2CN.com / Visa check
Two-minute checkVisa-free China: check your passport before you book
China runs several visa-free schemes with different country lists and different conditions. Pick your nationality below and see which ones you qualify for — then read the conditions, because the fine print is where trips get cancelled.
Check your eligibility
The checker reads the live country lists this site maintains and shows which schemes you qualify for, plus the departure deadline for your arrival date.
240-hour visa-free transit — are you eligible?
How long can you stay?
Policies change often — verify with the NIA before booking.
Visa-free entry: 30 days, no transit needed
If your passport is on this list, the 240-hour scheme below is the wrong answer — you have something better.
Who qualifies
50 nationalities may enter China without a visa for up to 30 days — business, tourism, visiting family, exchange visits or transit. Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Canada and most of the EU are on it. The United States is not.
What you do not need
No onward ticket to a third country, no restricted list of ports, no visa application, no invitation letter. Fly into any open port and leave within 30 days. The stay is counted from 00:00 on the day after entry — not from the moment you land.
This is a trial scheme: the current round runs through 31 December 2026 (Russia: 31 December 2027) and can be changed at short notice. It does not cover work, study or journalism. Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, the UAE, Qatar, Belarus and Serbia have mutual agreements with the same 30-day effect.
How the 240-hour visa-free transit works
This is the scheme most short-term visitors actually use — and the one most often misunderstood.
Citizens of 57 countries
The eligible-country list is published by the National Immigration Administration and changes occasionally — it has grown repeatedly since 2024. The checker above reads the current list; treat any third-party page (including this one) as a convenience copy.
Up to 10 days (240 hours)
The window starts when you are admitted at immigration, not when your flight lands. Count your nights carefully — day trips across the permitted area are allowed, but overstaying even one day creates a real record.
65 ports, 24 provinces
You must enter through one of the eligible ports and stay inside the permitted area for that port. Big international airports qualify; small land crossings often do not. Regional exceptions apply in several border areas.
Hainan & regional schemes
A separate, longer window — if your trip is an island holiday.
30 days in Hainan
Citizens of 61 countries may enter Hainan visa-free for up to 30 days, entering through Hainan ports (Haikou, Sanya and others). You must stay on the island — hopping to the mainland requires a visa or the transit scheme.
Regional entry schemes
Several land border areas run their own entry schemes for neighbouring nationals — for example Guangxi with Vietnam and Yunnan with Laos and Myanmar. These are narrow, locally administered, and easy to get wrong; verify with the local exit-entry administration before planning around one.
The fine print: what quietly breaks eligibility
Most refusals at check-in or immigration come from one of these five.
- Your onward ticket must go to a third country or region — not back to where you came from. London → Shanghai → London does not qualify; London → Shanghai → Seoul does. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan count as different regions.
- You must enter through an eligible port. The list of 65 ports is published by the NIA — if your arrival airport is not on it, the scheme does not apply there.
- You must stay inside the permitted area. Each port has its own allowed region. Crossing out of it turns your status into an overstay.
- Your purpose must be on the list. Tourism, business, family visits, transit and similar are fine. Work, study and journalism are not — those need a visa, full stop.
- Your accommodation must be able to register you. Hotels that accept foreign guests register you with the police automatically; one that cannot cannot host you at all. See our hotels guide for how to book one that will check you in.
The airline is the first gate. Check-in staff verify your eligibility before boarding, and they get it wrong sometimes — print or save the NIA page covering your nationality so you can show it. If immigration admits you, the clock starts; if they refuse, you are on the next flight out at the airline's cost, which is why airlines are cautious.
Not on the list? The ordinary visa routes
A plain tourist visa is a routine procedure, not a punishment.
Ordinary visas (L, M, F, X…)
Apply at a Chinese embassy, consulate or authorised visa centre in your country. L covers tourism, M business, F exchange and visits, X1/X2 study. Processing is typically a week or so; tourist visas are commonly issued for 30–90 days per stay.
Before you apply
Requirements and fees vary by nationality and post. Check your embassy's or the visa centre's own site for the current document list — invitations and itineraries are the usual extras. Apply well ahead of peak travel seasons.
Quick answers
I am using the 240-hour transit scheme — what do I bring?
Yes: a passport valid for the trip, a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region, and an address for your first night. Immigration can and does ask for all three. Have the hotel address in Chinese characters saved on your phone.
Can I fly home from China and still use the transit scheme?
No. The scheme requires transit to a third country or region — a return ticket to where you came from breaks the condition. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan count as different regions, so a flight to Hong Kong qualifies.
Do the 10 days include my arrival and departure days?
The permitted stay is counted from the moment immigration admits you, within the 240-hour window. Plan to depart comfortably inside the window rather than calculating to the last hour — airline check-in systems apply their own margin.
My country is only on the Hainan list. What can I do?
You can enter Hainan visa-free for up to 30 days through Hainan ports and stay on the island. To visit the mainland you would need an ordinary visa or to qualify for the transit scheme — some travellers fly into Hainan for the beach and transit through a mainland hub on a separate ticket.
Do I need a hotel booking before arriving?
Have at least your first night sorted, and it must be somewhere that can register foreign guests — immigration and airlines sometimes ask for the address. Many hotels in China cannot take foreign guests; our hotels guide explains how to pick one that will.
I have a German (or other EU) passport — do I need a visa?
No. The unilateral visa-free scheme covers 50 nationalities, including Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Canada and almost the entire EU: up to 30 days for tourism or business, entry at any open port, no onward ticket. Russian passports fall under the same scheme, extended through 31 December 2027. The United States is not on it: US citizens need a visa or must qualify for the 240-hour transit.
Where is the official, current list?
The National Immigration Administration publishes the scheme and the eligible-country list at nia.gov.cn, with an English portal at en.nia.gov.cn. The 24/7 immigration hotline +86-12367 answers in several languages, including English, Japanese and Korean.
Official sources
This page is an aggregator, not an authority. When it and an official source disagree, the official source wins.
- National Immigration Administration (NIA) — visa-free transit rules, eligible countries and ports: Transit policy page (Chinese) · English portal
- China Consular Service Network (MFA) — ordinary visas and entry requirements: cs.mfa.gov.cn
- 24/7 immigration hotline — +86-12367 (Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Russian, Japanese, Korean)
Send a correction
Policies, app rules and prices move. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it — that is how this page stays useful without a big team.
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