What the embassy describes
The agreement took effect on 17 July 2025. It covers tourism, visiting people, business, exchange, private affairs, medical treatment, and crew. Each stay is no more than 30 days, counted from 00:00 the day after entry. The days add up: no more than 90 visa-free days inside any 180-day period. If the remaining days are fewer than 30, that remainder is the stay.
The passport should have at least six months of validity. Residence, employment, study, and media work need a visa. An officer can ask for the ticket and the hotel.
Fill the arrival card before you fly. It is free. A site that charges for it is not the official form.
The embassy’s own FAQ is the page to trust if this one and a border desk disagree: China–Malaysia mutual visa exemption.
If the cap is already used
How to apply
- Find the Chinese embassy, consulate, or visa center that covers where you legally live. A post often refuses an application from a country where you are only passing through.
- Fill in the China Online Visa Application at consular.mfa.gov.cn/VISA. A tourist visit is an L visa. Work, study, and a family move are different categories. The center’s own list is the one that counts.
- The form asks for the passport, a photo, work, family, and the trip. A passport with blank pages and validity past the trip is the usual floor. Some posts want six months and a booking.
- When the online review asks for the passport, take it in. Some posts collect fingerprints. Passing the online step is not the visa.
- Leave time before the flight. This guide does not quote a processing day, because the posts do not share one.
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.