China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) reported a blockbuster start to 2026, processing 6.61 million inbound and outbound trips during the three-day New Year holiday that ended on 3 January. The figure translates into an average of 2.21 million crossings a day—28.6 percent higher than the same holiday in 2025. Foreign arrivals alone reached 828,000, up 29.8 percent year-on-year, underscoring the rapid normalisation of international travel to the Mainland.
One datapoint stands out for mobility managers: 292,000 visitors—more than one-third of all foreign arrivals—entered China under one of the country’s expanding visa-free schemes, a 35.8 percent increase versus last year. Much of that growth is attributed to Beijing’s decision in late 2024 and 2025 to grant 15- to 30-day visa-free entry to travellers from 45 European, Asia-Pacific and South American economies and to extend the 240-hour transit-visa-free programme to 65 ports nationwide.
Travel-platform data suggest the policy is translating into business for Chinese cities beyond the big four gateways. Qunar said passengers holding non-Chinese passports booked flights to 97 Mainland cities during the holiday, while Ctrip recorded a 110 percent year-on-year jump in inbound ticket sales and a 30-fold surge in experiential product bookings.
![Visa-free entries jump 35.8 % as China logs 6.61 million cross-border trips over New Year]()
For mobility teams needing quick, reliable guidance on whether staff qualify for visa-free entry—or still require a sticker visa—VisaHQ offers live eligibility checks, document checklists and expedited filing via its China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/), streamlining travel approvals while reducing administrative overhead.
For corporate mobility teams, the numbers signal that staff and assignees can once again plan short-notice trips for meetings, plant visits and site surveys without wrestling with lengthy consular appointments—provided they qualify for visa-free entry. However, companies should continue to monitor local Public Security Bureau rules for converting visa-free status to work or residence permits; extensions still require in-country applications before the initial stay expires.
Looking ahead, the NIA has pledged to publish monthly visa-free entry statistics, giving global mobility teams a more granular view of demand spikes around Lunar New Year (10–17 February) and major trade fairs such as the Canton Fair in April.
One datapoint stands out for mobility managers: 292,000 visitors—more than one-third of all foreign arrivals—entered China under one of the country’s expanding visa-free schemes, a 35.8 percent increase versus last year. Much of that growth is attributed to Beijing’s decision in late 2024 and 2025 to grant 15- to 30-day visa-free entry to travellers from 45 European, Asia-Pacific and South American economies and to extend the 240-hour transit-visa-free programme to 65 ports nationwide.
Travel-platform data suggest the policy is translating into business for Chinese cities beyond the big four gateways. Qunar said passengers holding non-Chinese passports booked flights to 97 Mainland cities during the holiday, while Ctrip recorded a 110 percent year-on-year jump in inbound ticket sales and a 30-fold surge in experiential product bookings.
For mobility teams needing quick, reliable guidance on whether staff qualify for visa-free entry—or still require a sticker visa—VisaHQ offers live eligibility checks, document checklists and expedited filing via its China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/), streamlining travel approvals while reducing administrative overhead.
For corporate mobility teams, the numbers signal that staff and assignees can once again plan short-notice trips for meetings, plant visits and site surveys without wrestling with lengthy consular appointments—provided they qualify for visa-free entry. However, companies should continue to monitor local Public Security Bureau rules for converting visa-free status to work or residence permits; extensions still require in-country applications before the initial stay expires.
Looking ahead, the NIA has pledged to publish monthly visa-free entry statistics, giving global mobility teams a more granular view of demand spikes around Lunar New Year (10–17 February) and major trade fairs such as the Canton Fair in April.
