China’s Foreign Ministry announced a one-year extension to its visa-free entry policy to December 31, 2026, and added Sweden to the list, bringing the number of eligible countries to 48 by November 10. The scheme was due to expire at the end of 2025.
Travelers from countries on the list can stay for up to 30 days for tourism, family reunion and some business activities. Separately, nationals of 55 countries transiting the Chinese mainland to a third destination can visit visa-free for up to 10 days.
China’s visa-free policies have greatly boosted cross-border travel. According to the 2024-2025 report on inbound tourism released by the China Tourism Academy in March, 2025, China received 131.9 million cross-border travelers in 2024, 61 percent more than in 2023, helping the inbound tourism market to recover to 90 percent of the pre-pandemic 2019 level.
In the previous three quarters of 2025, foreign nationals made 7.246 million visa-free visits to China, a 48.3 percent increase year-on-year, accounting for 72.2 percent of all entries made by foreign nationals, according to the National Immigration Administration.
Duty-free shopping rules were also adjusted on November 4. A new government guideline encourages duty-free shops to stock high-quality domestic products and adds cellphone models, micro-drones, sports and healthcare products, and pet food to the product categories for duty-free shops.
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