A foreign citizen can enter China without a visa under any one of the following circumstances:

1) Direct Transit

A foreign citizen who is transiting through China by air is exempted from a visa if he/she will stay only inside the airport (without entering the boder control) for no more than 24 hours and has a valid connecting ticket with confirmed seating on an international flight.

2) Transit in specified international airports within 72 Hours

Iirrespective of the passport type, citizens of specified countries who transit in thespecified international airports within 72 hours are exempted from visas for China. You must meet all the following requirements:

A. You must be the citizen and hold the valid passport or international travel document of one of the following countries:

Austria, Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Great Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

B. You must transit to a third country or region through one of the following specified international airports:

• Beijing via Beijing Capital International Airport,;
• Shanghai via Shanghai Hongqiao and Pudong International Airport;
• Guangzhou via Baiyun International Airport,
• Chengdu via Shuangliu International Airport;
• Chongqing via Jiangbei International Airport;
• Shenyang via Taoxian International Airport;
• Dalian via Zhoushuizi International Airport;
• Xi'an via Xianyang International Airport. 

C. You must have a through air ticket with confirmed date of flight and seat for a third country or region.

For more information, please click here.

3) Foreigners to visiting the Pearl River Delta or Hainan Island

A. A foreign citizen holding an ordinary passport issued by any country with diplomatic relations with China is exempted from a visa if he or she is already in Hong Kong or Macao and joins a tourist group organized by a travel agency, which is registered in Hong Kong or Macao, for a visit to the Pearl River Delta region (including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing and Huizhou) and his or her stay is no more than 6 days.

B. A foreign citizen holding an ordinary passport issued by any of the following countries is exempted from a visa if he or she joins a tourist group (of 5 or more persons) organized by an international travel agency registered in Hainan with the approval of China National Tourism Administration to visit Hainan Province and his or her stay is no more than 15 days: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the U.K., Ukraine and the United States of America.

Citizens of Germany, Republic of Korea and Russia may join an international tourist group (of 2 or more persons) and can stay up to 21 days.

4) Citizens of Singapore, Brunei and Japan

A citizen of Singapore, Brunei or Japan with an ordinary passport is exempted from a visa if he or she visits the Chinese mainland for tourism, business, or meeting with friends or relatives, and if he or she enters China through ports open to foreigners, and stays for no more than 15 days.

However, a visa is required for citizen of these three countries under any of the following circumstances:

A. An ordinary passport holder visits China for tourism, business, or meeting with friends or relatives, and stays for more than 15 days.

B. An ordinary passport holder visits China for the purpose of study, work, permanent residency, official visits or news coverage.

C. A Japanese citizen travels with a diplomatic or official passport.

5) Holders of Valid APEC Business Travel Card

The APEC Business Travel Card is a substitute of a multiple-entry visa valid for 3 years. A card holder who presents a valid passport whose image and biographic data exactly matches that on the APEC Business Travel Card can enter China multiple times during the validity of the card for a stay of no more than 2 months for each entry.

6) Foreigner's Permanent Residence Card Holders of the People's Republic of China.

7) Holder of valid Residence Permit for Foreigners issued by Public Security Bureau.

Foreign citizens entering China for the purpose of study or employment or as resident foreign journalists must apply for a residence permit at local public security authorities within 30 days of entry into China. Permit holders may stay in China and enter or exit China multiple times without the need of a visa during the validity period of the permit.

8) Bilateral Agreement

Based on bilateral agreements signed or reached between China and foreign countries, foreign citizens of some countries who meet certain requirements may visit China without a visa. Please see the list of agreements on visa exemption signed between China and foreign countries for more information.

From the date of Sep. 1, 2013, citizens of the countries which have signed bilateral visa exemption agreements with China, who intend to study in China, post as resident journalists or visit China for family reunion for a period of more than 180 days, to work or reside in China permanently, are required to apply for relevant X1, J1, Q1, S1, Z or D visa accordingly before they enter China,