China Extends Visa-Free Entry To Over 74 Countries

The Chinese government has been increasing visa-free entry to boost tourism. In 2024, more than 20 million foreign visitors entered the country without a visa.

According to the Chinese National Immigration Administration, the number of visa-free entries in 2024 was almost one-third of the total foreign visitors and more than double that of 2023. Till now, tourist sites were dominated by the presence of domestic tourists far more than foreigners, and travel companies are expecting a large number of foreign tourists to visit China in anticipation of the summer holiday.

China restarted welcoming foreign tourists after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in early 2023; however, the number of foreign visitors that year was only 13.8 million. This number is far less than 31.9 million, the number of foreign visitors in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic.

As per the South China Morning Post, Pudong International Airport had 2.37 foreign entries in the first half of 2025. Beijing saw over 840,000 visa-free arrivals out of 1.49 million total entries from abroad. James Liang, chairman of China’s leading online travel service Ctrip, said the visa-free entry policy has been a boon for travel businesses.

Visa Policy Of China

China announced visa-free entry for citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia in December 2023, almost all of Europe has been added since then. Travellers from five Latin American countries and Uzbekistan became eligible in June this year, followed by four in the Middle East. Most of the countries have been granted visa-free entry on a one-year trial basis.

Sweden is the only high-income European country that didn't make the 30-day list. No major African country is eligible for visa-free entry, despite the continent's relatively close ties with China. India is not among the 70+ countries that are on the visa-free entry list.