China Visa Cost in Canada: Fees, Centre Totals and Visa-Free Trips

Many trips cost nothing at all. Until the end of 2026, Canadians with ordinary passports can visit mainland China without a visa for up to 30 days for business, tourism, visits to family or friends, or transit.

Visa or no visa, a lot of the trip runs on your phone once you arrive, from payment apps to maps. A HelloRoam eSIM for China gives those apps data as soon as your phone picks up a network in China, so you aren't hunting for airport Wi-Fi to pay for your first taxi.

We took every fee and rule below from the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa, the Chinese consulates in Canada, the five Canadian offices of the Chinese Visa Application Service Center and the Government of Canada on October 1, 2026. The Toronto and Ottawa fee pages warn that the final amount is the one the centre charges at the counter. Check your centre's page again before you apply, and the visa-free notice before you fly.

Tourist and business trips of up to 30 days need no visa until December 31, 2026

The waiver started at 00:00 on February 17, 2026, Beijing time, under the Toronto consulate's notice on the visa-free policy, and it covers Canadian citizens with ordinary passports for stays of up to 30 days.

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The Government of Canada's travel advice for China lists tourist and business visas as not required for up to 30 days in that window, while student and work visas are still required. A trip that fits the waiver has no visa fee, no service charge and no passport left at a counter.

You still pay for a visa if you'll stay longer than 30 days, or if you're going to work, study or report the news. China's 240-hour visa-free transit, which the Chinese Embassy in Canada lists as open to Canadians, is a separate route with its own conditions and no visa fee.

The waiver and the reduced visa fee end on the same day. Neither has been extended on the notice pages of the embassy or the Toronto and Vancouver consulates, so check those pages again before you book a trip for 2027.

The consulate fee is C$75 for Canadians, whatever the number of entries

C$75 is a reduced rate. The Toronto consulate's visa requirements and procedures say the cut has applied since December 11, 2023, and on December 26, 2025 the Toronto and Vancouver consulates extended it to December 31, 2026. The fee is per person. The reduction does not cover the express fee or the visa centre's service charge.

If you live in Canada on another country's passport, the visa fee follows the passport. The Vancouver consulate's notice on the fee reduction lists these rates:

Both consulates say some non-Canadian passports pay different rates, and the list does not apply to countries with bilateral agreements with China. If you're not travelling as a Canadian, confirm the figure with the visa centre before you go.

Each visa centre's total includes sales tax on its service charge

Ordinary passport holders apply through one of five offices of the Chinese Visa Application Service Center: Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. Each office lists the areas it serves. Toronto takes Ontario and Manitoba, Montreal takes Quebec and New Brunswick, and Ottawa takes the Ottawa region, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut. Vancouver serves British Columbia and Yukon, and Calgary serves Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, under the consulates' list of consular districts.

The consulate fee carries no tax, but the centre's service charge includes sales tax, so totals differ by a few dollars from office to office. Here is what one Canadian applicant pays at the counter, consulate fee included:

The figures come from the Toronto visa centre's fee schedule, the matching Ottawa and Montreal pages, and the Calgary office's fee chart, which shows the same amounts as Vancouver's. Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal call the faster options Express Level 2 and Express Level 1. Montreal's own list of services mentions only regular and express, so ask before you count on two-day service there.

Express service saves one working day for about C$65 more

Regular service takes 4 working days, express 3 and urgent 2, the Toronto consulate says, counted from the day the centre accepts your documents, and some applications take longer. The consulate adds C$35 for express and C$50 for urgent, and the centre's charge rises too. All told, express costs C$64.40 to C$67.19 more than regular, and urgent costs C$107.75 to C$113.24 more.

The fastest option has cut-off times. Ottawa takes Express Level 1 only before 11:30 a.m., and Vancouver accepts its rush applications until noon.

Planning ahead avoids the extra cost. Since late September 2025, applications at all five centres start online, and Toronto's processing-time FAQ says the online review takes about 3 to 5 working days. The Toronto and Vancouver centres suggest applying about a month before you enter China, and no more than three months ahead. Start a month out and regular service fits with room to spare: 5 working days online plus 4 at the counter is 9 working days.

Visa centres take debit and e-Transfer, and fees are not refunded

Bring a Canadian debit card. Toronto's centre takes Canadian debit cards and Interac e-Transfer only, and states that it does not accept credit cards. The Vancouver centre's fee page lists Canadian bank debit cards only, Calgary lists debit cards only, Montreal takes debit cards and e-Transfer, and Ottawa takes debit cards at the counter.

You pay when you hand in your passport and documents, after the online review is complete. A note on the Toronto and Ottawa fee pages says payment does not guarantee a visa and is not refundable. The visa officer decides the visa's validity, number of entries and length of stay, the Toronto consulate adds, and the result may differ from what you asked for.

Visa centres charge C$29.40 to C$32.19 to mail your passport back

Every office can mail your passport back for an extra fee, added to the visa total. Here is what each one lists:

Under a Chinese Embassy notice on fingerprints, eligible applicants for short-term visas, with stays of 180 days or less, are exempt until December 31, 2026, so they can use Ottawa's two-way mail. Ottawa asks them to pay for it by e-Transfer.

In China, Visa and Mastercard work through Alipay and Weixin Pay

Once you're in China, paying is the next cost question. The Chinese Embassy in Canada's guide to payment services in China covers bank cards, mobile payment and cash, among other options. A card issued at home can be accepted where the checkout shows its logo, such as Visa, Mastercard or UnionPay. If the logo isn't there, ask the cashier.

Mobile payment is the other main route. You can add Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, JCB, Diners Club and Discover cards to Alipay, and Weixin Pay, which runs inside the WeChat app, also takes American Express. For cash, ATMs at the port of entry that accept international cards dispense RMB, and you can exchange money there too. Phone data is another trip cost, and our comparison of eSIM and roaming shows what Canadian carriers charge abroad.

Both apps register with your phone number, so set them up in Canada and keep your phone online in China. HelloRoam's China plans install at home over Wi-Fi, and our step-by-step eSIM install guide walks you through it. Before you buy, use our list of eSIM-ready phones to check yours.