China's visa-free window closes on
31 December 2026. Here is the family calendar.
China's 30-day visa-free entry for most European, Asian and Pacific passports expires at midnight on 31 December 2026, Beijing time. No extension has been announced. Every family member is assessed on their own passport, so a mixed-nationality family can face two different answers. Decide by 1 December 2026.
What actually expires on 31 December 2026
China's unilateral visa-free scheme lets ordinary passport holders from 50 countries enter for up to 30 days with no application, appointment or fee. Eligible purposes run wider than tourism: business, family visits, exchanges and transit all qualify.
The scheme is temporary, and it carries a published end date. For 48 of those countries the policy is written to run until 24:00 on 31 December 2026, Beijing time. Russia is the exception, with an arrangement that now runs to 31 December 2027. Brunei's has no stated expiry.
So the practical question for a family is not whether you can enter China without a visa today. It is whether you still can in 2027. As of late September 2026, no extension into next year has been announced.
Official sources count the scheme slightly differently: a consular notice names 45 countries extended in November 2025, while a full count reaches 50 once Russia, Brunei and later additions are included. What matters is the published end date on your own passport.
The one date for your diary: 1 December 2026
This policy has been extended twice, and both announcements landed in early November. The original trial was written to expire on 30 November 2024 and was extended on 22 November 2024. The next deadline, 31 December 2025, was extended on 3 November 2025.
That pattern is why our own advice to families travelling in 2027 is to set a decision date of 1 December 2026. If nothing has been announced by then, apply for a tourist visa and treat any later announcement as a bonus rather than a plan.
There are reasons for optimism. China extended visa-free access for Russian citizens to 31 December 2027 in May 2026. Foreign entries reached 22.91 million in the first half of 2026, up 20.4 per cent, and in 2025 visa-free arrivals were 73.1 per cent of all foreign entries. Those are not the numbers of a government closing the door. But optimism is not a booking policy.
Eligibility is per passport, not per family
This is where a family trip differs from a solo one. Visa-free entry is assessed person by person, on the passport each traveller holds. China issues no family visa and applies no family exemption, so one household can legitimately hold two different answers on the same morning.
| Traveller | Passport held | What applies once the window closes |
|---|---|---|
| Parent | United Kingdom | Inside the 48-country group. Visa-free from 17 February 2026 to 24:00 on 31 December 2026. After that, a visa unless the policy is extended. |
| Parent | Malaysia | Outside this deadline. A mutual visa-exemption agreement gives 30 days per visit, capped at 90 days in any 180-day period. |
| Child, school age | Australia | Same unilateral scheme as the adults, assessed on the child's own passport, with the same expiry date. |
| Child, newborn | United Kingdom | A newborn still needs their own passport before travel. Once issued, the child is assessed on it exactly like an adult. |
| Grandparent travelling alone with a grandchild | Canada | Same 48-country expiry for the grandparent. The child needs their own passport, not a place on an adult's document. |
Each row is a combination we see in real bookings. Check your own passport first, then each child's, then any relative travelling with you.
The 30-day clock starts a day late
The 30 days are counted from 00:00 on the day after you arrive and end at 23:59 on your departure day. Enter on 1 October and day one is 2 October; day 30 is 31 October. For a family, that quirk is worth one extra usable morning.
What you cannot do is extend it from inside the country by deciding to stay. Visa-free entrants who need longer must apply to the local public-security exit-entry administration for a stay permit with supporting documents, and approval is not automatic. If your itinerary needs more than 30 days, arrange a visa before you fly rather than hoping at a counter.
There is also no published cap on how many times you can use visa-free entry, and the 30-day limit applies to each individual stay rather than to a running annual total. Because Hong Kong and Macau run their own immigration controls, a few days in Hong Kong in the middle of a mainland trip resets the allowance when you come back. For families wanting a longer China itinerary without a visa, that Hong Kong leg is not a detour.
Three ways in, and which one suits your family
Most families are choosing between the first and third routes below. The first is free and needs no paperwork beyond the arrival card. The third costs money, takes weeks, and is the only route that still works in 2027 if nothing is announced.
| Route | Stay | The condition that decides it | Where families get caught |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-day visa-free entry | Up to 30 days per stay | Ordinary passport from an eligible country | The entire route expires on 31 December 2026 for the 48-country group |
| 240-hour visa-free transit | Up to 10 days | Confirmed onward ticket to a third country, not back home | A round trip home does not qualify, and each child needs their own ticket and passport |
| L tourist visa | As granted, single, double or multiple entry | Applied for and approved before travel | Minors need extra documents, including a birth certificate and sometimes parental consent |
The arrival card deserves its own sentence, because it is what catches people out in practice. Every foreign visitor completes one. It is free, and since November 2025 it can be filed online through the National Immigration Administration website, its 12367 app, or the official WeChat and Alipay mini-programs. The NIA has warned about copycat sites charging a processing fee, so treat any payment request as a red flag. Paper cards remain available at the port.
What changes on 1 January 2027
If nothing is announced, the change is procedural rather than political. Families holding one of the 48 passports move from turning up at the airport to applying in advance, paying a fee, attending an appointment where appointments are required, and waiting for processing.
For a family of four that means four applications, four sets of documents, and one itinerary that must be firm at the moment of filing. That is not the same decision as booking a flight three weeks out.
