China Visa-Free Entry in 2026: A Working Briefing for Agents

China’s visa-free policy started in December 2023 as a trial for a handful of countries. It now covers most of Europe, the Gulf, much of Latin America and a growing list of Asian neighbours. For agents, that has moved China from “visa first, then we talk” to a destination clients can book like Thailand. This briefing covers what each passport actually gets, the date that matters for 2027 quotes, and how to use the transit rule without getting a client turned around at the gate.

The demand is real, and it is visa-free

In 2025, 30.08 million foreigners entered China without a visa, up 49.5% on the year before. In the first half of 2026, 17.81 million foreign arrivals entered visa-free: 77.7% of the total, up 30.6% year on year. The policy is no longer a side door; it is how most foreign visitors now arrive.

Three ways in without a visa

Unilateral 30-day entry. China’s own list, currently 50 countries. Ordinary passport holders get up to 30 days for tourism, business, family visits, exchanges or transit, through any port open to foreigners. The list covers 35 European countries (including the UK and Canada since 17 February 2026), Australia and New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, and Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.

Mutual exemption agreements. Separate bilateral treaties with 29 countries, including the UAE, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Maldives, Mauritius and Serbia. Stays are typically up to 30 days per entry; Armenia’s agreement allows up to 90 days in any 180.

240-hour visa-free transit. Up to 10 days for 57 nationalities since Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam were added on 20 August 2026, through 65 designated ports, within permitted provinces, and only when the client flies on to a third country or region.

The date to put on every 2027 quote

For most unilateral countries the published end date is 24:00 Beijing time on 31 December 2026. China has extended the scheme every year so far: the original trial was extended in November 2024, and the next extension was announced on 3 November 2025. Russia was extended separately to 31 December 2027 in May 2026.

Until a 2027 decision is published, treat it operationally:

• Departures before 31 December 2026: sell visa-free as normal.
• Trips that cross New Year or start in 2027: state the entry route on the quote, flag the deadline in writing, and keep flights and hotels changeable until the announcement.
• Mutual-exemption markets (UAE, Qatar, Malaysia, Thailand and the rest): unaffected. Sell 2027 normally.

Using the 240-hour transit properly

The transit rule is the right tool for passports on the transit list but not the 30-day list, such as the United States, Mexico, Indonesia and Vietnam. It fails in predictable ways, and each one ends at the departure gate:

1. The onward ticket must go to a third country or region. US–Beijing–Tokyo qualifies. US–Beijing–US does not.
2. Entry must be through a designated port, and the client tells the airline at check-in that they are using the transit rule.
3. Travel stays within the permitted provinces. An itinerary that wanders outside them is a problem even if the hours are fine.
4. The clock starts at 00:00 the day after arrival, not the landing time, so a late-evening arrival gains almost a full day.

India: a visa, but no longer a barrier

Indian passports still need a visa. What changed is the friction. The application has started online since 22 December 2025, and the reduced fee schedule runs to 31 December 2026: ₹2,900 single entry, ₹4,400 double entry, ₹5,900 six-month multiple, ₹8,800 one-year multiple and ₹1,800 per person on a group visa. From 26 October 2026 the visa centres in New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata stopped taking new applications, and online applications filed after 5pm on 23 October 2026 carry no visa-centre service fee. For a group, the deciding factor is clean documents first time: itinerary and hotel confirmations that match exactly what each applicant submits.

Operational checklist

• Check the passport, not the residence. A UK resident on an Indian passport needs a visa.
• Put the entry route and any policy deadline on every quote, in writing.
• Visa-free stays cannot be extended in China, so fit the programme inside the 30 days or start a visa early.
• For transit clients, confirm the onward ticket goes to a third country before you price anything else.
• For Indian groups, send itinerary and hotel confirmations that match each applicant’s form.
• Re-check rules at booking and again before departure. Official notices change without much warning.