China Visa-Free Travel: An Eligibility Tracker You Can Download

Download the tracker before you accept any headline number

The main gap across the pages checked for this page was that none offered a file you could download and fill in with your own passport and your own dates, even though most of them published long country lists.

One page checked for this page breaks a single total into regional counts of 40, 2, 4, 2 and 9, which is the shape of table that is easiest to verify when you keep your own copy beside it. [5]

Another page checked for this page lists 47 airports, 14 seaports, 2 railway crossings and 2 land crossings, and that detail is exactly what you need to check your own booking against. [7]

Keep one column for the date you checked each row, because a rule you read before a policy change is not evidence about a flight you have not taken yet.

A tracker is not a substitute for the official source; it is where you record which official source you consulted and when.

The published totals disagree, and here is why

One official page checked for this page states that 240-hour transit is currently implemented for 57 countries and names Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States among them. [7]

A second page checked for this page gives 48 countries for the extended 30-day unilateral arrangement, with the United Kingdom and Canada added on 17 February 2026. [9]

A third page checked for this page gives 77 countries for unilateral 30-day entry, 54 nationalities for 240-hour transit, 59 countries for the regional scheme and 15 days for cruise passengers. [10]

A fourth page checked for this page states that the number of countries using the unilateral policy has risen to around 50, and that roughly 29 countries have reciprocal arrangements and about 55 can use the short transit schemes. [2]

A fifth page checked for this page reports a figure of 48 countries whose visa waiver agreements expire later in 2026, which is a different question again. [8]

Those totals are counting different schemes on different dates, so comparing them directly produces a false contradiction rather than a useful answer.

Write the scheme name beside every number you copy into the tracker, or the number will be meaningless the next time you read it.

Convert a published figure into a decision about your own passport

An allowance quoted in hours converts by dividing by 24: a 240-hour window is 240 ÷ 24 = 10 days, and a 72-hour window is 72 ÷ 24 = 3 days.

One page checked for this page states that the calculation of the 240-hour period begins at 00:00 on the day after arrival, so in practice the authorised stay may be longer than 240 hours. [5]

That single rule means you should write the actual cut-off date in the tracker rather than the number of hours, because the hours and the calendar disagree at the boundary.

Worked example: if you land at 21:00 on a Monday and the clock starts at midnight on Tuesday, then ten days from Tuesday runs to the following Friday, which is later than ten days counted from the Monday.

A list that gives a country total should be added up yourself before you trust it: a published total of 57 that breaks down as 40 + 2 + 4 + 2 + 9 is checkable arithmetic rather than an opinion.

A validity margin quoted in months should be added to your arrival date and then compared with your passport expiry date, with both dates written down.

Check the expiry date of the arrangement, not just the rule

One government page checked for this page attaches a footnote to its own visa-free advice stating that it applies only to travellers eligible for entry between 17 February and 31 December 2026. [1]

A second government page checked for this page states that until 31 December 2026 a thirty-day visa-free stay is available and that any other purpose or any longer stay requires a visa before departure. [4]

A reference page checked for this page lists the 30-day European arrangement under a temporary regime running until 31 December 2026, and separately records Russia under a date of 31 December 2027. [5]

Write the expiry date beside the scheme in the tracker, because a check you performed under one expiry date is not evidence about travel after it.

Build your plan so that it survives the scheme ending: if your trip falls close to the published end date, the visa route is the version of your plan that cannot be taken away by a policy change.

The conditions that catch people out

One official page checked for this page sets the transit condition precisely: the arrival and onward destinations must be different, and travel to or from a United States territory does not qualify unless the routing includes a third country or a Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan stopover. [5]

A second official page checked for this page describes twenty-four provinces and sixty-five ports and states that travellers must hold an ordinary passport with an onward ticket showing a confirmed seat and departure date. [7]

One guide page checked for this page claims transit travellers are restricted to one of twenty-four regions and cannot cross a regional border, while the official pages checked for this page permit cross-province travel within the eligible provinces and departure from a different port than the one you entered through. [9]

Where a guide and an official page disagree on a condition this specific, treat the official page as the tie-breaker and note in the tracker which version you followed.

One guide page checked for this page states that Hainan has its own thirty-day arrangement for 59 countries and that cruise passengers get fifteen days, which are separate schemes rather than variations of the main one. [10]

Do not merge two schemes into one row in the tracker, because a condition that applies to one will then appear to apply to both.

Check the purpose of your visit against every scheme you are considering

One official page checked for this page states that work, study and news reporting still require prior approval and an appropriate visa even where transit entry is granted. [7]

A second official page checked for this page states that a thirty-day visa-free stay covers business, tourism, family or friend visits and transit, and that paid work, long-term assignments, journalism and study all require a visa before travel. [4]

A third page checked for this page states that work, study, long-term residence and journalism are not permitted under visa-free entry and require a Z, X or J visa. [10]

A fourth page checked for this page warns that teachers have been detained and deported for working on the wrong visa, and that tourist and business visas do not permit work. [4]

Write the purpose in the tracker in the same words the scheme uses, because describing your trip in your own words is how a permitted visit is mistaken for a prohibited one.

Registration, documents and the first day after arrival

Two government pages checked for this page state independently that a foreign visitor must register their place of residence within 24 hours of arrival, and that a hotel registers guests as part of check-in. [1]

One official page checked for this page states that fingerprints are taken from travellers aged 14 to 70 on entry, and a government page gives the same age range while noting that a visa applicant in that range must attend a visa centre in person. [4]

One government page checked for this page states that a passport needs at least six months of validity after arrival and two blank pages, and another requires at least three months of validity after arrival for the transit scheme specifically. [1]

Those two margins answer different questions, so keep them in separate rows rather than picking the longer one for both.

Add a row for the 24-hour registration step and the date you completed it, because it is the only line in the tracker that falls due after you land.

A final pass before you book

Read the tracker from the top and confirm that every row has a scheme name, a source and a date beside it.

Confirm that the scheme you are relying on has not passed its published expiry date by the time you travel.

Check that your booked ports of entry and exit both appear on the authorised list for the scheme you have chosen.

Confirm that your purpose of travel is described in the same words on the tracker, your booking and any form you complete.

Keep the completed tracker with your travel documents, because its value is in the date stamps rather than the country lists.

Download the visa-free eligibility tracker

The tracker below is an original planning file. Open it, save it, or print it, then record the date you checked each row and the official source you used.

Open the downloadable China visa-free eligibility tracker