240-Hour Visa-Free Transit in China

Last verified 2026-10-14 · re-checked every 30 days

If your passport is from one of the 57 eligible countries and you travel A → mainland China → B (where B is not A), you can skip the visa and stay up to 240 hours — but you must have the onward ticket booked before you land.

Use the resources you need

Read the official rulebook, not a blog. The policy has been expanded twice recently — more countries, more ports — so anything written before 2025 can be wrong.

• The rulebook. National Immigration Administration (NIA), “Visa-Free Transit Policies”: the English page is en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147463/c183412/content.html; the Chinese source page is nia.gov.cn visa-free transit policy. This page answers your five questions in one place.
• The port list. The full 60-port list with the allowed travel regions is published by the Chinese Embassy in Canada and the Montreal consulate. NIA added 5 more ports in Guangdong on 2025-11-05 (see the source list), bringing the total to 65 (National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03).
• Have ready before you board: a passport valid for at least 3 months, and an onward interline ticket to a third country or region with a confirmed date and seat leaving within 240 hours (National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03). You do not book it at the border — you book it before you arrive (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06).
• Questions at the airport: call the NIA 24-hour hotline 12367 (English is available) (Consulate-General of China in Montreal, 2025-05-30).

If this is your first visa question, start with Do I need a visa?.

Steps

Step 1 — Check your passport is eligible

The 240-hour visa-free transit currently applies to nationals of 57 countries (the count grew to 57 on 2026-08-20, when Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam were added) (National Immigration Administration (NIA) (Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam announcement), 2026-08-20; State Council of China, 2026-08-20):

• Europe (40): Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom (National Immigration Administration, 2026-08-20)
• Americas (6): Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, United States (National Immigration Administration, 2026-08-20)
• Oceania (2): Australia, New Zealand (National Immigration Administration, 2026-08-20)
• Asia (9): Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam (National Immigration Administration, 2026-08-20)

Two eligibility gates beyond nationality:

• Your passport or other international travel document must be valid for at least 3 months (National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03).
• The border inspection authority will refuse the temporary entry permit if your passport carries a Chinese visa-refusal stamp, or if you have a record in the last five years of illegal entry/exit, illegal residence, or illegal employment in China (Consulate-General of China in Montreal, 2025-05-30).

If your passport is not on this list, this policy does not apply to you — check Do I need a visa? instead, because unilateral or mutual visa-exemption rules may still cover you.

Step 2 — Check your routing qualifies (A → mainland China → B, not A → China → A)

This is where most travelers get it wrong. The official wording is that you must be transiting to a third country or region — in Chinese, 从中国过境前往第三国或地区 (National Immigration Administration, 2026-08-20). The precision that matters: the country or region you enter from and the country or region you leave to must be different. The official phrasing is “出发地和目的地所属国家或地区必须不同” (the place of departure and the place of destination must belong to different countries or regions) (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06).

• United States → mainland China → Japan: qualifies (US and Japan differ) (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06).
• Thailand → mainland China → Thailand: does not qualify (same country, even if you change cities) (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06).
• Hong Kong → mainland China → Thailand: qualifies (Hong Kong and Thailand are different regions/countries) (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06).
• Hong Kong → mainland China → Hong Kong: does not qualify (same region) (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06).

And the ticket itself must be real: an interline ticket to a third country or region with a confirmed date and seat, departing within 240 hours, or equivalent proof (National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03). The NIA states plainly that if you have not arranged the onward interline ticket before entry, the temporary entry permit cannot be issued (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06).

One point we are still verifying: how Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are counted as the “region” in your onward ticket. The policy text itself says “a third country or region”, which is why these are treated as separate regions from the mainland (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06), and operators commonly list Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as eligible onward destinations — but confirm your exact routing with the border officer at the port. This is the single item on this page we could not pin to an explicit official example, so read the rest of this page as verified and treat this line as “check at the border”.

