Short answer
For most travellers the relevant scheme is China's 30-day unilateral visa-free entry, open to ordinary passport holders from 50 countries. If your passport is on that list you can fly to China with no visa, no invitation letter and no third-country itinerary, and stay up to 30 days. The policy runs until 31 December 2026, 24:00.
Two other schemes are not the same thing. 240-hour transit covers 57 countries but needs a confirmed onward ticket to a third country and confines you to 24 provinces and 65 ports. Hainan's 30-day scheme covers 61 countries, the United States included, but only inside Hainan Province.
Check your passport against the tables below. If it is in none of them, you need a visa, unless a bilateral agreement applies (about 29 countries have one).
The 30-day unilateral visa-free list
This is the list China grants unilaterally: the visa is waived for your passport whether or not your government does the same for Chinese citizens. Ordinary passports only, for tourism, business, family visits, transit and exchange programmes. Work, study and journalism still need a visa in advance. The 50 countries, grouped the way the National Immigration Administration groups them:
| Region | Passports on the list | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom | 35 |
| Oceania | Australia, New Zealand | 2 |
| Asia | Bahrain, Brunei, Japan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Korea | 7 |
| Americas | Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru, Uruguay | 6 |
Three details decide whether this works for your trip:
- Stay: 30 days, counted from 00:00 the day after you enter.
- No third-country ticket needed. A round trip that starts and ends at home is fine, unlike transit entry.
- The policy expires 31 December 2026, 24:00. It has been extended before, but do not book 2027 travel assuming it will be again.
One more route: bilateral visa-waiver agreements
Separately from the unilateral list, China has mutual visa-exemption agreements with about 29 countries: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dominica, Ecuador, Fiji, Georgia, Grenada, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Qatar, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Thailand, Tonga, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan. Most allow 30 days per entry. A few, including Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Kazakhstan, are written as 90 days within any 180-day window. This is neither the unilateral list nor transit entry, so the table above is not the whole picture: if your country is missing there, check the agreement list before paying for a visa.
How this differs from 240-hour transit
Transit visa-free entry is the scheme most often confused with the 30-day list. It covers more countries, 57, but it is conditional:
| Point | 30-day unilateral visa-free | 240-hour transit visa-free |
|---|---|---|
| Countries covered | 50 | 57 |
| Itinerary required | None. Round trip home is fine | Confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region |
| Where you may stay | Anywhere in mainland China | Designated areas of 24 provinces, entering through one of 65 ports |
| Length of stay | 30 days | 240 hours, about 10 days |
The third-country rule is where most people fall down: London, Beijing, London uses one country and does not qualify, while London, Beijing, Seoul does, because Korea is a third country. A plain 24-hour transit visa-free rule also covers all nationalities. The full port list is in our 240-hour visa-free transit guide. If both schemes fit your trip, take the 30-day unilateral entry: it imposes no route conditions once you land.
How this differs from Hainan visa-free
Hainan runs its own entry scheme, separate from the national one, and it is the widest of the three. Since 20 August 2026, when Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam were added, 61 countries can enter Hainan visa-free for up to 30 days. The United States is on this list, though not on the 50-country national list.
The trade-off is geographic: your stay is limited to the administrative region of Hainan Province, so Sanya and Haikou are open and the rest of mainland China is not. To continue to the mainland you must apply for a visa at a Hainan entry-exit office before your 30 days run out. Entry is through Hainan's own open ports, including Haikou Meilan and Sanya Phoenix airports.
| Group | Passports | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Americas | Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, United States | 6 |
| Oceania | Australia, New Zealand | 2 |
| Schengen area | Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland | 25 |
| Other Europe | Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, United Kingdom | 15 |
| Asia | Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam | 13 |
If Hainan is the whole point of the trip, this route beats a visa and covers far more nationalities. If you want Beijing or Shanghai too, compare it against the transit scheme. See our Sanya guide for the island.
What visa-free still requires
Visa-free does not mean document-free: an airline can refuse boarding if the first rule below is not met.
