How to Travel to China without a Visa

A full list of the 36 countries: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Barbados, Bahamas, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Dominica, Ecuador, Fiji, Grenada, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Mauritius, Qatar, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore , Surinam, Thailand, Tonga, UAE

If passport holders of above countries come to China for tourism, visiting families and friends, doing business, or transiting, they can enter without a visa and the duration of stay varies from 15 days to 90 days. If for other purposes, a ready visa will be required. 

See details: China Visa-free Policy 

 
This is highly similar to 144-hour visa-free transit, except the allowed transit areas, which include Changsha, Guilin and Harbin. 

 

Under the 24-hour visa-free transit rule, no visa is required for international flight, ship, or train passengers who transit directly through mainland China and will stay for less than 24 hours. This policy is applicable to almost all nationalities. Most airports are eligible, except the airports in Huangshan Tunxi Airport, Mudanjiang Hailang Airport, Yanji Chaoyangchuan Airport. Passengers should hold tickets to a third country or region and have a confirmed seat.

In case they want to leave the port for city sightseeing or transfer to another port during the 24 hours, they can apply for a Temporary Stay Permit upon arrival. Those who transfer in more than one city of China within 24 hours can also enjoy this policy. For instance, if one's trip is Los Angeles – Beijing – Shanghai – Bangkok and the total time in China is less than 24 hours, the passenger can still enjoy the 24-hour direct transit.
 

Citizens holding the passports of the 59 qualifying countries are exempt from China visas when they travel to Hainan with the purpose of tourism visiting, business activities, exhibition, sports competition, etc(except study and work). The stay is limited to 30 days in general, and the 30 days start from 00:00 the day following the entry date.



Foreigners who take a cruise to Shanghai and leave with the cruise from Shanghai or other ports of China can enjoy a 15-day visa-free stay in China given that they are received by a local travel agency as a tour group. The group should contain at least two members. Eligible passengers can travel with the ship to other coastal cities and provinces, including Beijing, Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan. The stay period counts from the following day after arrival.

 
Citizens holding passports issued by nations with diplomatic relations with China are exempted from China visas if they join a tourist group in Hong Kong or Macao organized by registered travel agencies in HK and Macao to visit the Pearl River Delta region for tourism and stay up to 6 days. The region includes Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Zhaoqing, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Shantou.

 Do I Need A Visa for Guangzhou If Traveling from Hong Kong?



Tour groups from ASEAN member countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Myanmar, Brunei, and the Philippines, can visit Guilin for six days free of visa. They should be received at Guilin Liangjiang Airport by local travel agencies in Guilin. During the six days, all members cannot leave Guilin. In addition, tour groups using this visa-free policy shall exit from Liangjiang Airport only.

 
Foreigners who visit for study on X1 visa or for work on Z visa and resident foreign journalists shall apply for Aliens' Residence Permit at the local public security bureau within 30 days after entry.
Within the period of the validity of the Residence Card, the holder is entitled to enter and exit from China for multiple times without applying for another visa.

 
The APEC Business Travel Card is regarded as a multiple-entry visa valid for five years. With this card and relevant passport, the holder is entitled to enter China many times within its validity. The duration of each stay should be within 2 months.

 
China has mutual visa-exemption agreements with some foreign countries, but they are mainly for diplomatic, service or official passport holders and only allow a stay of less than 30 days.