China extends visa-free travel rules for 11 countries

Due to a history of strained geopolitical relations with the Western world, China has long been a challenging destination for Americans, Canadians, Australians and Brits to visit. 

While holders of these passports can visit hundreds of nations visa-free, seeing Beijing or Shanghai as a tourist required a visa application process in which one had to purchase a round-trip air ticket and reserve a hotel before being granted one.

Related: China just made it a lot easier for Americans to visit

As part of its efforts to jump-start a tourism industry that took a big hit during the pandemic, the Chinese government has been slowly loosening some rules for foreigners who want to visit. In January 2024, it changed the rules so that Americans would not have to purchase trips without knowing whether they’d be granted entry and could instead apply for a visa at a local embassy with basic passport and employment information.

Citizen of these countries? You can now enter China visa-free

At the start of 2024, China also introduced a visa-free travel policy for citizens of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. Originally intended to run until Nov. 30, 2024, the program has now been extended into 2025 to continue to draw in tourists from those nations.

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Malaysian citizens have also been allowed to visit China for tourism for up to 30 days at a time since November 2023 and are included in the extension going into next year. Citizens of the European countries get visa-free travel for up to 15 days.

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“The extension of the short-term visa-free policy until the end of 2025 will undoubtedly further boost confidence and enthusiasm for traveling to China, and will contribute to the growth of inbound tourism as well as aid in the prosperity of the industry," President of the China Tourism Academy Dai Bin told the Global Times.

Prior to the pandemic, China allowed visa-free entry only to citizens of Brunei, Singapore and Japan. Borders were closed fully during the pandemic. While the former two countries have been regranted access in 2022, citizens of Japan now also have to apply for visas amid rising tensions between the two countries over the South China Sea.

But for countries with which China has relatively good relations, the slackened visa rules come down to the issue of needing to bring in money. The 35.5 million foreigners who entered and left China in 2023 is a steep drop from the 97.7 million recorded in the last year before the pandemic in 2019.

At the time of announcing the new visa-free rules for European countries, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that it would help “facilitate the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world.”

The U.S. Department of State currently has China under the Level Three “reconsider travel” advisory in large part due to the “arbitrary enforcement of local laws" and the "risk of wrongful detentions" of citizens of countries the Chinese government considers unfriendly.

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