China entry preparation: visa, visa-free visit or transit?

Start with a route fact sheet

Use this for an ordinary short visit, including a trip that may continue to Yunnan. Citizenship alone is insufficient: a residence card in another country is not automatically the passport nationality used by a policy. Your chosen site language does not select your nationality or entry route.

• For each traveller, write the passport issuing country and document type, travel purpose, arrival and departure dates, all transit points and the next destination after China. Keep document numbers outside this planner.
• List every planned Chinese destination and the exact ports. A city name does not establish which port or permitted area a policy covers.

Dated checks for Korean and Russian ordinary passports

Checked on 2026-10-04: the ordinary-passport visa-waiver policy for the Republic of Korea runs through 2026-12-31; Russia’s policy has been extended through 2027-12-31. Both cover visits of up to 30 days for business, tourism, visiting family or friends, exchanges and transit, subject to the official conditions.

• Use an ordinary passport valid for the intended stay. Work, study and news reporting are outside this visitor waiver; temporary or emergency documents need a separate official check.
• The policy expiry and the permitted stay are different dates. Confirm your exact entry and exit dates with the current official FAQ and authority; this guide does not calculate an individual exit deadline or promise another extension. Dates after the published policy expiry remain unresolved until an official update.

Choose the policy from the whole route

A visit and a transit stop are different routes. For 240-hour visa-free transit, check nationality, ordinary passport, confirmed onward travel to a third country or region, the designated ports and the permitted areas together. Do not assume that A → China → A satisfies the third-country condition.

• For a visa application, follow the Chinese embassy or consulate serving your application location, including its document and appointment instructions.
• Confirm boarding-document requirements with the operating carrier. Carrier confirmation and border permission are separate decisions. A saved checklist does not prove boarding or entry.

Visa centre or VFS: confirm the application location first

A Chinese Visa Application Service Centre can be the designated submission route for a particular mission and application location. Start with the responsible Chinese embassy or consulate’s current notice, then follow its named centre and official application link. Check the consular jurisdiction, visa category and current document instructions; another city’s checklist is not automatically yours.

• Do not assume any VFS office handles Chinese visas merely because its brand appears in a search. VFS may be part of a specific local route: New Delhi’s centre publishes VFS links for particular services. That example neither establishes a worldwide VFS route nor means VFS is never involved.
• If the centre, jurisdiction or submission step is unclear, ask the responsible mission before sharing documents or making a payment. Use only its confirmed official channel for identity materials. This planner does not accept documents, appoint an agent, arrange an appointment or decide visa approval.

Chinese Travel Document is a different consular service

The Chinese Travel Document is described by the embassy as a passport-substitute document for specified Chinese-citizen consular situations. It is not an alternative visitor visa for someone entering China as a foreign national. For an ordinary foreign-passport short visit, check the applicable visitor visa, visa-free or transit route instead. If nationality or document status is uncertain, ask the responsible Chinese mission; we do not make that determination.

Prepare the free official arrival-card route

The NIA official arrival-card service is free: https://s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC/ . Use the official channel; the NIA also provides Russian instructions. If online completion is unavailable, its instructions describe port devices or a paper card. An arrival card does not replace a visa or border permission.

• Prepare the first-stay address and booking reference privately. Use the fictional practice tool to understand the steps; submit actual identity details only through the official service when required.

Prepare evidence and a fallback

Save the dated official page, relevant booking confirmations and first-stay address where you can read them without connectivity. Do not upload passport scans to a comparison or planning site.

• Reuse the preparation and packing checklist for your documents, usable phone connection, payment backup and offline address. Mark only preparations you actually completed; a downloaded trip pack is a separate copy and does not submit an official form.
• Confirm whether your stay is a hotel or other accommodation, who handles registration and the local process. Keep first-night arrival and onward travel realistic, including late arrivals and a missed connection.
• If the route or policy changes, return to the original official source rather than assuming an old screenshot still applies.
• If a condition is unclear, ask the relevant consulate, NIA 12367 or carrier before departure. Keep the task pending until resolved; a website checkbox is not a permit.

Common questions