Starting February 17, 2026, China will allow ordinary passport holders from the United Kingdom and Canada to enter the country without a visa for stays up to 30 days. Announced by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the waiver is intended to revive travel and strengthen people-to-people ties after years of pandemic disruptions. The policy, in effect until December 31, 2026, applies to tourism, business trips, family visits, exchanges, and transit travel, expanding an existing arrangement that already covers 48 countries. The timing also coincides with the Lunar New Year travel period.
The new visa waiver allows visitors to travel across mainland China without pre-arrival paperwork, enabling flexible itineraries across major cities and smaller destinations alike. The 30-day window is designed to support extended travel circuits, from southern food hubs and heritage towns to interior cultural regions. Authorities expect the policy to boost spontaneous travel and help inbound arrivals return to pre-pandemic levels. Improved rail links connecting major entry points to inland destinations are expected to further encourage tourism.
Business travel is also set to benefit. The waiver simplifies executive visits to financial and technology centres, allowing business travellers to combine meetings with leisure trips. Early reports indicate that commercial engagement has already increased, with corporate delegations extending visits beyond primary cities into secondary economic hubs.
The policy will also encourage family visits, particularly for overseas Chinese communities, making it easier to explore ancestral regions and boosting both rural tourism and heritage travel alongside urban destinations. Students, artists, and exchange groups will benefit from easier access for short programmes and collaborative visits, while transit passengers can explore nearby attractions during layovers under existing short-stay policies.
China has enhanced its digital immigration systems and biometric checks at major airports to speed up arrivals. Coupled with the country’s high-speed rail network, visitors can move quickly between destinations without complicated entry procedures.
The launch of the waiver during the Spring Festival, a period of major cultural celebrations and high tourist flows, is expected to maximize its impact. While the current policy runs through the end of 2026, officials have suggested it could become permanent depending on visitor response and demand, signaling a broader push to restore inbound travel and encourage international tourism spending across China’s diverse regions.
