China visa and travel guides
Written for travellers who have already decided to come, and now need to know whether they can board the plane. No visa-agency upselling, no recycled 2024 information.
Do you need a visa for China?
Short answer: most travellers from Europe, Australia, Japan, Korea and Brazil do not need a visa for a trip of up to 30 days in 2026. Here is how to check in under a minute.
Read the guideWhich countries can enter China visa-free in 2026?
The full 2026 list: 50 countries with 30-day visa-free entry, 57 countries eligible for 240-hour transit, and 61 countries for Hainan. Check your passport against all three.
Read the guideChina’s 240-hour visa-free transit, explained
Ten days in China without a visa, if your itinerary is A → China → B. Here are the exact rules on tickets, ports, stay areas and what counts as transit.
Read the guideWhere can you actually go on a 240-hour transit?
Your transit stay area depends on the port you land at, not on the visa policy. Here is how the areas work and how to plan a ten-day route that stays legal.
Read the guideHainan visa-free entry: 30 days on the island
Hainan is visa-free for 61 countries (88 counting other agreements) for up to 30 days. The catch: you cannot continue to mainland China on this policy.
Read the guideThe 30-day visa-free policy runs to 31 December 2026
48 of the 50 visa-free countries are covered until 31 December 2026. Here is what that date actually means, what happens next, and how to plan a 2027 trip.
Read the guideIs China visa-free for US citizens?
No 30-day visa-free entry for US passports — but US citizens can use the 240-hour transit scheme or enter Hainan visa-free for 30 days. Here is how each works.
Read the guideIs China visa-free for UK citizens?
Yes. British passports are on China’s 30-day visa-free list, valid until 31 December 2026, with no route requirement. Here is what that covers and what it does not.
Read the guideCan you leave China and re-enter visa-free?
Visa-free entry has no published cap on how many times you use it — but each entry is assessed separately, and patterns that look like residence get refused.
Read the guide240-hour transit vs 30-day visa-free entry
Two different schemes, two different sets of rules. Picking the wrong one at check-in is the most common avoidable problem for China-bound travellers.
Read the guideJust need your answer?
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