Can 61-Country Visa-Free Entry Be Used to Seek Care in Hainan?

NIA’s 20 August 2026 page states that nationals of 61 countries holding ordinary passports may enter Hainan visa-free for short-term purposes including medical treatment (就医), stay at most 30 days, activity limited to Hainan province. Work and study are excluded. That is not nationwide visa-free entry, and it is not a hospital admission.

From 59 countries to 61—use the live list

NIA’s 9 February 2024 announcement (State Council approved) allowed listed nationals to enter Hainan visa-free for business, visits, family, medical care, exhibitions, and sports (work and study excluded), stay ≤30 days, through all state-opened ports in Hainan, activity limited to Hainan, clock starting at 00:00 the day after entry. The 2024 list named 59 countries.

The same agency’s 20 August 2026 explainer “Regional visa-free entry policies for foreigners” updates the Hainan rule to “61-country 30-day visa-free entry,” lists ordinary passports, and includes 就医 among short-term purposes. Versus the 2024 notice, the published list adds countries such as Viet Nam and Kyrgyzstan—always use the live NIA list. Mutual-exemption treaties or other Chinese visa-free policies may apply instead if the traveler qualifies.

How you enter, and when you need another visa

The Chinese Consulate-General in Munich (7 January 2025) restates that travelers may arrive by scheduled flight, business jet, or cruise, present a valid ordinary passport at a Hainan open port, and enter visa-free after immigration inspection without pre-declaration. To stay longer in Hainan or to leave Hainan for other parts of mainland China, apply to Hainan public-security exit-entry authorities for a visa document before the stay expires.

Hainan’s Measures on Services and Administration of Visa-Free Foreigners Entering Hainan took effect on 1 September 2024 and govern in-province activity after visa-free entry. China News Service reported that the Measures encourage medical institutions and others to provide necessary translation, inquiry, payment, and wayfinding help. Treat the Hainan government page as the legal text.

Visa-free entry is not admission

Check that your nationality is still on NIA’s current 61-country list, that you hold an ordinary passport, and that the purpose is medical care—not work or study. Plan to stay inside Hainan for at most 30 days counted from the day after entry. To go to Shanghai or another mainland province, apply for a visa document in Hainan before the stay expires. Pack records, imaging, and a written hospital invitation using the China care document pack.

Visa-free entry does not establish an indication or a Lecheng special-access approval. Thirty days is a cap; border officers still decide admission. Use the live NIA country list and port list.