The free visa checker on this site takes two inputs – the passport you will travel on and the trip you are taking – and returns which of China’s three entry rules applies: unilateral visa-free entry for ordinary passports from 50 countries (up to 30 days), 240-hour visa-free transit for 55 countries, or an L visa. It runs on rules checked on 29 October 2026, and every result links to the official source behind it.
- 3 entry rules compared in a single result
- 50 countries with unilateral visa-free entry, up to 30 days (NIA, 17 February 2026)
- 55 countries and 65 ports on the 240-hour transit rule
- 29 October 2026 – the date the rules behind the tool were last checked
Last verified: 29 October 2026 · Sources: National Immigration Administration (NIA), Chinese embassy visa FAQ
What does the visa checker actually do?
The tool asks two questions and returns one of three outcomes. It takes the passport you will present at the border and the kind of trip you are planning, then compares those answers with the current entry rules. The result names the rule, the maximum stay it allows, whether an onward ticket is needed, and the government page the rule comes from.
| Your situation | Rule that applies | Maximum stay | Onward ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary passport from one of the 50 listed countries (UK, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Brazil and others) | Unilateral visa-free entry | 30 days | Not required |
| Passport from one of 55 countries, including the United States, and you fly on to a third country | 240-hour visa-free transit | 240 hours (10 days) | Required, to a third country |
| Any other passport, or a stay longer than 30 days | L visa, applied for before travel | Set by the visa | Not required, but an itinerary is |
| US passport and a stopover of a few days only | 240-hour transit, limited to the province or city of the port of entry | 240 hours (10 days) | Required, to a third country |
The first row is the one most guides get wrong. The visa-free list names 50 countries, not “most countries”: ordinary passports from the United States, India, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are not on it. If your passport is in that group, the checker sends you to the 240-hour transit rule or to the L visa route instead.
Where do the rules inside the checker come from?
Every rule is copied from a government page and stored next to its source. The visa-free list comes from the National Immigration Administration list published on 17 February 2026. The counting method, the permitted purposes and the expiry dates come from the Chinese embassy visa FAQ updated in July 2026. Nothing in the tool is inferred, and nothing is copied from a travel blog.
“Holders of ordinary passports from the 50 listed countries may enter China without a visa for business, tourism, family visits, exchange visits or transit for no more than 30 days, counted from 00:00 on the day after entry.” – National Immigration Administration, visa-free country list, 17 February 2026
Two dates decide how long the answer stays true. Forty-eight of the 50 visa-free policies run to 31 December 2026, Russia runs to 31 December 2027, and Brunei has no expiry date. The 240-hour transit scheme moved from 60 to 65 ports on 5 November 2025 and can grow again. Re-check the page before you book, not after.
What can the checker not tell you?
It reads published rules and does not assess your case. It cannot confirm that an officer will admit you, cannot judge whether your onward ticket satisfies the transit condition, and does not know visa-centre appointment slots or fees, which differ by country. Use the result as a starting point with a source attached, not as a permission to travel.
- It is not legal advice, and it is not a visa. Admission is decided at the border by the officer on duty.
- It does not cover the regional schemes: Hainan’s 30 days for 61 countries, cruise-group entry, or the ASEAN group routes into Xishuangbanna and Guilin.
- It cannot see your passport’s remaining validity. The transit rule needs at least three months left on the document when you arrive.
Which guide should you read next?
Entry eligibility is the first gate; the budget is the second. How many days your rule allows sets the length of the trip, and what you can spend per day sets how many cities fit inside it. The China travel budget guide gives planning ranges in CNY and a rough USD equivalent for hostels, mid-range hotels and comfort travel, and separates the costs that catch first-time visitors from the ones every listicle already quotes.
Sources
- National Immigration Administration – List of countries covered by unilateral visa exemption policies (17 February 2026)
- Chinese embassy – visa exemption FAQ, including the 30-day counting rule and expiry dates (updated July 2026)
- Shaanxi provincial government – 240-hour visa-free transit conditions and the port list (updated 24 November 2025)
Run the check once with the passport you will actually carry, then read the China visa guide for the rule it returns. If you hold two passports, test both: the rule follows the document you present at the border, not the nationality on your profile.