China’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, February 15, that Beijing has decided to extend its visa-free policy to ordinary passport holders from Canada and the United Kingdom (UK), starting from February 17, the news agency reported. Xinhua.
“Ordinary passport holders from the two countries can be exempted from visa requirements to enter China and stay up to 30 days for business, tourism, visiting family/friends, exchange and transit,” the bureau said. Xinhua message.
The policy will remain in effect until December 31, 2026, China’s foreign ministry said.
The goal of the visa-free policy is to “further facilitate people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries,” the foreign ministry also said.
The development comes after the prime ministers of both countries announced such pacts following official trips to Beijing.
Canadian and British prime ministers Mark Carney and Keir Starmer visited Beijing in January, seeking to strengthen ties with China and move away from an increasingly mercurial United States.
The two leaders praised the progress after meetings with top Chinese leaders such as President Xi Jinping, including on issues such as visa-free access for their citizens to China.
Is visa-free access to China available for Indians?
No, China has not granted visa-free access for Indian passport holders.
In order to modernize and speed up the visa process for Indian citizens, the Chinese Embassy in India officially launched the China Online Visa System on 22 December 2025.
Travelers can now access the simplified service through the official portal at visaforchina.cn/DEL3_EN/qianzh. This digital shift is designed to increase efficiency by enabling the majority of documentation to be processed electronically, significantly reducing the time required during the application preparation stages.
How the new process works
According to the China Visa Service Center in New Delhi, the updated procedure follows these specific steps:
Create an account: Applicants must register or login to their personal account on the official website.
Digital Submission: The visa application form must be completed online and all supporting documents must be uploaded directly to the portal.
Status Tracking: It is important that applicants follow the instructions on the website carefully.
Last step: Physical passports and papers should be brought to the center only after the application status has been updated to “online review complete” and a confirmation email has been received.
While the initial stages are now digital, the physical service center remains available to assist applicants.