United States Passport Holders: China Visa Policy 2026

Not necessarily — United States passport holders can stay up to 10 days without a visa under China's 240-hour visa-free transit rule, which requires entry through designated ports and a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region. Outside the transit window, or for non-transit purposes, a standard visa is required.

Up to 10 days (240 hours) under the visa-free transit rule. The clock starts when you clear immigration at a designated port of entry, and the whole stay must fit within the window.

Yes — United States is one of the 55 nationalities eligible for the 240-hour visa-free transit. Enter and exit through designated ports with a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region, stay up to 10 days, and travel between cities inside China is allowed.

Your passport, a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region (different from the one you arrived from), and — in practice — your itinerary and hotel list, exactly the documents border officers ask to see. We re-time your onward leg before anything else and send the full document set.