Canadian travellers awoke this morning to discover that China has scrapped the visa requirement for ordinary Canadian passport holders, effective 00:01 on 17 February 2026. Under the unilateral move announced by Beijing’s Foreign Ministry, Canadians may enter mainland China for business, tourism, family visits or transit and remain for up to 30 days per trip until 31 December 2026.
The decision follows Prime Minister Mark Carney’s January visit to Beijing, during which the two governments agreed to deepen trade and people-to-people links. China is already Canada’s second-largest trading partner, and Destination Canada projects that the waiver could lift two-way visitor volumes by 18 % this year—an important boost as Canada prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup. Airlines are expected to react quickly: Air Canada signalled it will up-gauge its Toronto–Shanghai route for the summer peak, while China Eastern is evaluating a Calgary link aimed at Alberta’s energy sector.
If travellers eventually require a longer-duration or multi-entry permit—or if their journeys extend to other countries—Canada-based agency VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. Through its portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/), clients upload documents, track status in real time and arrange secure courier pick-up and delivery, sparing them embassy visits and last-minute surprises.
![China launches 30-day visa-free entry for Canadians starting today]()
Practically, the rules mirror China’s existing visa-free schemes for France, Germany and others: passports must be valid six months past entry and travellers may be asked for proof of onward travel and accommodation. Paid employment and journalism still require the appropriate visa. Frequent flyers should note that the 30-day allowance resets when they depart mainland China—even a same-day hop to Hong Kong counts as an exit.
For corporate mobility managers the change eliminates a costly and time-consuming hurdle. An express single-entry visa in Canada currently runs CAD 140 plus courier fees; companies that routinely send engineers or sales teams into China could save thousands of dollars a year. HR leaders are nevertheless advising staff to register their itineraries, ensure travel insurance covers the extended stay and verify that confidential work files comply with China’s increasingly strict data-transfer rules.
Immigration lawyers caution that the waiver is temporary and unilaterally granted—Beijing can revoke it at any time—so travellers with long-term project commitments should still pursue a proper multi-entry M- or Z-class visa for certainty. For now, however, the policy signals a rare opening at a moment when many other jurisdictions are tightening entry controls, and it materially improves mobility options for Canadian businesses, universities and diaspora families alike.
The decision follows Prime Minister Mark Carney’s January visit to Beijing, during which the two governments agreed to deepen trade and people-to-people links. China is already Canada’s second-largest trading partner, and Destination Canada projects that the waiver could lift two-way visitor volumes by 18 % this year—an important boost as Canada prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup. Airlines are expected to react quickly: Air Canada signalled it will up-gauge its Toronto–Shanghai route for the summer peak, while China Eastern is evaluating a Calgary link aimed at Alberta’s energy sector.
If travellers eventually require a longer-duration or multi-entry permit—or if their journeys extend to other countries—Canada-based agency VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. Through its portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/), clients upload documents, track status in real time and arrange secure courier pick-up and delivery, sparing them embassy visits and last-minute surprises.
Practically, the rules mirror China’s existing visa-free schemes for France, Germany and others: passports must be valid six months past entry and travellers may be asked for proof of onward travel and accommodation. Paid employment and journalism still require the appropriate visa. Frequent flyers should note that the 30-day allowance resets when they depart mainland China—even a same-day hop to Hong Kong counts as an exit.
For corporate mobility managers the change eliminates a costly and time-consuming hurdle. An express single-entry visa in Canada currently runs CAD 140 plus courier fees; companies that routinely send engineers or sales teams into China could save thousands of dollars a year. HR leaders are nevertheless advising staff to register their itineraries, ensure travel insurance covers the extended stay and verify that confidential work files comply with China’s increasingly strict data-transfer rules.
Immigration lawyers caution that the waiver is temporary and unilaterally granted—Beijing can revoke it at any time—so travellers with long-term project commitments should still pursue a proper multi-entry M- or Z-class visa for certainty. For now, however, the policy signals a rare opening at a moment when many other jurisdictions are tightening entry controls, and it materially improves mobility options for Canadian businesses, universities and diaspora families alike.
