Medical Visa for China: A Guide for International Patients
Getting to China for treatment is often simpler than patients expect. Here are the main routes, and how medical tourism in China works on the travel side.
The medical visa (S1 / S2)
China's dedicated medical-treatment visas are the S2 (short-term, for the patient and accompanying family) and S1 (longer stays). They are issued on the basis of an invitation or admission letter from the treating hospital plus your medical documentation. NF MediPath obtains the invitation letter from the matched hospital and guides the application, so you are not navigating the process alone.
Visa-free entry for many nationalities
Depending on your passport, you may not need a visa at all:
- UAE and Qatar citizens have had visa-free entry to mainland China since 2018.
- Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain citizens were granted 30-day visa-free entry from June 2025.
- Many other countries are covered by China's expanding 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit policy at dozens of ports — useful for consultations and shorter treatment visits.
Rules change, so we confirm the current requirement for your nationality before you plan travel.
What NF MediPath handles
Beyond the visa itself, we coordinate the whole journey so you and your family can focus on care:
- Invitation letters from the treating hospital
- Flights and airport reception
- Private transport and hotel or serviced-apartment accommodation
- Real-time medical translation in English, Arabic, and Russian throughout
Start before you fly
The most important step happens before any visa: a remote multidisciplinary review with Chinese specialists in your condition, so you know whether the trip is worth making and what to expect. Only then do we begin travel logistics.
Request a confidential case review →
Sources: Xinhua — GCC visa-free entry · gov.cn — 240-hour visa-free transit