ChinaEntryCheck

Rules verified 4 November 2026

Do you need a visa for China?

Answer three questions. Get the exact rule that applies to your passport — the 30-day visa-free scheme, the 240-hour transit policy, or a visa you need to arrange before booking.

Your passport, not where you live. Dual citizens should use the passport they will travel on.

Purpose of visit

The 30-day visa-free list

50 countries, ordinary passports, up to 30 days for business, tourism, family visits, exchange and transit.

The 240-hour transit list

57 countries, up to 10 days, 65 ports across 24 provinces — but only if you are travelling on to a third country.

Not on either list? You need a visa. A handful of countries have bilateral agreements outside these schemes, so confirm with your nearest embassy before ruling it out.

Questions people actually ask

The five situations that cause the most expensive mistakes.

I am only changing planes in China. Do I need a visa?

If you stay inside the international transit area and do not pass immigration, no visa is needed — this applies at every open port to all nationalities, for up to 24 hours. If you want to leave the airport, you are entering the country and the normal rules apply: either the 30-day visa-free scheme or the 240-hour transit policy, depending on your passport.

Does the 30-day visa-free rule apply to US, Canadian or Australian passports?

Canada and Australia are on the 30-day list. The United States is not — it appears only on the 240-hour transit list. A US passport holder visiting for tourism needs a visa unless the trip is genuinely a stopover to a third country.

Can I extend the 30 days once I am inside China?

In principle, yes: apply at the exit-and-entry administration in the city you are staying in, before your permitted stay expires. Extensions are granted at the officer’s discretion and require a reason, so treat this as a fallback and not as a plan. Overstaying is penalised per day and can trigger a re-entry ban.

Can I work remotely on a visa-free entry?

The published permitted purposes are business, tourism, family visits, exchange visits and transit. Work for a Chinese employer, study, and journalism all require a visa obtained in advance. Remote work for a foreign employer sits in a grey area that depends on your activity and length of stay — do not assume it is covered.

Which ports can I use for the 240-hour transit?

Sixty-five open ports across 24 provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xi’an, Hangzhou and Kunming. You must enter and exit through eligible ports, and you must stay within the designated area of the province you entered. The full port list is published by the National Immigration Administration.

Put this checker on your own site

Free, no signup, no tracking beyond a page view. The frame resizes itself as the answer changes.

<iframe id="china-check" src="https://visafreechina.com/embed/entry-checker/"
        style="width:100%;border:0;height:660px"
        title="China entry checker"></iframe>
<script>
addEventListener('message', e => {
  if (e.data && e.data.chinaCheckHeight) {
    document.getElementById('china-check').style.height = e.data.chinaCheckHeight + 'px';
  }
});
</script>

Works down to a 280px-wide sidebar. If you embed it, the frame keeps its link back to this page — that is the only thing we ask.

Where these numbers come from

Every list and limit on this page was transcribed from a primary notice on 4 November 2026. Policies change without much notice — if a number here disagrees with your embassy, the embassy wins.

  1. National Immigration Administration — 240-hour visa-free transit — Policy effective 2024-12-17; 65 ports, 24 provinces; country list at 57 as of 2026-08-20.
  2. Chinese embassy FAQ — unilateral visa-free entry — 50 countries, 30 days, updated 2026-03-05.
  3. Consulate FAQ — visa-free policy questions — Updated 2026-05-21; confirms ordinary-passport requirement and permitted purposes.