Do I need a visa for my road trip in China?
Do you need a visa for your road trip in China? The good news, most of our travelers do not! And for everyone else, we explain how to apply.
Good news first: most of our travelers enter China without a visa, for up to 30 days. China's immigration authority lists 50 countries whose citizens can do this. Since 17 February 2026 the list includes the United Kingdom and Canada, next to most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. Americans still need a tourist visa, or they can use the 240-hour transit rule if they arrive from one country and leave for a different one.
- Citizens of 50 countries, among them most of Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, enter visa-free for up to 30 days.
- Americans need a tourist visa, or can use the 240-hour transit rule when they fly in from one country and out to a different one.
- The visa-free rules run until 31 December 2026 for most countries. If your trip is in 2027, check again before you book.
- Your passport should be valid for six months after the trip, with two blank pages.
Checked on: 18 September 2026, against the official pages linked in each section. Visa rules change several times a year, so please use this page to understand how it works, then check the official list, or the Chinese embassy site for your country, before you book flights. Contact us if you would like some help with this.
Who enters visa-free?
Citizens of these 50 countries, travelling on an ordinary passport, enter without a visa for tourism, business, visits to family and friends, exchange visits or transit. They can stay up to 30 days, counted from midnight after the day they enter.
- Europe (35)
- 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
- Asia and the Gulf (7)
- Bahrain, Brunei, Japan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Korea
- Americas (6)
- Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru, Uruguay
- Oceania (2)
- Australia, New Zealand
Source: List of countries covered by unilateral visa exemption policies, National Immigration Administration of China, dated 17 February 2026.
A second, smaller group enters visa-free under agreements that work in both directions, among them Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kazakhstan, each for 30 days. The National Immigration Administration keeps the list of these agreements with the conditions for each country.
How long will this last?
These arrangements have an end date. For most countries on the list it is 31 December 2026, set when China extended the policy in November 2025. The United Kingdom and Canada joined on 17 February 2026, also until 31 December 2026; see the notice from the Chinese embassy in Canada and the UK government's entry requirements for China. Russia has its own end date as 31 December 2027.
So far the end dates have been extended before they ran out, but that is a pattern and not a promise. If your trip is in 2027, check again before you book.
What is the 240-hour transit rule?
If your country is not visa-free, you may still be able to enter without a visa for up to 240 hours (ten days). Americans can use it, for example: the United States, Mexico, Ukraine and Serbia are on the transit list, along with most of the visa-free countries.
The conditions are:
- You hold an ordinary passport and an onward ticket to a third country or region (including Hong Kong and Macau), with a confirmed seat and date. A flight in from Los Angeles and out to Tokyo qualifies, but a return to Los Angeles does not.
- You enter through one of 65 listed ports, among them the airports of Beijing and Shanghai.
- You stay inside the allowed areas of 24 provinces. You can cross from one province to another inside these areas.
Source: Visa-free transit policies, National Immigration Administration, dated 20 August 2026, and the State Council notice of 17 December 2024 for the provinces.
The 24 provinces are Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hainan and Guizhou.
Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Jilin are not on it, so a route in the far west needs a visa-free passport or a visa.
- Shanxi
- Taiyuan and Datong
- Jiangxi
- Nanchang and Jingdezhen
- Yunnan
- 9 cities including Kunming, Yuxi, Chuxiong, Honghe, Wenshan, Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Dali and Lijiang
- Sichuan
- 11 cities including Chengdu, Zigong, Luzhou, Deyang, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Yibin, Ya'an, Meishan and Ziyang
- Guangxi
- 12 cities including Nanning, Liuzhou and Guilin
Ten days also has to cover the day you land, the driving permit visit and the day you fly out. If you are not sure whether the rule fits your trip, ask us and we will look into it with you.
What if I need a visa?
You apply for a tourist (L) visa at the Chinese embassy, a consulate or a visa centre in the country where you live. Here is how it works in the United States, as an example.
- You fill in the form online on the China Online Visa Application system, then bring your passport in person.
- Your passport needs at least six months of validity and two blank pages.
- Regular service takes four business days, and express service takes three.
- Since 1 January 2024, tourist visa applicants in the United States no longer have to show flight bookings, hotel bookings, an itinerary or an invitation letter.
Source: Requirements and procedures for Chinese visa application, Chinese embassy in the United States, updated September 2025.
In other countries the papers can differ, and some offices still ask for hotel bookings; the hotel list from your itinerary works for that. The UK government notes that applicants aged 14 to 70 go in person and have their fingerprints scanned.
Our own advice is to start a month before you fly, so that a missing paper does not cost you the trip.
How long must my passport be valid?
Your passport should be valid for at least six months after the end of your trip, and have two blank pages. The official wording is a little softer: the UK government asks for six months from the day you arrive, and the Chinese embassy in the United States asks for six months when you apply for a visa. We suggest the stricter version, because it is safe under every reading of the rule.
On arrival you get an entry stamp or a record in the system. The date on it sets how long your temporary driving permit can run, so keep it readable.
At many tourist sites, you need to show your passport to buy a ticket.
What do I fill in before I land?
Since 20 November 2025 you can fill in the China arrival card online before you travel: on the National Immigration Administration's website, in its "NIA 12367" app, or in its WeChat and Alipay mini programs. If you do not, you can still do it at the airport, by scanning a QR code, on a machine or on paper.
The card is free. The immigration authority warns about copycat websites that charge a fee for it, so use the official address only.
Questions we get asked
I am visa-free. Do I need to register anywhere?
Usually there is nothing for you to do. Every foreign visitor in China is registered with the local police, and when you stay in a hotel, the hotel does it for you at check-in, from your passport. Only if you stay in a private home do you or your host have to register with the local police, within 24 hours of arriving, and in some provinces you can now do that online.
Source: Online accommodation registration service, National Immigration Administration, March 2026, and the UK government's entry requirements for China.
The one form you fill in yourself is the arrival card, just like in many other countries. It is a short immigration form and a simple formality: you can fill it in online before you fly, or at the airport when you land. The details are under "What do I fill in before I land?" above.
Can I extend the 30 days?
In principle yes, at the exit-entry bureau of the city you are in, before the 30 days end. In practice, it is much easier to plan the trip inside 30 days.
Does the visa affect the driving permit?
No. The temporary driving permit is issued against your passport and the length of your stay, with a visa or visa-free. See the temporary driving permit.
What about Hong Kong and Macau?
They have their own entry rules, and most nationalities enter both without a visa. If you leave mainland China for Hong Kong and come back, that counts as a new entry to the mainland.
Next step
Beyond the visa and the driving permit, most of China needs nothing else. The exceptions are in the far west.
