China’s 2026 entry rules come down to three routes: 30-day visa-free entry for 50 countries, 240-hour visa-free transit for 57 countries with an onward ticket to a third country, and an L visa for everyone else. Pick your passport group and trip type in the checker and it names the rule, the maximum stay and whether you need an onward ticket.
- 50 countries enter visa-free for up to 30 days on an ordinary passport.
- 57 countries can use 240-hour transit, but only with a ticket to a third country.
- US, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the Philippines are not on the visa-free list.
- Nothing is stored: the checker runs in your browser and sends no data anywhere.
- Updated 29 October 2026 against NIA and embassy sources.
Last verified: 29 October 2026 · Sources: National Immigration Administration (NIA), Chinese embassy visa FAQ, Shaanxi government English service
Two questions, one answer. Choose your passport group and the trip you are planning, then run the check. The result is a rule, a maximum stay and the page to read next.
How does the checker decide which rule applies?
It sorts your passport into one of three groups and then applies the trip type. Visa-free passports get the 30-day rule for tourism and business; transit passports get 240 hours; every other combination falls to the L visa. The grouping follows the official country lists, not a generalisation, because the difference between the lists is the whole answer.
| Passport group | Rule that applies | Maximum stay | Onward ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU, Schengen and UK passports (with a few exceptions, such as Czechia), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Russia | Unilateral visa-free entry | 30 days per entry, counted from 00:00 the day after entry | Not required, but carry return and hotel bookings |
| United States and Mexico | No visa-free entry; 240-hour transit if genuinely in transit, otherwise an L visa | 240 hours on transit, otherwise as granted on the visa | Required for transit, to a third country or region |
| India, Indonesia, the Philippines and most other nationalities | No visa-free entry; L visa, or a regional scheme if one applies | As granted on the visa | Not required for the visa route |
The NIA list is grouped by continent: 35 in Europe, 2 in Oceania, 7 in Asia and 6 in the Americas. The 57-country transit list is a different, larger list, which is why the checker asks about your trip and not only about your passport.
Why does the checker ask whether you are in transit?
Because the 240-hour rule is a transit permission, not a visa waiver, and the onward ticket is the condition that distinguishes the two. A US traveller flying to a third country through Shanghai can enter for up to ten days; the same traveller flying back to the United States cannot.
The rule works like this: your passport must be from one of the 57 transit countries, your travel document must have at least three months of validity left, you must hold a confirmed ticket to a third country or region with a date inside the 240-hour window, you must enter at one of the 65 approved ports, and you must stay inside the area attached to that port. Miss the third-country ticket and the answer is an L visa, not a warning at the airport. The full conditions, the port table and the permitted areas are on the 240-hour transit page.
When should you not rely on the checker?
The checker covers ordinary passports, tourist and business travel, and the three main rules. It does not cover diplomatic or service passports, work and study visas, Hong Kong and Macau travel documents, or the regional group-tour schemes, and it does not know your travel history.
- Regional schemes. Hainan’s 30-day scheme covers 61 nationalities, and the ASEAN group-tour schemes cover six-day trips to Xishuangbanna and Guilin. Neither is in the checker.
- Passport type. Emergency travel documents, refugee travel documents and temporary passports are not treated as ordinary passports.
- Purpose of travel. Work, study and news reporting are outside both the visa-free and transit rules and need the matching visa category.
- Dates. The 48-country scheme runs to 31 December 2026 and Russia’s to 31 December 2027; a 2027 trip depends on an extension.
What if your trip is longer than 30 days?
A visa-free stay is capped at 30 days per entry, not 30 days in total: the official FAQ confirms there is currently no limit on the number of visa-free entries or on total days across entries. So a two-month trip can be done as two stays with an exit and re-entry in between, or as one L visa.
Re-entry is the cheaper option but not always the practical one. A land or air trip to Hong Kong, Macau or a neighbouring country resets the 30 days, which is why a five-week itinerary often includes a few days in Hong Kong in the middle. The L visa is the cleaner option if you would rather not plan around a border run, and the application steps page sets out the process. Anyone whose passport is not on the 50-country list should start from the L visa route instead.
Which official page backs each answer?
Each rule in the checker comes from a named official source, and the links below are the ones to check when a rule matters to a booking. The checker is a summary; the source documents are the authority, and they change more often than the summary does.
- Visa-free list: NIA, List of Countries Covered by Unilateral Visa Exemption Policies (17 February 2026).
- Visa exemption rules: Chinese embassy visa exemption FAQ (July 2026).
- 240-hour transit: Shaanxi government English service, transit conditions and 65-port table (24 November 2025).
- Visa applications: CVASC official portal for forms, fees and appointments.
This checker is a planning aid, not legal advice, and the rules behind it are dated. Borders decide entry, not this page: if the answer matters to a non-refundable booking, confirm it on the official source linked above, and remember that visa-free schemes and transit port lists can change with a few weeks’ notice.
FAQ
Does the checker store my answers?
No. It runs entirely in the browser with a small script, sends nothing to a server and sets no cookies, so nothing about your passport or trip is recorded.
Why does a US passport show an L visa rather than visa-free entry?
Because the United States is not on the 50-country unilateral visa-free list. US travellers can still enter without a visa through 240-hour transit or Hainan’s 30-day scheme, but a normal round trip needs an L visa; the US citizens visa guide covers the process and the USD 140 fee.
What counts as a third country for transit?
Any country or region other than the one you flew from. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan count, so a London-Shanghai-Hong Kong trip qualifies, while London-Shanghai-London does not.
Can the checker tell me about Hainan or the ASEAN group tours?
No. Hainan’s 30-day scheme for 61 nationalities and the six-day ASEAN group-tour schemes sit outside the three main rules, so check them on the official pages before you plan around them.
Sources
- National Immigration Administration, unilateral visa-free country list (17 February 2026)
- Chinese embassy, visa exemption FAQ: 30-day rule, counting, entries and expiry dates (July 2026)
- Shaanxi Provincial Government English service, 240-hour visa-free transit conditions, 57 countries and the 65-port table (24 November 2025)
- China Visa Application Service Center (CVASC), official portal
If the answer is an L visa, the China visa hub compares it with the other routes, and the application steps page lists every document before you book the appointment.