All the Countries That Enjoy Visa-Free Entry or Transit in China

China continues to open up visa-free entry for foreign nationals, with six more countries slated to join a list that’s been growing since autumn of last year, reports Xinhua News.

Citizens of Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg will now be able to enjoy visa-free entry to China for 15 days for travel, business, and family reunions from Mar 14 until Nov 30 of this year.

The six join a batch of six other countries who are also trialing 15-day visa-free travel with China. These are as follows:

• France

• Germany

• Italy

• Malaysia

• Spain

• The Netherlands

Along with these countries, three others, Singapore, Thailand, and Georgia, have entered into mutual 30-day visa-free travel arrangements with China. They also aren’t the only countries who enjoy the policy, though. The others, according to China Briefing and other sources, are:

• Albania

• Antigua and Barbuda

• Armenia

• Barbados

• Belarus

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Dominica

• Ecuador

• Fiji

• Granada

• Kazakhstan

• Mauritius

• Qatar

• San Marino

• Serbia

• Seychelles

• Suriname

• The Bahamas

• The Maldives

• The UAE

• Tonga

More countries are now allowed to enter the southern island province of Hainan for 30 days visa-free as of February this year, according to China Daily. Citizens from 59 countries can now go visa-free to Hainan for the same purposes listed above, with the addition of medical treatment and attending exhibitions and sports competitions. These countries are:

• Albania

• Argentina

• Australia

• Austria

• Belarus

• Belgium

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Brazil

• Brunei

• Bulgaria

• Canada

• Chile

• Croatia

• Cyprus

• Denmark

• Estonia

• Finland

• France

• Germany

• Greece

• Hungary

• Iceland

• Indonesia

• Ireland

• Italy

• Japan

• Kazakhstan

• Latvia

• Lithuania

• Luxembourg

• Malaysia

• Malta

• Mexico

• Monaco

• Montenegro

• New Zealand

• North Macedonia

• Norway

• Poland

• Portugal

• Qatar

• Romania

• Russia

• Serbia

• Singapore

• Slovakia

• Slovenia

• South Korea

• Spain

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• Thailand

• The Czech Republic

• The Netherlands

• The Philippines

• The UAE

• The UK

• Ukraine

• USA

China also employs a number of visa-exempt policies for those transiting through the country for 24, 72, and 144-hours, providing those wishing to enjoy the policy can prove they are traveling to a third country after leaving China.

The 144-hour and 72-hour visa-free transit policy is only applicable for certain Chinese cities. 144-hour visa-free transit can be done in the following cities:

• Beijing

• Chengdu

• Chongqing

• Dalian

• Guangzhou

• Hangzhou

• Jieyang

• Kunming

• Nanjing

• Qingdao

• Qinhuangdao

• Shanghai

• Shenyang

• Shenzhen

• Shijiazhuang

• Tianjin

• Wuhan

• Xiamen

• Xi'an

While 72-hour visa-free transit can be done in the following cities:

• Changsha

• Guilin

• Harbin

Travelers from the following countries can enjoy 144-hour and 72-hour visa-free transit:

• Albania

• Argentina

• Australia

• Austria

• Belarus

• Belgium

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Brazil

• Brunei

• Bulgaria

• Canada

• Chile

• Croatia

• Cyprus

• Czech Republic

• Denmark

• Estonia

• Finland

• France

• Germany

• Greece

• Hungary

• Iceland

• Ireland

• Italy

• Japan

• Latvia

• Lithuania

• Luxembourg

• Macedonia (FYROM)

• Malta

• Mexico

• Monaco

• Montenegro

• New Zealand

• Norway

• Poland

• Portugal

• Qatar

• Romania

• Russia

• Serbia

• Singapore

• Slovakia

• Slovenia

• South Korea

• Spain

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• The Netherlands

• The UAE

• The United Kingdom

• Ukraine

• USA

For a more in-depth look at how these policies work, check out these posts on 72-hour (https://www.travelchinaguide.com/tour/visa/free-transit-72-hours.htm)   and 144-hour (https://www.travelchinaguide.com/tour/visa/free-transit-144-hours.htm)   visa-free transit by Travel China Guide.

In certain cases, a special permit is required to do visa-free transit, but this requirement was waived for Beijing Capital, Daxing, and a number of other airports this year for those transiting within 24-hours in January this year, along with a slew of other policies announced.

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Images: Unsplash

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