Nationality check
Taiwan residents do not use the visa system at all
This page exists to save you reading the rest of the site. Almost nothing about China’s visa-free schemes is written for you, because you are not in that system in the first place.
No visa — and no visa scheme applies to you.
Taiwan residents enter mainland China on a Mainland Travel Permit (台胞證), a travel document issued for exactly this purpose. It is not a visa, and none of the three visa-free routes described elsewhere on this site are relevant to your entry.
Entry facts on this page were last verified against official sources on 2026-09-14.
The permit is the document, not the passport
What gets you through the border is a valid Mainland Travel Permit. A Taiwan passport on its own does not, and no visa-free announcement changes that in either direction — the 50-country 30-day scheme, the 10-day transit scheme and the 29 treaty exemptions are all schemes for foreign passport holders.
The practical consequence is that entry-policy news simply does not apply to you. When the 30-day scheme expires on 31 December 2026, your route in is unchanged.
One case where this page does not apply: if you have naturalised abroad and intend to enter on that foreign passport instead, you are in the foreigner system for that trip — the schemes, and the arrival card, both apply. Use the passport you will actually hand over at the border to decide which half of this site to read.
The arrival card does not apply to you
China’s online arrival card is the foreigner arrival card. Travellers entering on a Mainland Travel Permit — and Hong Kong and Macao residents on a Home Return Permit — are not in that system and do not file it.
It is worth being certain about this, because a fair amount of travel content now says "everyone entering China must file the arrival card". Everyone entering on a foreign passport must. That is not the same sentence.
What to prepare instead
Since entry itself is settled, your preparation is the same three things that catch everyone, and all three are easier to fix before you travel:
- Mobile payment — cash is accepted but increasingly awkward, and most day-to-day transactions assume a QR code: setting up Alipay or WeChat Pay.
- Connectivity — which apps work, and what to arrange before you land: mobile data and the apps you rely on.
- High-speed rail — booking, and which document the gate reads: getting around.
Questions people get wrong
Does the 30-day visa-free scheme apply to me?
No, and you do not need it. That scheme admits holders of 50 foreign passports. You enter on a Mainland Travel Permit, which is a separate route that does not expire with any policy announcement.
Do I need to file the arrival card?
No. It is the foreigner arrival card, and permit holders are outside that system. If you enter on a foreign passport instead, then you do file it.
I hold both a Taiwan permit and a foreign passport. Which do I use?
Whichever you present at the border is the one that decides everything downstream — the route, the permitted stay, and whether the arrival card applies. Pick before you book, not at the desk, because the stay lengths differ.
My permit has expired. Can I use the visa-free scheme instead?
No. The schemes on this site are for foreign passport holders, and a Taiwan passport is not one of them for this purpose. Renewing the permit is the route; there is no policy shortcut around it.