Step 3 — Pick an eligible port and know your allowed region

You must arrive at one of the 65 eligible ports in 24 provinces / autonomous regions / municipalities (National Immigration Administration (NIA), 2026-08-20). Landing anywhere else does not work. The current 65 are the original 60 plus 5 added in Guangdong on 2025-11-05 (National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03).

Eligible entry ports by province (60-port list, plus the 2025-11-05 Guangdong additions) (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06; National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03):

• Beijing: Capital Intl Airport; Daxing Intl Airport
• Tianjin: Binhai Intl Airport; Tianjin Seaport (passenger)
• Hebei: Shijiazhuang Zhengding Intl Airport; Qinhuangdao Seaport (passenger)
• Shanxi: Taiyuan Wusu Intl Airport
• Liaoning: Shenyang Taoxian Intl Airport; Dalian Zhoushuizi Intl Airport; Dalian Seaport (passenger)
• Heilongjiang: Harbin Taiping Intl Airport
• Shanghai: Hongqiao Intl Airport; Pudong Intl Airport; Shanghai Seaport (passenger)
• Jiangsu: Nanjing Lukou Intl Airport; Sunan Shuofang Intl Airport; Yangzhou Taizhou Intl Airport; Lianyungang Seaport (passenger)
• Zhejiang: Hangzhou Xiaoshan Intl Airport; Ningbo Lishe Intl Airport; Wenzhou Longwan Intl Airport; Yiwu Airport; Wenzhou Seaport (passenger); Zhoushan Seaport (passenger)
• Anhui: Hefei Xinqiao Intl Airport; Huangshan Tunxi Intl Airport
• Fujian: Fuzhou Changle Intl Airport; Xiamen Gaoqi Intl Airport; Quanzhou Jinjiang Intl Airport; Wuyishan Airport; Xiamen Seaport (passenger)
• Jiangxi: Nanchang Changbei Intl Airport
• Shandong: Jinan Yaoqiang Intl Airport; Qingdao Jiaodong Intl Airport; Yantai Penglai Intl Airport; Weihai Dashuipo Intl Airport; Qingdao Seaport (passenger)
• Henan: Zhengzhou Xinzheng Intl Airport
• Hubei: Wuhan Tianhe Intl Airport
• Hunan: Changsha Huanghua Intl Airport; Zhangjiajie Hehua Intl Airport
• Guangdong: Guangzhou Baiyun Intl Airport; Shenzhen Bao’an Intl Airport; Jieyang Chaoshan Intl Airport; Nansha Seaport (passenger); Shekou Seaport (passenger) (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06); plus, added 2025-11-05: Guangzhou Pazhou Ferry Terminal; Hengqin Port; Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port; Zhongshan Port (passenger); West Kowloon Station Port (Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link) (National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03)
• Guangxi: Nanning Wuxu Intl Airport; Guilin Liangjiang Intl Airport; Beihai Fucheng Airport; Beihai Seaport (passenger)
• Hainan: Haikou Meilan Intl Airport; Sanya Phoenix Intl Airport
• Chongqing: Chongqing Jiangbei Intl Airport
• Sichuan: Chengdu Shuangliu Intl Airport; Chengdu Tianfu Intl Airport
• Guizhou: Guiyang Longdongbao Intl Airport
• Yunnan: Kunming Changshui Intl Airport; Lijiang Sanyi Intl Airport; Mohan Railway Port
• Shaanxi: Xi’an Xianyang Intl Airport (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06)

Where you are allowed to go. You may leave the port city and travel between the 24 allowed provinces — cross-province travel is permitted within the allowed area (National Immigration Administration (NIA), 2024-12-17). But this is not the whole country:

