Do you need a visa
for China?

It depends which passport you hold. Find yours below.

Read this first. What follows is accurate as of August 2026. China’s entry rules have changed repeatedly in recent years and our wedding is in May 2027 — so treat this as planning guidance, not gospel.

Whatever your passport says, do two things today: check it’s valid through at least November 2027, and check you have two blank pages. Renewals take months, and it’s the one part of this entirely in your hands.

Find your passport

US Passport

Visa required

Assume you will need a tourist visa. The US is not on China’s 30-day visa-free list. There is a 240-hour transit exemption, but it requires onward travel to a third country — it will not cover a return trip to a wedding.

Applications generally can’t be filed more than about three months before travel, so you’d be applying around February or March 2027. Expect to supply a travel itinerary, hotel confirmation, and possibly an invitation letter.

We’ll write you an invitation letter — just ask. We can send the hotel confirmation too. We can’t manage the application itself, so please give yourself time.

Canadian Passport

Probably not — but confirm

As of February 2026, Canada was added to China’s 30-day visa-free list — no visa needed for a stay of up to 30 days. Good news for you.

The catch: the policy as announced runs through the end of 2026, and the wedding is in May 2027. It may well be extended, but until it is, don’t treat visa-free entry as settled. We’ll confirm in early 2027 and tell you either way, in time to apply if you need to.

Any other passport

Depends — ask us

China’s 30-day visa-free list covers a number of countries and has been expanding. When you RSVP, say you’d like an invitation letter and tell us which passport you hold — we’ll look into your situation.

What happens when

Now — check your passport expiry and blank pages. When you RSVP, tell us if you’d like an invitation letter.
By 31 December 2026 — RSVP, so we know who needs what.
Early 2027 — we send confirmed, current guidance for your passport.
January to February 2027 — we send invitation letters to anyone who needs one, and ask for your arrival details.
February to March 2027 — US passport holders apply.

Ask us

If anything here is unclear, or your situation is unusual — dual nationality, a recently renewed passport, a work visa already in hand — write to us. We’d much rather answer early than deal with a problem in April.

但愿人长久，千里共婵娟

John & Andrea · Xi’an, 15 May 2027