How long must your passport be valid for China?

At least six months after the day you arrive, plus two blank pages. China asks for those pages for visas and stamping, so a passport that is nearly full fails the requirement even with years left before it expires.

By Code Majesty Tech LLC Last reviewed October 13, 2026

“To enter China, your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 6 months after the date you arrive and 2 blank pages for visas and stamping. […] If you renew your passport while you are in China, contact your local exit and entry office or call the national immigration service hotline on 12367, before or immediately upon receipt.”

GOV.UK — China travel advice, entry requirements · checked 2026-10-13

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Two blank pages, and what they are for

The official wording gives the reason: the pages are for visas and stamping. That makes the page count less of a formality here than it is elsewhere — the space is going to be used.

Count the pages that are actually empty. A page carrying a single faded stamp is not blank, and the pages set aside for observations or endorsements at the back of some passports do not count either.

Six months, counted from the day you arrive

Not from the day you apply for anything, and not from the day you fly home. Take your arrival date, count forward six months, and compare that with the expiry date on your photo page.

On a long stay the gap between "six months from arrival" and the day you leave narrows quickly. A passport that only just passes at the start of a four-month stay has two months left at the end of it.

If you renew your passport while you are in China

This is the situation the official advice singles out. If you receive a new passport during your stay, you are told to contact the local exit and entry office, or the national immigration service hotline, before you receive it or immediately afterwards.

It is easy to overlook, because collecting a new passport does not feel like an immigration matter. Treat it as one: make the call when the passport arrives, not when you are packing to leave.

If your passport falls short

Renew first, then make your other arrangements. Bookings and applications that record a passport number are simpler to make once, against the new one.

Your airline will check the six months at check-in and has no discretion to wave a short passport through.

Passport validity for other destinations

Your documents won't warn you. We will.

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