MTravel China

Visa · Entry

Three ways in — which applies to your pax

Mutual exemption, unilateral visa-free, and transit visa-free are different schemes with different rules. Picking the wrong one is the most common planning error we see.

Last reviewed: 2026-08-06 · Operational guidance only — not legal advice. Confirm with official sources before ticket issue.

Planning checks

  • Mutual exemption — treaty-based, typically 30 days, no onward-ticket condition (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei among them)
  • Unilateral visa-free — granted by China, revisable at short notice, tourism purpose only
  • Transit visa-free — 240 hours, but requires an onward ticket to a third country and confines travel to the permitted area
  • Vietnam and the Philippines currently sit outside all three and need a full visa

Agent tips

  • · Check which scheme applies before quoting — a mutual-exemption passport does not need transit routing at all.
  • · Link your pax passport list early in contracting.
  • · Keep the invitation / full visa path as a parallel option for mixed groups.

Need this applied to a real series?

Send nationality mix, ports, and preferred cities — we return a routing sketch.