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Visa & stay planning

Most short care trips do not require a special medical-visa route. First check your passport, total stay, care stages, and the current entry rules that apply to you.

Visa & stay planning

Before booking non-refundable travel, verify current requirements with the Chinese embassy or consulate responsible for your place of application and the official National Immigration Administration information.

01

Three questions to answer first

These determine whether your existing travel route may already be enough.

  • How many days will you need, including arrival, consultation, tests, treatment, and a recovery buffer?
  • Is this one short visit, or a multi-stage plan that may require returning to China?
  • Does your passport currently qualify for visa-free entry, transit-without-visa, or another lawful short-stay route?

02

Use the simplest lawful route that fits

Check the options in this order rather than assuming you need a special category.

  1. Check current visa-free or transit-without-visa eligibility and its route restrictions.
  2. If that does not fit, check an ordinary tourist visa or another lawful stay appropriate to your circumstances.
  3. Only explore a longer or document-supported route when the expected stay, treatment stages, or official process genuinely requires it.

03

When a longer route may matter

A more specialised path may deserve attention when your plan includes a long admission, repeated treatment stages, a stay beyond the ordinary allowance, or an authority specifically requesting hospital documentation.

Important

A hospital letter does not guarantee a visa, entry, admission, or treatment. The hospital decides whether it can issue documents and whether it can accept the patient.

04

What we can help coordinate

Where relevant, we can help you turn the care plan into practical travel information.

  • A draft itinerary divided into consultation, tests, treatment, and recovery blocks.
  • A checklist of identity, travel, hospital, and existing medical documents.
  • Communication with the hospital about supporting documents when they are genuinely required and available.
  • A separate plan for hospital appointments, interpretation, local transport, and on-site support.

05

Visa support is not hospital navigation

Permission to enter China does not create a hospital appointment. A confirmed hospital slot does not guarantee immigration approval. Treat these as two related but separate workstreams.

Country check

Check the entry routes that may apply to your passport.

Select the country that issued your ordinary passport. This checker is a planning aid, not an immigration decision.

Medical care is not itself a universal visa category. Entry eligibility never guarantees a hospital appointment or admission.

Policy data checked against official Chinese MFA and National Immigration Administration sources; reviewed 21 Sep 2026.Official 30-day policyOfficial 240-hour transit policy

Planning a Shanghai care trip?

Tell us your passport country, estimated dates, and whether the plan is one visit or several stages. You may also attach key reports if you would like us to understand the care plan.