If your trip is in 2027, the honest options
- Book inside the window. A trip that begins before 24:00 on 31 December 2026 uses the visa-free route, whatever happens afterwards.
- Diarise 1 December 2026 as your decision date. Both previous extensions were announced in early November.
- Build in a Hong Kong leg. A stop there and re-entry resets the 30-day allowance, and Hong Kong sets its own visa rules.
- Consider Hainan. The province runs a separate 30-day visa-free scheme for 61 countries, independent of this deadline, and offers beaches rather than cities.
- Budget for the L visa now. If your dates fall early in 2027, a visa is the only plan you can rely on.
We do not file visa applications and cannot obtain visa-free status for anyone. Chinese regulations also restrict who may act as an entry-and-exit intermediary, so families apply directly or through a licensed visa centre.
What this means for our own winter camps
We run camps and journeys in Shenzhen and across southern China for children aged 3 to 14, at about seven children to every staff member. Our winter programmes fall in January and February 2027, unhelpfully on the far side of this deadline.
It matters because a camp booking is a fixed date. Short-term study and exchange visits are covered by the visa-free framework while it lasts, and our camps are exactly that kind of short visit. From 2027 the same trip may need a visa arranged well before departure, not in the week the camp starts.
We cannot settle that question for you, but we can raise it early. If your family holds one of the 48 passports and you are considering a January or February 2027 date, treat the visa as part of the booking decision, not an afterthought. Ask for our winter dates and we will tell you plainly which ones sit before the deadline.
What this article is not
It is not immigration advice and it is not a prediction about what Beijing will decide. Every rule above has an official source, and every one of them can change. The extensions are the proof: this policy has already been rewritten twice, in November 2024 and November 2025.
It is also not relevant if your passport is not on the list, if you travel on anything other than an ordinary passport, or if your purpose is employment, formal study or news reporting. Those routes have their own rules and timelines. Call the National Immigration Administration on 12367 or your nearest Chinese embassy.
Frequently asked questions
When does China's visa-free entry actually end?
For the 48 countries in the group, at 24:00 on 31 December 2026, Beijing time. Russia's arrangement runs to 31 December 2027 and Brunei's has no stated expiry. The policy has been extended twice before, both times with an announcement in early November, so an extension is possible but is not currently announced.
Do children need their own passport to use visa-free entry?
Yes. Visa-free entry is assessed per person on the passport held. Minors follow the same eligibility rules as adults, and a newborn needs their own passport before travel. China issues no family visa, so one parent's eligibility never covers a child.
Can we extend the 30 days once we are inside China?
Not by default. Visa-free entrants who need to stay longer must apply to the local public-security exit-entry administration for a stay permit with supporting documents, and approval is not automatic. If your itinerary needs more than 30 days, arrange a visa before you travel.
Does the 30-day visa-free clock start on the day we land?
No. It starts at 00:00 on the day after arrival and ends at 23:59 on your departure day. Land on 1 October and day one is 2 October, while day 30 is 31 October. There is no published cap on the number of visa-free entries, and the limit applies to each stay rather than to an annual total.
What is the difference between visa-free entry and 240-hour transit?
Visa-free entry gives up to 30 days and requires no onward ticket. The 240-hour, or 10-day, transit waiver requires a confirmed onward flight to a third country rather than back to where you started, so a round trip home does not qualify. The transit scheme is separate and is not part of the December 2026 deadline.
Sources
- 中华人民共和国驻奥克兰总领馆 — 免办签证情形（对新西兰等 45 国单方面免签延期至 2026 年 12 月 31 日 24 时）
- 国家移民管理局 — 部分国家持普通护照人员来华经商、旅游观光、探亲访友、交流访问或过境不超过 30 天可免签入境
- 国家移民管理局 — 过境 240 小时免签政策
- SmartShanghai — The FAQ: Visa-Free Travel to China (updated 17 September 2026; 50-country list, 48 with a 31 December 2026 end date, minors rule, 30-day counting rule)
- Third Passport — Do UK Travellers Need a Visa for China? 2026 and 2027 Rules (17 September 2026; extension history and the 1 December decision date)
- EY Global Immigration alert — China introduces visa-free policy for Sweden and extends visa-free policy for 45 countries to 31 December 2026
- 新华社 — 中方决定将对法国等国的免签政策延长至 2026 年 12 月 31 日（2025-11-03）
- 满洲里文明网 — 免签一周年：中国对俄免签政策延长至 2027 年 12 月 31 日，口岸出入境 75.3 万人次（2026-09-17）
- 中国网旅游 / 中国新闻网 — 2026 年中秋国庆假期入境航线机票预订量超 111 万张，深圳位列入境热门目的地前十（2026-09-20）
What this means for your family
The visa-free window is real, and it has an end date. If your family holds one of the 48 passports and the trip could happen before the end of 2026, book it inside the window and you will need nothing beyond passports and an arrival card. If you are looking at 2027, diarise 1 December 2026, expect an answer around early November, and keep a visa application as your fallback rather than your emergency. We publish our winter dates early precisely so families can sort the paperwork before the flights. This article reflects the position as at 20 September 2026 and every rule here may change. Confirm your own passport's status with the National Immigration Administration and your nearest Chinese embassy or consulate before you travel.
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