Everything below was verified on 28 September 2026 and is written as of that date. Entry rules change by announcement, sometimes at short notice. Check your own situation with the Chinese consulate or the visa application centre that covers you before you book anything.
A business trip to China used to begin with a visa file and a delay. For a French national, at the date of writing, it often begins with neither — and that is precisely why the subject deserves a careful read rather than a habit. The rule that applies to you depends on your nationality, on how long you stay, on what you do there, and on where you enter from.
The exemption in force for French nationals, and its end date
An announcement dated 4 November 2025 extended a unilateral visa exemption to 45 countries, France among them. It covers stays of up to 30 days, for business, tourism, family visits, exchanges and transit, and it is stated as valid until 31 December 2026 at midnight. On that basis, a French national travelling for business for less than 30 days does not need an M visa at the date of writing.
Two consequences follow, and the second is the one people miss. The first: the exemption has a stated end date, and no extension beyond it has been announced. Do not plan a trip in 2027 on the assumption that it will still exist. The second: an exemption covers a purpose and a duration, not a category of person. A stay that runs longer than the exemption allows, or an activity it does not cover, brings you back to a visa — and that is a decision to make before departure, not at the border.
The M visa, when you still need one
The M visa is the business and trade visa. Its file is built around one document that surprises first-time applicants: an invitation letter from a Chinese commercial partner — a company registered in China — stating the purpose of the trip, the dates, the programme and who takes charge of what. The rest is administrative and predictable.
- A passport that is valid and has blank pages.
- The online application form and a photograph meeting the required standard.
- The invitation letter from the Chinese partner — the piece that takes the longest to obtain, because it depends on someone else.
- Submission through the visa application centre attached to the embassy or consulate, with fingerprints taken as a rule.
- The exact list of documents, fees and processing times changes: take them from the visa application centre, not from an article.
One boundary matters more than the paperwork. The M visa covers business and trade. It does not cover salaried employment, which is the Z visa, nor study, which is the X visa, nor journalistic work, which is the J visa. If what you intend to do on site looks like working for a Chinese entity rather than visiting one, the category is the question to settle first — and it is settled before you fly.
Transit without a visa, which is a separate regime
Visa-free transit is not a short version of the exemption: it is its own rule, with its own conditions, and it exists for travellers passing through. It now runs to 240 hours — ten days — rather than the 144 hours often still quoted. It covers around 55 countries, with official sources counting 55 or 57 nationalities depending on the document, a large share of them European, and it applies at 65 entry and exit points across 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, the extension from 60 to 65 ports having been announced in November 2025.
- You must hold an onward ticket to a third country, with a confirmed seat and date — returning to where you came from is not transit.
- Your stay is limited to the authorised zones attached to the point of entry you used.
- Tourism, business meetings and family visits are permitted under the regime.
- Work, study and journalism remain subject to a visa, whatever the length of the stay.
Hong Kong to Shenzhen is a border, not a journey across town
Hong Kong is a special administrative region with its own immigration regime and its own customs territory. Going from Hong Kong to Shenzhen is therefore a full entry into mainland China: an exit check on the Hong Kong side, an entry check on the mainland side, and an entry title for the mainland — a visa, or an exemption if you come under one. The twenty minutes on a train do not make it an internal move.
The reverse matters just as much, and catches people out on the way home. Leaving the mainland for Hong Kong is an exit from mainland China: the entry you used is consumed. A trip planned as Shenzhen, then Hong Kong for two days, then Shenzhen again is two entries into the mainland, not one. Count your entries before you build the itinerary, not after you have booked the hotels.
The main land crossings are Luohu / Lo Wu, Futian / Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, Huanggang / Lok Ma Chau, Shenzhen Bay, Liantang / Heung Yuen Wai and Sha Tau Kok, alongside the rail and ferry links. They differ in opening hours, in how busy they are and in how they are reached from each side, so the practical choice is a logistics question. Which entry title is valid at which crossing, on the other hand, is a question for the consulate — not one to settle by asking a driver.
The order of operations for a first trip is therefore simple. Decide what you will actually do on site, because that fixes the category. Decide how long you stay and how many times you enter, because that fixes whether an exemption is enough. Then confirm both with the consulate or the visa application centre, and only then book. Doing it the other way round is how a trip becomes expensive.
Where to read it yourself
Official pages, opened and checked on 15 October 2026. Where a rule changes, these are the addresses that change with it — this article does not.