Mainland China: More Nationals Eligible for Visa Exemption; Expanded Rights Under Exemption

Update September 2, 2025: From September 15, 2025 to September 14, 2026, Russian national ordinary passport holders can travel to China for business, tourism, family visits, transit and exchange and visit purposes for up to 30 days without a visa under the below visa waiver program. 

Update May 29, 2025: From June 9, 2025 until June 8, 2026, holders of ordinary passports from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia will be able to enter China visa-free for business, tourism, family visits, exchanges, visits or transit for up to 30 days.

Update May 16, 2025: In a further expansion of this policy, from June 1, 2025 until May 31, 2026, nationals of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay will be allowed to enter and stay in Mainland China for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family visits, exchange visit or transit purposes.

November 25, 2024: From November 30, 2024, through December 31, 2025, the Chinese government is allowing nationals of Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Japan, Latvia, Malta, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, and Romania to enter Mainland China visa-free for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family visits, or transit purposes.

With the addition of these nine countries, the following is the full list of countries (38 in total) for which this visa exemption applies: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, and Switzerland.

Also, effective November 30, 2024, nationals of these countries entering Mainland China visa-free will be allowed to stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family visits, or transit purposes. Currently, the maximum initial stay under the visa waiver is 15 days. Additionally, those entering under the visa waiver will be permitted to engage in cultural exchange activities, which is currently not permitted for those entering visa-free.