- Passport valid at least 6 months beyond your entry date, with blank pages.
- An arrival card. Fill it in online through the National Immigration Administration before you fly, or use the paper cards at the port. See our arrival card guide.
- Proof of onward or return travel and accommodation, if asked. Not a formal condition, but officers can request it. A booking confirmation on your phone is enough.
- Fingerprints at the port. Collected from travellers aged 14 to 70 inclusive; under 14 and over 70 are exempt.
- A customs declaration above the cash threshold. More than the equivalent of USD 5,000 or CNY 20,000 in cash must be declared.
- No work, study or journalism. Paid work, degree study and reporting assignments need the matching visa.
If your country is not on the list
Three checks before you assume a visa is your only option: the bilateral agreement list above, 240-hour transit visa-free if you are flying on to a third country, and Hainan's list if the island is your destination.
If none applies, apply for an L tourist visa. The photo is 33mm x 48mm on white, or 354 to 420 by 472 to 560 pixels as a JPEG of 40 to 120 KB through COVA. Standard processing is 4 working days, expedited around 2 to 3. US citizens currently pay USD 140 instead of USD 185, a reduction running to 31 December 2026, plus USD 25 for expedited service, and can be issued a multiple-entry visa valid up to 10 years, with 60-day stays per entry in common cases.
Start with our China tourist visa (L visa) guide for the document list, the application centres and the processing clock, or our overview of China's visa-free routes if you want to rule out the other two schemes first.
Frequently asked questions
Are US citizens visa-free for China in 2026?
No. The United States is not on the 50-country unilateral list and has no bilateral waiver agreement with China. US passport holders qualify for Hainan's 30-day visa-free entry, which confines them to Hainan Province, and can use 240-hour transit visa-free with an onward ticket to a third country. A multi-city mainland trip needs a visa.
How long can I stay visa-free, exactly?
30 days under the unilateral list, counted from 00:00 the day after entry. Transit visa-free entry gives 240 hours, about 10 days. Hainan also allows 30 days, but only inside the province.
Do I need a return ticket to use the 30-day visa-free entry?
No. Unlike transit visa-free entry, the unilateral scheme does not require an onward ticket to a third country, so a round trip home is fine. Officers may still ask for onward travel or accommodation proof, so keep bookings on your phone.
Can I visit Beijing or Shanghai on Hainan visa-free entry?
No. Hainan's scheme limits your stay to the administrative region of Hainan Province. To continue to the mainland you must apply for a visa at a Hainan entry-exit office before your 30 days expire.
Can I work or study while visa-free in China?
No. Every visa-free scheme covers short-term purposes only: tourism, business visits, family visits, transit, medical treatment, exhibitions and sports. Paid work, degree study and journalism need a visa in advance.
The policy ends 31 December 2026. What happens after that?
The unilateral 30-day policy is valid until 31 December 2026, 24:00. China has extended this arrangement repeatedly, but the only reliable statement is the one published by the National Immigration Administration. Booking 2027 travel? Check the current announcement first.
Do I need to register or pre-apply for visa-free entry?
No application, fee or approval letter exists for the unilateral scheme: you arrive, present your passport and the officer grants the stay. You do need an arrival card, filled online in advance or at the port, and your hotel registers your stay with the police as required by law.
Is there a limit on how many times I can enter visa-free?
No published annual limit exists, and each entry allows up to 30 days. Border officers decide on each arrival, so back-to-back entries with very short gaps can attract questions. To live in China rather than visit, the route is a residence permit, not repeated visa-free entry.
Related reading
Planning the island trip itself? Start with Sanya. If a visa is unavoidable, our visa-free overview covers the alternatives.
Compiled from National Immigration Administration announcements, including the 17 February 2026 unilateral list and the 20 August 2026 announcement adding Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam to the 240-hour transit and Hainan schemes, cross-checked 28 September 2026. Country lists, port lists and policy end dates change without long notice: the NIA announcement current on your travel date is authoritative. Nothing here is legal or immigration advice.