China has confirmed British holidaymakers will be able to travel there visa-free – and revealed the exact date.
Just last month, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer managed to secure the deal during his visit to Beijing.
At the time, Downing Street announced that Brits visiting China for less than 30 days will no longer need to acquire a visa.
Now, it has been confirmed that UK nationals will be able to travel visa-free to mainland China from tomorrow, February 17.
British travellers can visit the country for up to 30 days without the need for extra documentation.
The new regulation will apply to tourism, business and visiting family and friends.
It is set to initially only be in effect until December 31.
Wendy Wu, founder of Wendy Wu’s Tours, recently told the Daily Mail the visa-free travel agreement was a ‘historical moment that we have been working for and waiting for since 2005’.
She urged British travellers to ‘take the opportunity’ and travel to China.
The move brings Britain in line with around 50 other countries who can visit China visa-free, such as France and Germany.
Yesterday, China’s foreign ministry shared the update on its site and said: ‘To further facilitate cross-border travel, China decides to, starting from February 17, 2026, extend its visa waiver policy to ordinary passport holders from Canada and the UK.
‘Ordinary passport holders from the two countries can be exempted from visa to enter China and stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family/friends visit, exchange and transit purposes.
‘The policy will be effective until December 31, 2026.’
At the moment, the UK Foreign Office website still reads, ‘You must have a visa to visit mainland China. Visa-free travel to China, while announced, has not yet been implemented.
‘Until confirmed, you must apply for a visa to enter China.’
It comes after China dropped from Australia’s second-biggest source of inbound tourists to its third in November.
China has long been a key market for Australian tourism.
However, in November 2025, the number of Chinese tourists dipped below those from the UK.
The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed 74,500 short-term visitors came from China, compared to 80,090 from the UK and 127,820 from the US.
While the latest figures on Chinese tourists mark a significant increase from November 2023 and November 2024 – 45,880 and 55,800 respectively – they remain a drastic drop from pre-Covid levels.