China has taken another step in its post-pandemic reopening drive, announcing that ordinary passport holders from the United Kingdom and Canada may now enter the mainland without a visa for stays of up to 30 days. Speaking in Beijing on 17 February, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said the waiver—effective immediately and running through 31 December 2026—covers tourism, business visits, family reunions, cultural exchanges and transit travel.
The decision expands a pilot programme that already allows short-term, unilateral visa-free entry for most EU member states, several Latin-American countries and a handful of Asian and Middle-Eastern nations. By adding two members of the G7, Beijing is signalling confidence in its border controls and a desire to re-energise people-to-people ties that languished during the three-year COVID-19 border shutdown. According to the China Tourism Academy, inbound volumes from the UK and Canada were still running at barely 35 % of 2019 levels last year; officials believe removal of the paperwork hurdle could restore traffic to pre-pandemic figures within 12–18 months.
Business stakeholders have welcomed the move. Multinationals with regional headquarters in Shanghai and Beijing expect lower travel-planning costs and faster deployment of technical staff for short projects. “What used to require a two-week lead time can now be arranged in days,” said Lucy Chen, mobility lead for a British engineering firm with 280 staff on the mainland. Airlines are also reacting: Air China and British Airways confirmed they will restore suspended frequencies on the London–Shanghai and Vancouver–Guangzhou routes for the summer IATA season.
![China Adds UK and Canada to 30-Day Visa-Free Entry List]()
For trips that fall outside the 30-day visa-free window—such as longer business stays, study programmes or employment assignments—VisaHQ can streamline the application process by providing step-by-step guidance, document checks and courier handling; travellers can begin their request at https://www.visahq.com/china/
Travellers should note that the waiver does not apply to work, study or journalism, and passports must be valid for the entire stay. Those planning to remain beyond 30 days must still obtain the appropriate visa in advance. Chinese border officers have discretion to request proof of accommodation and onward travel; mobility managers are therefore advising employees to carry hotel confirmations and return e-tickets.
For global mobility professionals, the change simplifies short-term assignment planning, reduces compliance risk linked to invitation-letter issuance, and may shift demand away from Hong Kong visa-run strategies. Companies should update travel policies immediately and monitor whether China converts the ‘temporary’ waiver into a permanent arrangement, as it has done with earlier pilots.
The decision expands a pilot programme that already allows short-term, unilateral visa-free entry for most EU member states, several Latin-American countries and a handful of Asian and Middle-Eastern nations. By adding two members of the G7, Beijing is signalling confidence in its border controls and a desire to re-energise people-to-people ties that languished during the three-year COVID-19 border shutdown. According to the China Tourism Academy, inbound volumes from the UK and Canada were still running at barely 35 % of 2019 levels last year; officials believe removal of the paperwork hurdle could restore traffic to pre-pandemic figures within 12–18 months.
Business stakeholders have welcomed the move. Multinationals with regional headquarters in Shanghai and Beijing expect lower travel-planning costs and faster deployment of technical staff for short projects. “What used to require a two-week lead time can now be arranged in days,” said Lucy Chen, mobility lead for a British engineering firm with 280 staff on the mainland. Airlines are also reacting: Air China and British Airways confirmed they will restore suspended frequencies on the London–Shanghai and Vancouver–Guangzhou routes for the summer IATA season.
For trips that fall outside the 30-day visa-free window—such as longer business stays, study programmes or employment assignments—VisaHQ can streamline the application process by providing step-by-step guidance, document checks and courier handling; travellers can begin their request at https://www.visahq.com/china/
Travellers should note that the waiver does not apply to work, study or journalism, and passports must be valid for the entire stay. Those planning to remain beyond 30 days must still obtain the appropriate visa in advance. Chinese border officers have discretion to request proof of accommodation and onward travel; mobility managers are therefore advising employees to carry hotel confirmations and return e-tickets.
For global mobility professionals, the change simplifies short-term assignment planning, reduces compliance risk linked to invitation-letter issuance, and may shift demand away from Hong Kong visa-run strategies. Companies should update travel policies immediately and monitor whether China converts the ‘temporary’ waiver into a permanent arrangement, as it has done with earlier pilots.
