Daily life in China: visas, apps, WeChat and Alipay

Short answer: get your visa status right, link an Australian card to both Alipay and WeChat Pay before you fly, and carry your passport everywhere. China runs on QR codes, and your phone is your wallet.

The short version

Australians can enter visa-free for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family visits, exchanges or transit, under an arrangement extended to 31 December 2026 [1].
Visa-free entry doesn't cover work. That needs a work permit and the right visa [2].
You can link an Australian Visa or Mastercard to Alipay and WeChat Pay without a Chinese bank account [3].
Limits are US$5,000 per transaction and US$50,000 a year; payments over RMB 200 may attract a 3% fee [3].
Cash is still legal tender, and refusing yuan cash is treated as unlawful, so keep some on you [4].

Which visa lets you do what

The first question for every Aussie in China is what your entry status allows.

Status	How long	What you can do	What you can't
Visa-free entry	Up to 30 days per visit, until 31 December 2026 unless extended [1]	Business meetings, tourism, family visits, exchanges, transit [1]	Work, study or journalism without prior approval
240-hour visa-free transit	Up to 10 days, within permitted areas [5]	Tourism, business, visits, family reunions [5]	Work, study, news reporting [5]
Multiple-entry visa	Valid up to five years for tourism, business and family visits [6]	Repeat trips without reapplying	Work
Z visa plus residence permit	Linked to your work permit	Live and work for your employer [2]	Change jobs without new paperwork

The 240-hour transit option needs a confirmed onward ticket and you enter through one of the designated ports [5]. It suits stopovers, not house-hunting.

Rules that apply to everyone

Register your address within 24 hours if you're not in a hotel. Hotels do it for you [2].
Extend in time. Apply to extend a visa at least seven days before your permitted stay ends, and a residence permit 30 days before it expires [2].
Update changes within 10 days, such as a new passport [2].
Cash limits at the border. Each traveller can carry up to RMB 20,000 in cash in or out each time [2].

Policies have changed often since 2024, so check the Chinese embassy or consulate and Smartraveller before each trip. The national immigration hotline is 12367 [2].

The apps you'll actually use

China's apps are local, and many Western ones don't work. Freedom House lists social media as blocked in China and says the Great Firewall blocks thousands of domains [7]. Set up your Chinese app stack before you leave Australia, while you can still Google the instructions.

What you need	What most people use	Tip
Messaging and payments	WeChat (Weixin)	Your friends, landlord and boss will all be on it
Payments and mini-programs	Alipay	Strong for travel, transport and bookings
Taxis and rides	Ride-hailing apps such as Didi	Save your home address in Chinese
Maps	A Chinese maps app such as Gaode (Amap)	Foreign map apps can be patchy
Translation	Any translation app with camera mode	Point it at menus and signs
Phone number	A local SIM from China Mobile, Unicom or Telecom [8]	Many services want a +86 number

A local number isn't essential for setting up payments, since WeChat and Alipay accept foreign numbers that receive SMS codes [9]. It helps for almost everything else, from delivery drivers to bank verification. The three carriers sell SIMs in their official stores, and you'll need your passport [8].

Paying with WeChat and Alipay on an Australian card

Setting up

Register with your real name. The name on your card must match the name on your WeChat or Alipay account [9].
Add your card. In Alipay, go to Me, then Bank Cards, then Add Bank Card. In WeChat, go to Me, Services, Wallet and add a card; you may be asked to upload your passport [9].
Tell your bank. Your card issuer has to verify overseas use, and supported card brands vary by app [2].
Do a small test payment. Buy a coffee or a metro ride before you rely on it.
Keep a backup card. If one card gets flagged for fraud at 2am, a second one saves your dinner.

Limits and fees

Item	Current rule	Source
Single payment with an overseas card	Up to US$5,000	[3]
Yearly total with an overseas card	Up to US$50,000	[3]
Payments of RMB 200 or less	Generally no platform service fee	[3]
Payments over RMB 200	A 3% fee may apply to the full amount	[3]
Refunds	The fee is returned in proportion to the refund	[9]
Exchange rate	Set by your card network and bank	[9]

The payment page shows any fee or promotional waiver before you confirm [3]. Your Australian bank may add its own international transaction fee on top, so check which of your cards charges least.

What foreign cards can't do

With an overseas card, WeChat Pay doesn't support transfers or red packets, and Alipay doesn't support transfers either [9]. That's fine for shopping, but annoying when friends split a bill. Once you have a residence permit, many people open a Chinese bank account, which you can do at a branch with your passport [4][10]. Linking a local card removes most of these limits and the foreign-card fees.

Cash, cards and ATMs

Don't go fully cashless. Rejecting RMB cash is treated as an unlawful practice, and authorities have pushed merchants to accept it [4]. It's handy for street food, older taxi drivers and when your phone dies.

ATMs: All ATMs in Shanghai accept UnionPay cards, and machines showing the Visa or Mastercard logo take those too. A single withdrawal is usually capped at RMB 3,000 [10].
Card terminals: Look for UnionPay, Visa or Mastercard logos at the checkout [10].
e-CNY: China's digital yuan app can be registered with an overseas mobile number and topped up with a Visa or Mastercard [10]. Few Aussies bother, but it's an option if the big two apps give you grief.

Five things that trip up Australians

Using a nickname on the app. If "Matt" is on WeChat but "Matthew" is on the card, the link can fail [9].
Leaving home without your passport. You'll need it for hotels, trains, SIM cards and banks.
Assuming your Aussie apps will work. Download offline copies of anything important and set up family contact on WeChat before you land [7].
Overstaying by a day. Count your 30 visa-free days carefully, and remember they don't let you work [1][2].
Forgetting the fee threshold. On a RMB 450 dinner paid with an Australian card, a 3% fee is about RMB 13.50 [3]. It adds up over a year, so link a local card once you can.

New to all this? Ask in Cooee China, our Facebook group for Australians in China (join here). Someone will have hit the same error message last week.

Daily life in China: the visa rules, the apps and paying with WeChat and Alipay