China Pledges Further Visa-Free Transit Expansion and Fully Digital Border Services

Speaking at a State Council Information Office press conference in Beijing on 27 July, Executive Vice-Minister of Public Security Qi Yanjun outlined a sweeping programme to modernise China’s immigration administration during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30). Central to the reforms is the "institutional opening-up" of exit-entry management, with a promise to "further optimise visa-free transit and regional visa-free entry policies" that have already driven a 30.6 percent year-on-year surge in foreign arrivals during H1 2026. Officials said that the popular 72/144-hour transit schemes—currently covering 65 entry ports—would be expanded to additional inland hubs and integrated into airline booking engines so passengers can obtain automatic eligibility confirmation before departure. Regions such as Hainan Free Trade Port and the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area are expected to pilot longer visa-free stays for meetings and incentives traffic. Qi also confirmed that China will accelerate the digitalisation of travel documents, border-area permits and residence applications. By 2027, most services—including renewals of work and family residence permits—will move fully online, supported by facial-recognition e-gates that already process 85 percent of passengers at Beijing Capital and Shanghai Pudong. Mobile "traveller e-cards" will replace paper arrival/departure cards nationwide, while foreign nationals will gain access to the national immigration app for real-time status tracking. For multinational companies the changes promise faster crew rotations, reduced administrative costs and greater flexibility for short-notice assignments. However, HR teams should update compliance workflows to capture new electronic receipts and ensure that any employees relying on transit visa-free entry leave China before the permitted 30-day stay expires, as overstays will continue to trigger exit bans and corporate blacklisting.