What to carry
An ordinary passport, valid at least for the stay. A temporary or emergency travel document does not qualify for this waiver. Children use the same rule as adults.
There is no visa sticker. An officer can ask why you are coming. A ticket, a hotel, or an invitation is the useful answer. Entry can still be refused.
Fill the arrival card before you fly. It is free. A site that charges for it is not the official form.
The clock
The 30 days start at 00:00 on the day after you enter, and they run continuously. A longer stay needs a visa arranged before the trip. A stay permit after you are already inside is for a sufficient reason, at the local exit-entry administration, and it is not a plan.
The date on this rule
On the National Immigration Administration list of 17 February 2026, and carried through 31 December 2026. If you land after that date, read the list again before you buy the ticket.
The transit rule is the narrower door
Ireland is also on the 240-hour visa-free transit list. A normal visit uses the entry rule above. Transit is for someone passing through China on the way to a third country or region, with a confirmed onward seat, at a designated port, inside that port’s permitted area. A return ticket home is not that onward seat. The NIA note of 20 August 2026 names the 65 ports.
Staying longer, or coming for work
Use the visa application if the trip is longer than 30 days, or if the purpose is work, study, or journalism. Those purposes are outside this waiver even for a weekend.
Checked 29 October 2026. The unilateral list, the transit note, and the mutual-exemption table are the sources. A newer notice wins. Check another country.