30-day visa-free entry

What the 30-day visa-free entry covers

Citizens of listed countries holding ordinary passports (not diplomatic or official passports, which have their own arrangements) can enter mainland China for stays of up to 30 days per visit. Permitted purposes: tourism, business meetings, family visits, and transit. No visa required. Onward or return ticket is helpful to show at the immigration counter but not strictly required at most ports.

Eligible countries (verified May 2026)

Europe (full 30-day unilateral): France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Malta, Serbia, Georgia, Armenia, Maldives.

Asia–Pacific: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Fiji.

Middle East: UAE (30 days), Qatar (30 days), Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait.

Americas: Brazil (30 days), Argentina (30 days, visa-free agreement). More countries may have been added — confirm with the NIA.

The UK does not currently qualify for 30-day visa-free entry (as of May 2026); UK citizens need a visa or may use the 240-hour transit if connecting. Check current status before booking [VERIFY: UK–China bilateral negotiations — May 2026].

The list changes: new countries are added, occasionally terms change. The official source is the National Immigration Administration (NIA) website at www.nia.gov.cn.

What you can and cannot do on visa-free entry

**Permitted**: - Tourism at any open destination in mainland China - Business meetings, negotiations, attending trade fairs, signing contracts - Family visits and reunion - Transit to onward destinations

**Not permitted** on 30-day visa-free entry: - Working (paid or unpaid employment) - Enrolling in study programmes - Journalism (requires J visa) - Conducting business that requires a M-visa level of residency

Counting the days

The 30 days are counted from the day after arrival. If you arrive on 1 May, your permitted stay expires at midnight on 30 May (30 days counting from 2 May). Check your entry stamp for the exact date — it is printed in the passport by the border officer. The stamp shows the permitted-stay expiry date directly.

Hotel registration

Regardless of which entry route you use, foreign visitors must be registered with the local police within 24 hours of arrival. Hotels do this automatically — the front desk scans your passport and submits the record electronically. No action required from you. If staying with friends or in a private flat, the host must accompany you to the local police station (派出所) to register [VERIFY: current enforcement — May 2026]. Failure to register is technically a fine; enforcement is inconsistent, but the requirement is real.

Re-entry and frequency

You can re-enter under the visa-free scheme multiple times. There is no published rule on how many times or how frequently. However, border officers can and do question travellers who appear to be using back-to-back 30-day visa-free stays as a substitute for a work or residence visa. Patterns that attract scrutiny: arriving every 30–35 days from the same port, having no plausible reason for repeated tourism in the same region, or arriving with obvious signs of employment (laptop, work documents, language school materials).

For genuinely repeated short visits (attending quarterly board meetings, visiting a long-distance partner occasionally), the visa-free entry is fine. For anything that looks like a working arrangement or residency by stealth, a proper visa is both safer and more honest.

Entry at different port types

The 30-day visa-free scheme works at all official ports of entry: international airports, major land crossings, and seaports. You do not need to enter through a specific port. The border officer will ask the purpose of your visit and may ask to see a hotel booking or return ticket — having these ready reduces friction.

At busy airports (Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun) the foreigner immigration queues can take 45–90 minutes during peak periods. Frequent travellers can apply for an Automated Border Control (ABC) pass at Chinese airports after several prior visits, allowing use of the e-gate channel.

What if the border officer questions you?

Polite, clear answers about where you're staying, what you're doing, and how long you're staying are the correct response. Being able to show a hotel booking, a return flight, and any relevant invitations (conference registration, invitation letter from a Chinese company) speeds the process. Officers at major airports rarely make this difficult for travellers from eligible countries with clean travel histories.

Regional differences: HK and Macau

Hong Kong and Macau have their own visa-free arrangements, often more generous than the mainland's. The mainland 30-day visa-free entry does not extend to HK or Macau — they are separate immigration jurisdictions. Crossing from mainland to HK counts as exiting China and entering HK (a different entity); your mainland permitted-stay clock pauses, but the mainland stamp remains in your passport and you can re-enter mainland later.