Visa-free entry to China and medical treatment: what each route allows

The routes side by side

What each official text says, checked 5 Nov 2026. The sections below give the detail and the sources.

General 30-day visa-free entry doesn't list treatment

The National Immigration Administration lists 50 countries whose ordinary passport holders can enter China without a visa for up to 30 days for business, tourism, visiting family or friends, exchange visits and transit (NIA, Feb 2026). The foreign ministry named the same five purposes when it added the UK and Canada from 17 February 2026 (Chinese foreign ministry, Feb 2026). Medical treatment is not on the list, and we have found no official statement that allows a check-up or treatment under it. The Chinese Embassy in Sweden warns that entry is refused when the purpose of a trip doesn't match the policy (Chinese Embassy in Sweden, May 2026).

For most of the 50 countries the policy runs to 31 December 2026 (Chinese foreign ministry, Nov 2025; UK government, Oct 2026). For Russia it runs to 31 December 2027 (Chinese foreign ministry, May 2026; CGTN, May 2026). As of 5 November 2026, China had not said whether the policy continues into 2027: the latest notices from the foreign ministry's consular department and from the National Immigration Administration don't mention it. Last year's extension was announced on 3 November 2025, so check again before you plan a trip for 2027.

Malaysia's agreement lists treatment; Singapore's lists no purposes

Since 17 July 2025, citizens of China and Malaysia with ordinary passports can visit each other's country without a visa for up to 30 days at a time and 90 days in any 180. The purposes include private affairs and medical treatment (Chinese Embassy in Malaysia, Jul 2025; China Daily, Jul 2025).

China's agreement with Singapore allows stays of up to 30 days. Neither government's notice lists purposes; China's says that work, news reporting and stays over 30 days need a visa (Chinese foreign ministry, Jan 2024; Singapore foreign ministry, Jan 2024). If your country has its own agreement with China, ask the Chinese embassy whether a medical visit is covered before you rely on it.

240-hour transit is for a stop on the way to somewhere else

Since 20 August 2026, citizens of 57 countries can transit China without a visa for up to 240 hours, entering through any of 65 ports in 24 provinces (NIA, Aug 2026; Shanghai government, Aug 2026). You need an onward ticket with a confirmed date to a third country or region (NIA, Aug 2026; Xinhua, Aug 2026). The listed activities are tourism, business, visits and family visits, and work, study and news reporting need a visa. Neither the NIA nor the Shanghai government mentions medical treatment, so ask the embassy before you plan any medical visit during a transit stop.

Hainan's 30-day entry lists medical treatment

Ordinary passport holders from 61 countries can enter Hainan Province without a visa and stay up to 30 days for tourism, business, visits, family visits, medical treatment, conferences and exhibitions, or sports events. Work and study are excluded (NIA, Aug 2026; Hainan government, Aug 2026). The 30 days count from 00:00 on the day after you enter (NIA, Aug 2026).

• You enter through an open port in Hainan: Haikou Meilan, Sanya Phoenix or Qionghai Boao airport, or the seaports of Yangpu, Haikou, Qinglan, Basuo and Sanya (Hainan government, Aug 2026; Chinese Embassy in Singapore, Aug 2024)
• You stay within Hainan Province. To travel on to the rest of mainland China, the Hainan government says you apply for a visa at a police exit-entry office in Hainan
• The NIA's notice sets no travel-agency condition for this route, unlike China's visa-free schemes for tour groups, and Chinese missions say no advance declaration is needed (NIA, Aug 2026; Chinese Embassy in Singapore, Aug 2024)
• If you stay somewhere other than a hotel, register the address with the local police within 24 hours, in person or online (Hainan government, Aug 2026; NIA, Sep 2026)
• If your passport also qualifies under a visa exemption agreement or another visa-free policy, the NIA says you can enter under that one instead
• Treatment, any follow-up visits and your flight home all have to fit inside the 30 days

The 61 countries on Hainan's list

As the NIA lists them (Aug 2026): Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vietnam.

If no route fits your trip

Most patients apply for an S2 visa with papers from the hospital, and the visa guide lists what visa centres ask for. Send us an inquiry with your passport country and the hospital, and we will tell you which route the official texts cover for you and what the hospital needs to give you.