Answer 4 quick questions and we will tell you whether you can enter visa-free, use the 240-hour transit policy, or should apply for a regular visa.
Policy data last verified: 2026-09-28
Why a checker instead of another 3,000-word visa article?
China's entry rules changed more in the last two years than in the previous ten. A 30-day visa-free list that keeps growing, a transit policy that jumped to 240 hours, and a lot of outdated blog posts that still describe the old 72- and 144-hour rules. If you just want to know “can I board a plane to China with my passport?”, reading five conflicting articles is the wrong way to find out.
This checker encodes the current official rules — the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 30-day visa-free list and the National Immigration Administration 240-hour transit list — into a form you can answer in half a minute. You get a clear verdict plus the reasoning, and links to the official sources so you can verify everything yourself.
How the visa checker works
1. Pick your passport
Choose from 83 nationalities, grouped by region.
2. Describe your trip
Purpose of visit, planned length of stay, and whether you continue to a third country.
3. Get your verdict
Visa-free, transit, or regular visa — with the reasoning and official sources to double-check.
The three possible answers
30-day visa-free entry
50 countries qualify. Fly in with just your passport and stay up to 30 days for tourism, business or family visits. No paperwork before the trip.
240-hour visa-free transit
57 countries qualify, including the US and Mexico. Stay up to 10 days as long as you continue to a different country or region than the one you arrived from.
Regular visa before you fly
If neither policy fits your passport or itinerary, you apply for a visa (usually an L tourist visa) at a Chinese embassy, consulate or visa centre before travelling.
Want the full rules, edge cases and country-by-country details? Read the complete China Visa Guide.
China visa-free status by passport
The same data the checker uses, in one table. "Mutual agreement" means a bilateral visa exemption treaty (30 days per entry); the other 30-day entries come from China's unilateral visa-free policy. Passports not listed here need a regular visa unless they transit on an eligible route.
| Passport | 30-day visa-free | 240-hour transit |
|---|---|---|
| Albania | Yes — mutual agreement | Yes |
| Andorra | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | No |
| Argentina | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Australia | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Austria | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Azerbaijan | Yes — mutual agreement | No |
| Bahrain | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | No |
| Belarus | Yes — mutual agreement | Yes |
| Belgium | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Yes — mutual agreement | Yes |
| Brazil | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Brunei | Yes — no end date | Yes |
| Bulgaria | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Canada | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Chile | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Colombia | No | No |
| Croatia | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Cyprus | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Czech Republic | No | Yes |
| Denmark | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Egypt | No | No |
| Estonia | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Finland | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| France | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Georgia | Yes — mutual agreement | No |
| Germany | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Greece | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Hungary | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Iceland | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| India | No | No |
| Indonesia | No | Yes |
| Ireland | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Israel | No | No |
| Italy | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Japan | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Kazakhstan | Yes — mutual agreement | No |
| Kenya | No | No |
| Kuwait | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | No |
| Kyrgyzstan | No | Yes |
| Latvia | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Liechtenstein | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | No |
| Lithuania | No | Yes |
| Luxembourg | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Malaysia | Yes — mutual agreement | No |
| Maldives | Yes — mutual agreement | No |
| Malta | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Mexico | No | Yes |
| Monaco | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Montenegro | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Morocco | No | No |
| Netherlands | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| New Zealand | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Nigeria | No | No |
| North Macedonia | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Norway | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Oman | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | No |
| Pakistan | No | No |
| Peru | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | No |
| Philippines | No | No |
| Poland | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Portugal | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Qatar | Yes — mutual agreement | Yes |
| Romania | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Russia | Yes — until 2027-12-31 | Yes |
| Saudi Arabia | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | No |
| Serbia | Yes — mutual agreement | Yes |
| Singapore | Yes — mutual agreement | Yes |
| Slovakia | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Slovenia | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| South Africa | No | No |
| South Korea | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Spain | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Sweden | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Switzerland | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| Thailand | Yes — mutual agreement | No |
| Turkey | No | No |
| Ukraine | No | Yes |
| United Arab Emirates | Yes — mutual agreement | Yes |
| United Kingdom | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | Yes |
| United States | No | Yes |
| Uruguay | Yes — until 2026-12-31 | No |
| Uzbekistan | Yes — mutual agreement | No |
| Vietnam | No | Yes |
Ordinary passports only. Verified against NIA and MFA sources on 2026-09-28. 240-hour transit also requires an onward ticket to a third country or region.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a visa to visit China in 2026?
- It depends on your passport. As of September 2026, citizens of 50 countries can enter China visa-free for up to 30 days for tourism, business or family visits, and several more (including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the UAE) get the same 30 days under mutual visa exemption agreements. Citizens of 57 countries can use the 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit policy when continuing to a third country or region. Everyone else needs a regular visa before travelling. The checker on this page sorts you into the right path in about 30 seconds.
- Can US citizens travel to China without a visa?
- Not under the 30-day visa-free policy — the US is not on that list. But US passport holders are eligible for the 240-hour visa-free transit policy: if you enter China and then continue to a different country or region (not back to where you flew in from), you can stay up to 240 hours without a visa. For a simple round trip like US → China → US, you need a regular L (tourist) visa.
- Which countries can enter China visa-free for 30 days?
- The current list covers 50 countries: most of Europe (including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Switzerland and the Nordics), Japan, South Korea and Brunei in Asia, several Gulf states, Australia and New Zealand, and Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru and Uruguay in the Americas. Pick your passport in the checker above to confirm your exact status, including policy expiry dates.
- What is the 240-hour visa-free transit policy?
- It lets citizens of 57 countries stay in mainland China for up to 240 hours (10 days) without a visa, as long as they are transiting — meaning they arrive from one country or region and depart to a different one. It is the main visa-free route for travellers from the US, Mexico, Indonesia, Vietnam and several other countries that have no 30-day visa-free arrangement.
- Is this China visa checker official?
- No — it is a free planning tool, not a government service. The rules behind it come from official Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Immigration Administration announcements, last verified on 2026-09-28. Entry policies can change, so always confirm with a Chinese embassy or your airline before booking.
- Do I need to sign up or pay to use this tool?
- No. The checker is completely free, requires no account or email, and runs entirely in your browser — your answers are not stored or sent anywhere.