• 7 provinces/regions are excluded: Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Tibet (Xizang), Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang (Guangzhou Airport / border-inspection guide, 2024-12-25).
• Some provinces are city-only, not province-wide: Shanxi (Taiyuan, Datong only), Heilongjiang (Harbin only), Jiangxi (Nanchang, Jingdezhen only), Guangxi (Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin, Wuzhou, Beihai, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Guigang, Yulin, Hezhou, Hechi, Laibin — 12 cities), Sichuan (Chengdu, Zigong, Luzhou, Deyang, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Yibin, Ya’an, Meishan, Ziyang — 11 cities), Yunnan (Kunming, Yuxi, Chuxiong, Honghe, Wenshan, Pu’er, Xishuangbanna, Dali, Lijiang — 9 cities/prefectures) (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06).
• Everywhere else in the 24: the whole administrative region (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06).

Where you may exit. You can depart from any of the 65 eligible ports. In addition, in Guangdong province you may also depart from any other open port in the province (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06).

Step 4 — At the border: what to show

At the immigration inspection counter you apply for the temporary entry permit. Bring and be ready to present:

1. Your valid passport or international travel document (valid at least 3 months) (National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03).
2. Your interline onward ticket to a third country or region, with a confirmed date and seat leaving within 240 hours — or equivalent proof. No booked onward ticket means no permit (Consulate-General of China in Montreal, 2025-05-30).
3. A completed Arrival Card for temporary entry (you can fill it online in advance, or at the port) (National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03).
4. Cooperate with the inspection and any questions about your onward plan (Consulate-General of China in Montreal, 2025-05-30).

Then the clock starts. The 240 hours / 10 days is counted from 0:00 on the day after the day you enter (the official rule: 停留期从入境次日零时起计算) (National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03). The border guide’s worked example: arrive at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport on January 1 → the stay period counts from 00:00 on January 2 → you get a maximum of 10 days and must depart before 24:00 on January 11 (Guangzhou Airport / border-inspection guide, 2024-12-25).

If you stay at a hotel, the hotel registers you. If you stay anywhere other than a hotel, you must register your accommodation with the local police station within 24 hours of check-in (Consulate-General of China in Montreal, 2025-05-30).

Common mistakes and failure cases

• Round-trip A → China → A. Returning to the same country or region you came from does not qualify, even if you change cities inside China (Embassy of China in Canada, 2025-06). This is the number-one refusal reason.
• Assuming you can travel nationwide. Seven provinces/regions are excluded, and several provinces allow only specific cities (Guangzhou Airport / border-inspection guide, 2024-12-25). Crossing into an excluded area is over-staying your permitted region.
• Miscounting the 240 hours. The clock starts at 0:00 the day after entry, not on arrival (National Immigration Administration (10 New Measures), 2025-11-03). Arrive late at night and you effectively get a few extra hours — but plan your departure against the next-day-start rule, and leave before 24:00 on day 10.
• Arriving at a non-eligible port. Only the 65 listed ports work (National Immigration Administration (NIA), 2026-08-20). A regional airport or seaport that is not on the list cannot issue the permit.
• No onward ticket booked. Immigration will not issue the permit if you have not already arranged the onward interline ticket with a confirmed date and seat (Consulate-General of China in Montreal, 2025-05-30). Buying it after you arrive is too late.
• Passport valid for less than 3 months, or a prior Chinese visa-refusal stamp, or a record of illegal entry/residence/employment in the last 5 years — any of these means the permit is refused (Consulate-General of China in Montreal, 2025-05-30).
• Working or studying. Tourism, business, visits and seeing family are allowed during the stay. Work, study and news reporting require a visa arranged in advance (National Immigration Administration, 2026-08-20).
• Overstaying or leaving the allowed area. Going past 240 hours or outside the allowed region without a permit is punished as illegal residence and can affect your future Chinese visa applications (Guangzhou Airport / border-inspection guide, 2024-12-25).
• Skipping accommodation registration. Staying somewhere other than a hotel without registering within 24 hours is a violation even if your visa status is fine (Consulate-General of China in Montreal, 2025-05-30).

If you will move around by rail during the transit, see High-speed rail with a passport.