Travel area limitations

A visa-free stay in China doesn’t entitle you to travel anywhere within the country. You must abide by the restrictions and limitations imposed by the visa policy.

• You are allowed within mainland China if you are on a 15 or 30-day visa-free entry, but it doesn’t grant you access to Macau or Hong Kong.
• If you are on a 24-hour visa-free transit facility, you can’t leave the entry port without a temporary entry permit.
• The 72 or 144-hour visa-free transit facility has specific restrictions to the areas you can visit. The places depend on the port of entry.

Duration restrictions

• A 15 or 30-day visa-free stay allows you to stay in China for a maximum of 15 or 30 days from the date of entry.
• Georgian and Thai nationals must not stay for over 90 days in total within a 180-day period.
• If you are transiting through China, you are allowed a visa-free transit stay of 24 hours at the entry port.²¹
• If you are eligible for the 72 or 144-hour visa-free stay in China, you can stay for a maximum of three or six days, respectively. The visa-free stay period starts at 00:00 the next day after entry.

Prohibited activities

Visa-free travel makes travelling easier, but it doesn’t mean you can do anything you’d like in China. Here are some of the things you can’t do during your stay:

• Study
• Work or take part in income-earning activities
• Engage in journalistic activities

If on a 24 to 144-hour visa-free transit period, you must not leave the permitted areas. Crossing over inadvertently into areas you are not permitted to enter is illegal.¹⁴

Special Regional Policies

Let’s look at the special regional policies for areas like Hainan Island, Guangdong Province, and other unique regions.

Hainan Island policy

Hainan Island offers a 30-day visa-free entry for tourists from 59 nations for business purposes, family visits, medical treatment, and other activities except work and study.

Nationals from Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia can enter without a visa. The stay limit is 30 days, starting from 00:00 on the second day after entry. You will need a stay permit to extend your stay beyond 30 days or to leave for Mainland China.¹⁵

Guangdong Province rules

Citizens from countries with diplomatic relations with China can enter Shantou and nine other mainland cities in the Guangdong-HongKong-Macau Greater Bay Area without a visa and stay for a maximum of 144 hours if they meet the following conditions:¹⁶

1. Must belong to foreign tourist groups travelling from Hong Kong and Macao SARs (Special Administrative Regions) to Guangdong Province
2. They must enter Hong Kong or Macau first and then travel to Guangdong Province.
3. They must enter/exit Mainland China with their groups through the entry/exit ports.

Other regional variations

Besides the Hainan Island and Guangdong Province policies, China offers other regional visa-free transit policies:¹⁷

1. Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Policy: Tourist groups consisting of at least two persons from ASEAN member states (Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam) can enter and exit China without a visa through the Guilin airport. The maximum stay allowed is 144 hours.
2. Foreign tourist groups travelling by cruise ships: Foreign tourist groups organized by Chinese travel agencies can enter China without a visa by a cruise ship through one of the ports in 13 specified cities (Beihai, Dalian, Guangzhou, Haikou, Lianyungang, Qingdao, Sanya, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, and Zhoushan). The maximum stay is 15 days, and the tourists can travel within Beijing and the 11 coastal provinces in this period.
3. Foreign tourists entering Hainan Island from Hong Kong and Macao SARs: Foreign tourist groups comprising citizens of countries holding diplomatic relations with China can enter Hainan province from Hong Kong or Macao SAR without a visa. The travel agency must be registered in Hong Kong or Macao SAR. The maximum stay allowed for tourism is 144 hours.

Tips for Traveling to China

Ready to head to China? Here are some tips to make the best of your trip.

Documents to Carry with You

• Carry your original valid passport with at least a six-month validity period after the date of entry in China. The Chinese authorities don’t accept any alternative document to verify your identity.
• You must have the relevant visa for the third country if you are transiting through China. You should show this document to the immigration officials at the entry port in China.
• You must have confirmed flight tickets for your return or onward journey.
• You should have proof of hotel or accommodation for a stay in China.

Keeping a digital copy of all these documents on your mobile can help you get to them quickly.

Emergency Contacts

Foreign tourists must carry contact numbers to assist during an emergency. It includes the following:

1. Emergency contacts in their home country
2. Contact numbers of the respective embassy or consular office
3. Emergency service numbers (110), such as police, ambulance, and fire
4. Emergency number of tourist police, especially for non-Chinese speakers
5. Local emergency numbers, if available
6. Contact details of the travel insurance company
7. Transportation emergency numbers

It can also be a good idea to Install apps like WeChat for easier communication with emergency services and location-sharing.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Tipping at restaurants or for transportation is uncommon in China.
• Following basic Chinese etiquette, like not pointing at people, not holding chopsticks upright, and not calling people by their first names, can help you navigate the country more seamlessly.
• You can hail a marked taxi in China; just make sure the meter is on and you have your seatbelt fastened.
• It is advisable to avoid general tap water.

Paying for Expenses in China

China’s currency is the yuan and the country has a well-developed digital payment economy where mobile apps and tap facilities can make it easy to make purchases. You’ll want to plan out how to make payments when you’re in China.

Using your credit or debit card for foreign spending may make sense if you don’t get charged international transaction fees and have a favourable exchange rate. Plus many providers place a markup on the mid-market exchange rate — the currency conversion rate you usually see on Google, and the one used by Wise.

Meet Wise: Your Smart Travel Companion for China

Wise offers a convenient travel card and money transfer services that make managing your finances abroad a breeze. Available to residents of supported countries, the Wise card lets you spend like a local in over countries — including China.

Get started with Wise 🚀

Here's why Wise is a great choice for your travel abroad:

• Excellent exchange rates: Always get the mid-market exchange rate – the same one you usually see on Google – so you get the most out of your money.
• Low, transparent fees: Say goodbye to hidden charges and hefty markups. Wise keeps its fees low and transparent, so you know exactly what you're paying.
• Convenient card and app: Use your Wise card to swipe like a local in supported countries. Manage your money, track spending, and even freeze your card if needed, all through the Wise app .
• Cash withdrawals: Easily withdraw cash from supported ATMs abroad with low, transparent fees. But be mindful that ATM providers may charge their own cash withdrawal fees.
• International transfers: Send money abroad from abroad with the same mid-market exchange rates and low fees.

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Sources used for this article:

1. China Visa Exemption
2. 15-day visa-free stay
3. 30-day visa-free stay
4. Direct Transit Passenger Visa Exemption
5. 72/144-hour visa-free transit
6. APEC Business Travel cardholders.)
7. Hainan 30-day visa-free stay
8. Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macau permanent residents
9. Eligible countries for the 15-day visa-free stay
10. Recent additions to the countries eligible for the 15-day visa-free entry
11. Countries having a 30-day visa-free stay arrangement
12. Requirements for visa-free travel to China
13. Application process for visa-free travel to China
14. Prohibited activities
15. Hainan Island Policy
16. Guangdong Province Policy
17. Other regional variations