China Visa Policy Changelog: Dated Official Changes
Last verified
Last verified: 2026-11-03. Every entry links to the official notice (National Immigration Administration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gov.cn or a Chinese embassy). "Effective" is the date the rule took effect; "Published" is the notice date. Media-only reports are not listed. Found an official change we missed? Email henianren@gmail.com.
Upcoming / watch list
| Date | What | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-12-31 | Stated end of 30-day unilateral visa-free entry for 48 countries (Russia: 2027-12-31; Brunei: no end date) | ⏳ No extension published as of 2026-11-03 | Embassy in Switzerland FAQ, 2026-08-19; countdown page |
30-day unilateral visa-free entry: list history
China's unilateral visa-free scheme lets ordinary-passport holders of listed countries enter for business, tourism, visiting family and friends, exchange visits or transit. It started in late 2023 with 15-day stays and became 30 days on 30 Nov 2024. Each change below links the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Consular Department notice or gov.cn. Mutual visa-exemption agreements (e.g. Singapore, Thailand) are a separate scheme and not listed here.
| Effective | What changed | Valid until (as announced) | Official notice (published) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-20 (announced) | Russia extended to 2027-12-31. | 2027-12-31 | gov.cn / Xinhua, MFA spokesperson (2026-05-20) |
| 2026-02-17 | Canada and the United Kingdom added (30 days). | 2026-12-31 | MFA Consular notice (2026-02-15); gov.cn English |
| 2025-11-10 | Sweden added; the policy for 45 countries (France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Andorra, South Korea, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain) extended. | 2026-12-31 | MFA Consular notice (2025-11-03); gov.cn |
| 2025-09-15 | Russia added (trial, 30 days). | 2026-09-14 (later extended, see 2026-05-20) | MFA Consular notice (2025-09-02) |
| 2025-06-09 | Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain added (trial). | 2026-06-08 (extended to 2026-12-31 on 2025-11-03) | MFA Consular notice (2025-05-29) |
| 2025-06-01 | Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay added (trial). | 2026-05-31 (extended to 2026-12-31 on 2025-11-03) | MFA Consular notice (2025-05-15); gov.cn |
| 2024-11-30 | Stay extended from 15 to 30 days and "exchange visits" added as a purpose, for all 38 countries then covered. Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Japan added. | 2025-12-31 | MFA Consular notice (2024-11-22); gov.cn |
| 2024-11-08 | Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, South Korea added (15 days). | 2025-12-31 | MFA Consular notice (2024-11-01) |
| 2024-10-15 | Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia added (15 days). | 2025-12-31 | MFA Consular notice (2024-09-30) |
| 2024-07-01 | New Zealand, Australia, Poland added (15 days). | 2025-12-31 | MFA Consular notice (2024-06-25); gov.cn |
| 2024-03-14 | Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg added (15 days). | 2024-11-30 (later extended) | MFA Consular notice (2024-03-07) |
| 2023-12-01 | Scheme starts: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia (15 days; business, tourism, family/friends, transit). | 2024-11-30 (later extended) | MFA Consular notice (2023-11-24) |
- Current list (50 countries) and per-country end dates: 30-day visa-free countries, from the NIA list as of 2026-02-17. Malaysia is not on that unilateral list.
- Not listed above because we could not find a dated official notice for the change: Brunei's entry on the list (NIA shows "no end date").
- Also not listed yet: the extension of the first 12 countries (2023-12-01 and 2024-03-14 batches, originally valid to 2024-11-30) to 2025-12-31. We have not yet located that official notice, so it is left out rather than dated from memory.
240-hour transit, arrival and registration rules
2026
| Effective | What changed | Who it affects | Official notice (published) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-21 | Online accommodation registration rolled out nationwide. If you stay somewhere other than a hotel, you (or your host) must register with police within 24 hours of arrival; this can now be done online everywhere. | Visitors staying in private homes or rentals | NIA Announcement No. 7 of 2026 (2026-09-21); interpretation |
| 2026-08-28 | Issuance of electronic border-area permits for Shigatse (Xizang/Tibet) suspended after a mudslide at Gyirong Port. | Travellers planning Shigatse/Gyirong | NIA Announcement No. 5 of 2026 (2026-08-28) |
| 2026-08-20 | Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam added to 240-hour visa-free transit (55 → 57 countries); Hainan 30-day scheme list changed. | Kyrgyz and Vietnamese citizens | NIA Announcement No. 4 of 2026 (2026-08-20); Chinese |
| 2026-04-03 | Electronic Border Administration Area Permits introduced. | Travellers to border areas | NIA Announcement No. 2 of 2026 (2026-04-03) |
| 2026-03-20 | Online accommodation registration pilot in 7 provincial regions: Hebei, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan. | Visitors staying outside hotels in those regions | NIA Announcement No. 1 of 2026 (2026-03-20) |
2025
| Effective | What changed | Who it affects | Official notice (published) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-20 | Arrival card can be filled in online before travel (NIA website, Government Service Platform, NIA 12367 app, WeChat/Alipay mini programs); 7 categories exempt. | All foreign visitors | NIA Announcement No. 4 [2025], item X (2025-11-03) |
| 2025-11-05 | 5 Guangdong ports added for 240-hour entry (60 → 65): Guangzhou Pazhou Ferry Terminal, Hengqin, Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge, Zhongshan Port, West Kowloon Station (XRL). Conditions restated: passport valid ≥ 3 months; clock starts 0:00 the day after entry. | 240h travellers via Hong Kong/Macao | NIA Announcement No. 4 [2025], item VI and Annex (2025-11-03) |
| 2025-11-05 | 24-hour direct transit without border inspection extended to 10 more airports (Tianjin, Dalian, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Qingdao, Wuhan, Nanning, Haikou, Chongqing, Kunming). | Airside transit passengers | same, item V |
| 2025-06-12 | Indonesia added to 240-hour transit (54 → 55 countries). | Indonesian citizens | NIA Document No. 2 [2025] (2025-06-13) |
| 2025-02-12 | Visa-free entry for ASEAN tourist groups to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. | ASEAN tour groups | NIA Announcement No. 1 [2025] (2025-02-12) |
2024
| Effective | What changed | Who it affects | Official notice (published) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-12-17 | 72/144-hour transit replaced by 240-hour transit; 21 ports added (39 → 60); stay areas expanded to 24 provinces; cross-province travel allowed. | Transit travellers from the then 54 eligible countries | gov.cn (2024-12-17); NIA Announcement No. 12 of 2024 (2024-12-17) |
How we maintain this page
- Planned process: check the NIA English and Chinese notice pages, the 240-hour policy page and embassy FAQs for the 30-day scheme on a regular schedule.
- A change appears here only with a link to the official notice. The 240-hour transit checker dataset is regenerated from the same notices, and its "last verified" date is shown on every port page.
- ⚠️ The "54 → 55" count for Indonesia is inferred from the NIA figures (55 after Indonesia); the June 2025 document is the source for the addition itself.
FAQ
How many countries can use 240-hour visa-free transit now?
57, since 20 Aug 2026 (NIA Announcement No. 4 of 2026).
How many ports?
65, since 5 Nov 2025.
Is the 30-day visa-free policy extended into 2027?
Only for Russia (to 2027-12-31, announced 2026-05-20). For the other 48 countries with an end date, no extension had been published as of 3 Nov 2026, as far as we could find. In 2025 the extension was announced on 3 November, about two months before expiry.
When did the 30-day stay start?
30 Nov 2024. Before that, the unilateral visa-free stay was 15 days. See the countdown.
Information is for reference only; official sources prevail. See our terms and disclaimer.