49.5% Jump as 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit Boosts China Entry

(CHINA) — China’s National Bureau of Statistics released data on February 28, 2026, showing foreign nationals made 30.08 million inbound visits under visa-free policies in 2025, a 49.5% increase year on year.

The rise signaled fast-growing demand for easier short-term entry for tourism, business travel and transit, after China expanded and extended multiple visa-free channels during 2025.

Visa-free travel also took up a large share of overall foreign entries during the year, pointing to how quickly travelers shifted toward programs that reduce paperwork and shorten planning time.

China built the 2025 increase around an expanded set of unilateral visa-free exemptions, along with wider transit privileges that let eligible passengers stop in the country without a visa for longer periods.

Under the unilateral visa-free framework, citizens of 46 countries can enter China without a visa for stays of up to 30 days, with permitted purposes including business, tourism, family visits, cultural/educational exchanges, or transit.

The policy prohibits employment, and travelers must align their purpose of stay and their length of stay with the terms of visa-free entry.

China extended the unilateral exemptions through December 31, 2026, keeping the 30-day stay limit in place while continuing adjustments during 2025.

One change during 2025 added Sweden, which the data set identified as effective November 10, 2025, expanding the list of nationalities eligible under the unilateral approach.

Separate from the unilateral waivers, Russian ordinary passport holders fall under a distinct arrangement that operates on its own timeline and rules channel.

That Russia-specific arrangement runs from September 15, 2025, to September 14, 2026, and allows up to 30 days under similar short-term visit terms, including limits consistent with non-employment visits.

China also expanded and promoted a transit-only route that differs from visa-free entry and is designed for passengers continuing onward.

The 240-hour visa-free transit program allows eligible travelers to stay for up to 240 hours, or 10 days, but it applies in a transit context and depends on specific ports and authorized areas.

In 2025, the 240-hour visa-free transit policy covered nationals of 55 countries and operated at 60 ports across 24 provinces, a scope that reflects both airport and regional entry points rather than a single nationwide entry rule.

Travelers using the transit scheme can conduct activities including tourism, business, exchanges, or family visits, but they must remain within designated areas, comply with entry and exit controls, and follow the route and area rules tied to their approved transit.

The program’s eligible-country list also changed during 2025, with Indonesia added June 12, 2025, expanding who could use the transit channel.

China’s mid-year snapshot underscored the pace of adoption among travelers once the new terms took hold.

In H1 2025 alone, visa-free entries by foreigners reached 13.64 million, up 53.9% year on year and comprising 71.2% of total foreign entries, which totaled 38.053 million trips in the same period.

That mix meant airlines, hotels and destination cities saw more foreign arrivals coming through streamlined entry routes, while transit-oriented travel gained from the longer stopover window embedded in the 240-hour program.

The full-year border picture showed broad growth beyond visa-free travel, as China processed more overall movement across its borders in 2025.

China processed 82 million foreign national entries in 2025, up 26% year on year, the statistics showed.

Total inbound and outbound crossings reached 697 million in 2025, up 14.2%, indicating a wider rebound in cross-border movement alongside targeted facilitation measures.

Authorities tied the momentum to both entry policy changes and efforts to reduce friction for short trips, shopping and payments, particularly for visitors who do not use local apps and cards.

Alongside visa-free entry and transit programs, China cited expanded tax refunds, including a minimum purchase lowered to 200 yuan and a cash refund ceiling raised to 20,000 yuan.

The measures also included improved mobile payments for foreign cards, an access point that can shape how easily short-term visitors pay for hotels, transport, dining and retail purchases.

China added another set of nationalities for short-stay visa-free access in early 2026, continuing the pattern of widening coverage while keeping the core requirement that travelers match their trip purpose to the program they use.

From February 17, 2026, UK and Canada ordinary passport holders gained 30-day visa-free access, which the data described as bringing unilateral waivers to around 50 countries.

Even with broader coverage, China’s approach still divides travelers by program type, with different rules for unilateral visa-free entry, Russia’s separate arrangement, and the 240-hour visa-free transit channel.

Travelers who qualify for a visa-free entry waiver still need to fit within the stay limit and the permitted purposes, while those using the transit route must comply with designated-area constraints and transit-related entry and exit controls.

The programs also carry compliance risks that can affect future travel, especially when visitors cross the line from permitted short stays into activities that violate the terms of entry.

China prohibits employment under visa-free entry and transit schemes, and authorities warned that work during a visa-free stay can trigger penalties.

The potential consequences include fines, deportation, and reentry bans, the data set said.

Overstays and purpose-mismatch can also trigger enforcement even when the traveler entered legally without a visa, leaving visitors to weigh the convenience of visa-free policies against the need to comply closely with the program terms that govern each route into the country.