China introduces visa-free entry for Russian citizens for 30 days from 15 September 2025

From 15 September 2025, Russian citizens will not need a visa for short trips to China — the permitted visa-free stay will be up to 30 days.

On Tuesday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that holders of Russian international passports will be able to enter China visa-free from 15 September 2025 through 14 September 2026 inclusive. The regime covers tourism and business trips, visits to relatives, cultural exchanges, and transit. If the trip involves a stay of more than 30 days, a visa will be required.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun noted that, under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders, China–Russia relations continue to strengthen steadily. Beijing, he said, attaches great importance to simplifying mutual travel and supports expanding contacts between the citizens of the two countries.

At the same time, Chinese citizens already have e-Visa entry to Russia with a stay of up to 30 days, as well as visa-free entry for organised tourist groups for up to 15 days. Against this backdrop, Beijing's announcement served as an additional signal of closer alignment between Moscow and Beijing: Vladimir Putin is currently in China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, where the leaders of Eurasian countries are discussing strengthening economic, humanitarian, and diplomatic cooperation.

Who else has China granted visa-free entry to

Russia joins the group of countries whose citizens Beijing has unilaterally granted a temporary visa-free regime:

\n
• Until 30 December 2025:
  \nAndorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland.
\n
• Until 31 May 2026:
  \nArgentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay.
\n
• Until 8 June 2026:
  \nBahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia.
\n
• From 15 September 2025 to 14 September 2026:
  \nRussia.
\n