China's Visa-Free Travel for 45 Countries Extended Till 2026

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just revealed that for 45 countries, visa-free travel into the country is now extended through December 2026.

Have the visa-free policies made an impact?

In short, yes. Foreign arrivals are properly surging again: Nearly 2.54 million foreign nationals passed through by May 2025 (a 55 percent year-on-year bump). April alone saw 670,900 inbound foreign visitors, up more than 40 percent. That's not just a trend line – that's an actual queue at immigration, the good kind: the kind with roller bags, jet lag and people asking where to find soup dumplings.

Zoom out and the picture's even louder. Across China, the first half of 2025 logged 13.6 million visa-free entries, making up over 70 percent of all foreign arrivals. That's a whole lot of people discovering (or rediscovering) that coming to China no longer requires a dossier, three passport photos and the patience of a monk.

Probably every Shanghai resident is glad for this. We've all been quietly delighted seeing social-media clips popping up: "OMG, I can't believe how cool China is." Suddenly our lived experience in Shanghai is being seen by the world, and it's more than the negative headlines. It's the everyday absurdity and wonder of this city – grand, weird, global – being discovered or rediscovered. Who knows... maybe iShowSpeed, Nick Carter, or Daniel Millar will pay us in more visits?

This list is not exhaustive and does not include all visa-free travel arrangements. It only covers countries with unilateral visa-free travel renewals. Here are the countries that are getting visa-free travel renewed until December 31, 2026:

1. Andorra

2. Argentina

3. Australia

4. Austria

5. Bahrain

6. Belgium

7. Brazil

8. Bulgaria

9. Chile

10. Croatia

11. Cyprus

12. Denmark