China Implements Visa-Free Policy for British and Canadian Citizens
Beijing (ANTARA) - The Chinese government has implemented a 30-day visa-free visit policy for British and Canadian citizens starting from Chinese New Year, on 17 February 2026.
"China has decided that from 17 February 2026 it will implement a visa-free policy for Canadian and British citizens holding ordinary passports," stated the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, accessed by ANTARA in Beijing on Sunday.
The reason for implementing the policy is to further facilitate mobility for Chinese citizens and foreign nationals.
"Canadian and British citizens holding ordinary passports may enter China without needing to arrange a visa for business purposes, tourism, family or friend visits, exchanges and visits, as well as transit, with a stay of no more than 30 days," it stated.
The visa-free policy is valid until 31 December 2026.
The visa-free policy for British citizens had previously been announced during British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to China on 28-31 January 2026 to meet President Xi Jinping. However, at that time it had not yet been announced when the visa-free policy would take effect.
In addition to visa-free entry, the meeting between Xi and Starmer also resulted in China cutting import tariffs on British whisky from 10 per cent to five per cent, as well as the signing of 12 intergovernmental cooperation documents in the fields of trade and economic exchange, agriculture and food, culture, and market regulation.
Prior to PM Starmer, Canadian PM Mark Carney also visited China on 15-16 January 2026. The meeting between Carney and Xi Jinping resulted in an agreement for the entry of 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles into Canada annually at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent. In return, Beijing would reduce tariffs on Canadian agricultural exports, including canola oil, from 85 per cent to 15 per cent.
China has already established mutual visa-free agreements with 29 countries and unilateral visa-free policies offering visa-free access to citizens from 48 countries.
Indonesia also enjoys a 10-day visa-free transit arrangement for Indonesian citizens starting from 12 June 2025. In Southeast Asia, reciprocal visa-free agreements have been implemented for citizens of Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.
China has also announced a visa-free policy for six Gulf nations that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Additionally, China has announced visa-free policies for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.
"China has decided that from 17 February 2026 it will implement a visa-free policy for Canadian and British citizens holding ordinary passports," stated the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, accessed by ANTARA in Beijing on Sunday.
The reason for implementing the policy is to further facilitate mobility for Chinese citizens and foreign nationals.
"Canadian and British citizens holding ordinary passports may enter China without needing to arrange a visa for business purposes, tourism, family or friend visits, exchanges and visits, as well as transit, with a stay of no more than 30 days," it stated.
The visa-free policy is valid until 31 December 2026.
The visa-free policy for British citizens had previously been announced during British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to China on 28-31 January 2026 to meet President Xi Jinping. However, at that time it had not yet been announced when the visa-free policy would take effect.
In addition to visa-free entry, the meeting between Xi and Starmer also resulted in China cutting import tariffs on British whisky from 10 per cent to five per cent, as well as the signing of 12 intergovernmental cooperation documents in the fields of trade and economic exchange, agriculture and food, culture, and market regulation.
Prior to PM Starmer, Canadian PM Mark Carney also visited China on 15-16 January 2026. The meeting between Carney and Xi Jinping resulted in an agreement for the entry of 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles into Canada annually at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent. In return, Beijing would reduce tariffs on Canadian agricultural exports, including canola oil, from 85 per cent to 15 per cent.
China has already established mutual visa-free agreements with 29 countries and unilateral visa-free policies offering visa-free access to citizens from 48 countries.
Indonesia also enjoys a 10-day visa-free transit arrangement for Indonesian citizens starting from 12 June 2025. In Southeast Asia, reciprocal visa-free agreements have been implemented for citizens of Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.
China has also announced a visa-free policy for six Gulf nations that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Additionally, China has announced visa-free policies for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.