Planning aid, not a visa approval. This China visa-free checker compares your answers with published nationality lists. It does not submit an application, store a passport number, or guarantee entry. Confirm the rule with the National Immigration Administration or a Chinese embassy before you buy tickets.
China currently publishes two paths that cover most English-language searches. One is unilateral visa-free entry for up to 30 days, for ordinary passports from 50 countries, for tourism, business, family visits, exchanges, or transit. The other is 240-hour visa-free transit for ordinary passports from 57 countries, when the trip continues to a different country or region. Older guides that still say 144 hours are out of date. The current transit stay described by the National Immigration Administration is 240 hours, or 10 days.
Which passports the lists include
The 30-day unilateral list, as compiled by the National Immigration Administration on February 17, 2026, includes much of Europe, plus the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, and several other countries in Asia and the Americas. The United States is not on that 30-day list. Russia’s unilateral waiver has been described in later official updates as extended through December 31, 2027.
The 240-hour transit list has 57 countries. It includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and, since August 20, 2026, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam. You must enter through a designated port, stay inside the approved area, and leave for a third country or region within 240 hours. Work, study, and news reporting are not allowed on either waiver.
Some passports have a separate bilateral visa exemption that this checker does not score country by country. Hainan also has its own 30-day visa-free entry policy for a wider list of ordinary passports, and that stay is limited to Hainan. If your whole trip is inside Hainan, read the Hainan notice on the National Immigration Administration site in addition to the result above.
Before you book
- Match the name and dates on your ticket to the passport you will carry.
- Keep proof of lodging and the onward or return ticket. Officers can ask for both.
- Count the stay the way the notice does. For the 30-day waiver, the clock is described as starting at 00:00 on the day after entry.
- Do not plan paid work, a school enrollment, or reporting on a visa-free stamp.
Last reviewed September 22, 2026.
- NIA list of unilateral visa-exemption countries (compiled February 17, 2026)
- NIA 240-hour visa-free transit policy, including the 57-country list
- Chinese Embassy in the United States: Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam added August 20, 2026
Questions people ask
Who can enter China visa-free for 30 days?
Ordinary-passport holders from the countries on China’s unilateral visa-exemption list may enter for business, tourism, family visits, exchanges, or transit and stay up to 30 days. The National Immigration Administration compiled that 50-country list as of February 17, 2026. Russia’s waiver has been described as running through December 31, 2027, but you should confirm the current notice before you travel.
What is 240-hour visa-free transit?
It lets eligible ordinary-passport holders transit through China toward a different country or region and stay in the approved area for up to 240 hours, which is 10 days. You need an onward ticket with a confirmed date. A round trip to the same country does not meet the rule. The United States is on this 57-country list and is not on the 30-day unilateral list.
Does this checker approve my entry?
No. It compares your answers with published nationality lists and the main conditions. Border officers, the National Immigration Administration, and Chinese embassies make the actual decision. Work, study, and journalism still need the proper visa.