Private Itineraries

China to Offer Visa-free Entry to France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia Citizens

Published: Nov. 24, 2023

March 7, 2024 Update: China will carry out visa-free policy among regular passport holders of 6 more countries, including Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. This will be on a trial basis from March 14 to November 30, 2024. During the time period, they can travel to China without a visa and stay for at most 15 days.

China's Foreign Ministry announced on November 24, 2023 that the visa-free policy will be offered to citizens of 6 more countries, including 5 European countries France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, and Malaysia from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024. Regular passport holders of these countries can enter and travel around in China without a visa for up to 15 days.

Who will be eligible for the visa-free policy?

1. Any regular passport holders of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia will be eligible. But please make sure your passport has at least 3-month validity on the date of entry and there is no overstaying or other illegal record in China.

2. The purpose of your visit to China should be attending business activities, tourism, visiting friends or connecting flights. For other purposes, a ready visa will be needed at the immigration desk on arrival.

How long can I stay in China under the visa-free policy?

You will be allowed to stay in China for at most 15 days without a visa. To stay longer in China, you need to apply for a visa in advance before entry.

When will the policy be actually carried out?

The policy will be effective on a trial basis for one year from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024. It is unknown whether it will be a long-term policy or not after this trail operation.

Is there any visa exemption policy for citizens of other countries?

1. Presently, regular passport holders of Singapore and Brunei can also travel to China without a visa for 15 days at most, according to China unilateral visa-free travel policy.

2. Based on mutual visa exemption policy, regular Qatar passport holders can stay in China for up to 30 days without a visa; and Armenian citizens can stay for no more than 90 days every 180 days.

3. Citizens of 48 more countries can stay in some certain regions of China, including Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei in the north, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the east, and the whole Guangdong Province in the south for at most 144 hours while connecting flights on the way from country/region A to country/region B. The time starts counting from 00:00 of the next arrival day, so generally enough for a discovery trip in these areas. The policy widely covers most European countries, US, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Japan and more.