Updated 2026-07-31
China's transit visa exemption was extended from 144 hours to 240 hours in December 2024 โ giving eligible travellers a full ten days in the country with no visa at all. It is now the single most useful entry route for most Western visitors, but it comes with rules that are easy to get wrong. This guide explains exactly how it works.
The policy applies to ordinary passport holders from 54 countries. It covers almost every traveller likely to be reading this: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and the great majority of European countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Hungary and Czechia.
Two conditions must both be true. First, you must hold a valid ordinary passport from one of those 54 countries. Second โ and this is where people slip up โ you must be genuinely transiting: arriving in mainland China from one country or region, and departing to a different third country or region. Flying London to Beijing and back to London does not qualify, because the origin and destination are the same country.
This is the most misunderstood part of the policy. The clock does not start the moment your plane touches down. It starts at 00:00 on the day after you enter โ so the day of arrival is effectively free.
A worked example: you land in Shanghai at 21:40 on 3 March. The 240-hour window begins at 00:00 on 4 March and expires at 00:00 on 14 March. In practice you get the remainder of 3 March plus ten complete days. You must have cleared exit immigration before that deadline, not merely be at the airport.
Give yourself a buffer. Aim to depart at least half a day before the deadline. Domestic flight delays, weather and traffic are all real risks, and an overstay โ even by a few hours โ creates a formal immigration record.
Under the 240-hour policy you may travel freely across the 24 provinces and municipalities included in the scheme. This was a major change from the older 144-hour rules, which confined visitors to a single regional cluster. You can now, for example, land in Beijing, take the high-speed train to Xi'an, fly to Chengdu, and depart from Shanghai โ all on one transit exemption.
The 24 eligible provincial-level regions include Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan. Notably, Tibet and Xinjiang are not covered โ those require a regular visa and, for Tibet, additional permits.
Entering at one port and leaving from another is explicitly permitted, and is in fact the point of the policy. There is no requirement to return to your arrival city.
You must be able to show a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region, with a departure date inside the 240-hour window. Border officers do check this, usually at check-in for your flight to China as well as on arrival.
The onward journey does not have to be a flight. Trains and ferries to eligible third regions are accepted, as long as the booking is confirmed and dated. What is not accepted is an open-ended, unconfirmed or clearly speculative reservation.
Buy the onward ticket before you fly. Airlines routinely refuse boarding to passengers who cannot show one, and arguing at the check-in desk rarely works. If your plans genuinely are not fixed, book a cheap flexible ticket rather than risk being denied boarding.
Changing the onward ticket after you have already entered China is possible, but the new departure must still fall inside your original 240-hour limit. The exemption window does not reset or extend because you rebooked.
There is no advance application and no online form. The process happens entirely on arrival. Follow signs for the counter marked for visa-free transit or foreigner entry โ at large airports it is separate from the regular immigration queue.
Hand over your passport, your onward ticket confirmation, and the arrival card. Officers will ask where you are staying and, occasionally, to see a hotel booking. Give a clear, specific answer โ vagueness invites secondary questioning. The stamp issued is a temporary entry permit valid for your 240 hours.
Typical processing takes 10 to 30 minutes, longer at peak arrival banks. Some airports offer a pre-clearance code system through the airline, which speeds things up; ask your carrier when checking in.
Refusals under this policy are almost always avoidable. They cluster around a handful of predictable errors.
No. They are two separate schemes. Unilateral visa-free entry (available to citizens of a growing list of countries, currently around 45) lets you enter for tourism for up to 30 days with no onward-ticket requirement and no transit condition. The 240-hour transit exemption is open to a wider set of 54 nationalities but requires you to be genuinely transiting to a third country. If you are eligible for unilateral visa-free entry, that is usually the simpler option.
Hong Kong, China and Macao, China count as separate regions for immigration purposes, so a routing such as London to Hong Kong, China, then into mainland China, then onward to Seoul can satisfy the transit condition. However, the specific port and routing rules matter, and land and sea crossings are treated differently from flights. Verify your exact itinerary with the airline and the National Immigration Administration before booking.
Genuine force majeure โ airline cancellation, severe weather, medical emergency โ is handled case by case by the local exit-entry administration, and you should go to them immediately with documentary proof from the airline or hospital. Do not simply wait at the airport. That said, this is exactly why you should plan to leave with a half-day buffer rather than relying on goodwill.
If you stay in a hotel, the hotel registers you automatically at check-in โ nothing further is needed. If you stay in private accommodation such as a friend's home or an unregistered rental, you are required to register at the local police station, generally within 24 hours of arrival. Bring your passport and the entry permit.
City guides where everything above applies on the ground.
Once the visa is sorted, browse the city guides and the on-the-ground toolkit.
This page is for general guidance only. Policies change periodically โ always confirm with the National Immigration Administration or your nearest Chinese embassy before booking.
Our team of China travel researchers combines on-the-ground contributor insights, official government sources, and traveler community feedback to create the most detailed English-language China guides available. Every guide is fact-checked against primary sources (NIA, 12367, official attraction websites, Railway 12306) before publication.