Nationality check
British passport holders no longer need a visa for China
The UK was added to China’s 30-day visa-free scheme in February 2026. A great deal of British travel guidance has not caught up, which is the main reason this page exists.
No visa. Up to 30 days per entry.
Present a British passport at the border and you are admitted for up to 30 days — no application, no fee, no appointment. Current authorisation runs to 31 December 2026.
Entry facts on this page were last verified against official sources on 2026-09-14.
What the 30 days actually cover
The UK joined the scheme alongside Canada in February 2026, bringing it to 50 countries. The terms are the same as everyone else’s — five named purposes, 30 days or fewer, no visa:
- Business — meetings, trade fairs, signing, inspection visits
- Tourism and sightseeing
- Visiting family or friends
- Exchange and study visits that are not enrolment
- Transit onward to somewhere else
Not covered: paid work, enrolling in a course, journalism, residence, or any stay longer than 30 days. Each of those needs the matching visa arranged before you travel — none of them can be converted at the border, and the exemption is not a status you can extend into.
The date to watch: 31 December 2026
This is an annually renewed policy announcement rather than a permanent right, and the current authorisation ends on 31 December 2026. It has been extended every year since 2023 and expanded from six countries to 50.
As of 2026-09-14 no extension beyond 31 December 2026 has been announced for the UK. Because Britain was added recently, British travellers have the least experience of how quickly this can move — worth a check before booking anything that lands in 2027.
If you are reading UK guidance that says you need a visa, check its date before you act on it. Plenty of otherwise-reliable British sources were written before February 2026 and have not been revised.
Rules change. We watch them for you.
Forms, fees and entry policy shift with little notice — this page is re-verified every month. Leave an email and we will tell you when something actually changes. Nothing else, ever.
Transit, as a fallback
The UK is also among the 57 nationalities on the 10-day transit scheme, which has no stated end date and therefore survives whatever happens to the 30-day one.
It is the weaker route while the exemption stands — 10 days instead of 30, 24 provinces instead of the whole country, 65 approved ports, and a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region required. Hong Kong and Macao count as that third region.
You still have to file the arrival card
Dropping the visa did not drop the paperwork. Every traveller entering on a foreign passport files China’s arrival card — free, online, and quick, though a few fields reject the format British travellers naturally type.
After the border
The visa change is the newsworthy part. These three are the ones that decide how the trip actually goes:
- Day-to-day spending assumes a QR code rather than a card — Alipay and WeChat Pay for visitors.
- Many of the apps and services you use hourly are unreachable on a mainland connection — what to arrange before you fly.
- High-speed rail beats domestic flights on most routes and books out days ahead — tickets and ID.
Questions people get wrong
When exactly did this change?
The UK was added to the unilateral visa-free scheme in February 2026, together with Canada. Guidance published before then is simply out of date rather than wrong for some subtle reason.
Is the 30 days per entry or per year?
Per entry. The announcement sets no annual cap and no minimum gap between visits.
Do I need a return or onward ticket?
Not for the 30-day exemption — that condition belongs to the transit scheme. Airlines sometimes ask at check-in regardless; a booking reference settles it.
Does it cover Hong Kong?
No. Hong Kong and Macao run their own immigration with their own arrangements for British passport holders, and travelling to either from the mainland counts as leaving the mainland — which ends your 30 days.