Visa requirements for Chinese citizens are administrative entry restrictions imposed on citizens of China by the authorities of other states.
Chinese citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 82 countries and territories, ranking the Chinese passport 66th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Historical perspective
Before February 2014, Chinese immigration authorities did not generally allow mainland Chinese citizens to board outbound flights without having a valid visa for the destination country, even if the destination country granted a visa on arrival to Chinese passport holders, unless the exit was approved by the Ministry of Public Security. Exceptions were possible if the traveller had a third country's visa and a connecting flight from the initial destination country to the third country. if the destination is a visa-on-arrival or e-visa issuing country this approval is no longer needed.
Visa requirements for Chinese citizens were lifted by Micronesia on 18 December 1980, the Bahamas on 12 February 2014, Antigua and Barbuda on 18 November 2014, Indonesia in 2015 (visa requirement later reinstated), Fiji on 14 March 2015, Grenada on 10 June 2015, Ecuador on 1 March 2016, Morocco on 1 June 2016, Tonga on 19 August 2016, Saint Kitts and Nevis on 1 January 2017, Serbia on 15 January 2017, Tunisia on 17 February 2017, Barbados on 1 June 2017, United Arab Emirates on 16 January 2018, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 29 May 2018, British Virgin Islands on 5 July 2018, St Lucia on 18 July 2018, Belarus on 10 August 2018, Qatar on 21 December 2018, Iran on 21 July 2019, Albania on 23 December 2019, Uzbekistan on 1 January 2020, Armenia on 19 January 2020, Oman on 16 December 2020, Suriname on 1 May 2021, Maldives on 20 May 2022, Kazakhstan on 8 July 2022, Dominica on 19 September 2022, Zambia on 2 November 2022, Gabon on 20 February 2023 (visa requirement later reinstated), Mozambique on 1 May 2023, Kiribati on 1 September 2023, Benin on 3 September 2023, Georgia on 11 September 2023, Thailand on 25 September 2023, and Angola on 28 September 2023.
Visas on arrival were introduced by Azerbaijan on 1 February 2016, Brunei on 23 May 2016, Ukraine on 1 October 2016, Armenia on 10 November 2016, São Tomé and Príncipe on 5 April 2017, Qatar on 22 June 2017, Gabon on 12 October 2017, Bolivia on 27 December 2017, Rwanda on 1 January 2018, Benin on 15 March 2018, Zimbabwe on 1 July 2018, Myanmar on 1 October 2018, Sierra Leone on 5 July 2019, Saudi Arabia on 28 September 2019, and Iraq on 15 March 2021.
Chinese citizens were made eligible for eVisas by Lesotho on 1 May 2017, Djibouti on 18 February 2018, Oman on 7 May 2018, Uzbekistan on 15 July 2018, Pakistan on 14 March 2019, Saudi Arabia on 28 September 2019, South Africa on February 14, 2022, Mongolia on April 27, 2022, Japan on June 19, 2023, Russia on August 1, 2023, Vietnam on August 15, 2023, and the Philippines on August 24, 2023.
The country's passport index has constantly improved in the 00's decade from 42 in 2010 to 85 countries/territories in 2023, doubling its mobility access in 12 years. As shown before, more and more countries are lifting visa restrictions on Mainland China passport holders in recent years and there is a tendency for more countries to keep lifting restrictions as a way to pull the massive tourist market that Mainland Chinese tourists represent.