According to news agency Xinhua, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, February 15, that Beijing has chosen to expand its visa-free policy to regular Canadian and British passport holders, effective February 17.
According to the Xinhua article, “ordinary passport holders from the two nations can be exempt from visa requirements to enter China and remain for up to 30 days for the purposes of business, tourism, family/friend visits, exchange, and transit.”
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the policy would remain in force until December 31, 2026. “Further enhance people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries” is another goal of the visa-free policy, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The development follows the announcement of such agreements by the prime leaders of the two nations after their formal visits to Beijing. In an attempt to strengthen their relationship with China and shift away from the increasingly unstable United States, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer both traveled to Beijing in January.
Following discussions with prominent Chinese figures, including President Xi Jinping, both leaders had praised progress on matters like granting their residents visa-free entry to China.
Can Indians enter China without a visa?
No, Indian passport holders do not now have visa-free entry into China.
On December 22, 2025, the Chinese Embassy in India formally launched the China Online Visa Application System in an effort to streamline and modernize the visa application procedure for Indian nationals.
The expedited service is now available to travelers through the official website, visaforchina.cn/DEL3_EN/qianzh. By enabling the majority of documentation to be processed online, this digital shift aims to increase efficiency by drastically reducing the amount of time needed for the application’s first phases.
How the new procedure operates
The New Delhi Chinese Visa Application Service Center claims that the revised process consists of the following particular steps:
Account Creation: On the official website, candidates must create an account or sign in to their existing one.
Digital Submission: All supporting documentation must be uploaded straight to the portal together with the completed visa application form, which must be submitted electronically.
Status Monitoring: It is critical that candidates carefully follow the guidelines on the website.
The last step is to wait until the application status changes to “online review completed” and you receive a confirmation email before bringing in your actual passports and supporting documentation.
The physical service center is still open to help applicants, even if the first steps are now all digital.
