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Transfers in China and free visa-free entry
Under what conditions can you transit through China without a visa? And when is it possible to leave the airport and visit the city during a long lay-over?
China allows visa-free transit provided that the length of stay in China does not exceed 24 hours.
However, for travellers from 54 countries worldwide, there is a significantly extended version of the visa-free transit option, allowing stays of up to 240 hours.
Book a hotel during your stopover in China
Visa-free transit for 240 hours
From 2025, China has extended the previous 72-hour or 144-hour visa-free transit period to 240 hours, which is 10 days.
You can find official information on this page:visaforchina.cn.
Who is eligible for the 240-hour visa exemption?
This policy applies to citizens of 54 countries worldwide.
- Europe– 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
- North America– Canada, USA
- South America– Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico
- Oceania– Australia*, New Zealand*
- Asia– Brunei, Japan*, Republic of Korea (South Korea)*, Qatar, Singapore, United Arab Emirates
* Citizens of these countries have completely visa-free entry to China until 31 December 2026 and do not need to concern themselves with transit requirements at all.
When and where can you use visa-free transit?
You may enter China without a visa during a transit if you are travelling through China to another (third) country. Your final destination must be in a different country to your city of departure.
Journeys to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan also meet the definition of an international flight. For these purposes, they are treated as separate countries.
Visa-free transit applies to the provinces,airports and ports listed below.
Once you have left the airport, you are free to move either throughout the entire province or, in some cases, only within the specified cities. Unless otherwise stated, you may visit the whole province.
However, from 2025 onwards, you will also be able to travel between all the provinces, airports and ports listed below.
- Beijing
- Shanghai
- Shanghai-Pudong Airport PVG
- Shanghai-Hongqiao Airport SHA
- Shanghai Port
- Tianjin
- Tianjin Airport (TSN)
- Tianjin Port
- Chongqing
- Anhui Province
- Hefei Airport HFE
- Huangshan-Tunxi Airport TXN
- Fujian Province
- Fuzhou Airport (FOC)
- Xiamen Airport (XMN)
- Quanzhou-Jinjiang Airport (JJN)
- Wuyishan Airport (WUS)
- Xiamen Port
- Guangdong Province
- Guangzhou CAN Airport
- Shenzhen Airport (SZX)
- Jieyang-Chaoshan-Shantou Airport SWA
- West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong for high-speed train journeys from Hong Kong to China
- Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge Port (i.e. any journey by coach)
- Guangzhou Pazhou Port
- Zhongshan Port
- Hengqin Port
- Nansha Port
- Shekou Port
- Guangxi Province – only 12 cities can be visited: Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin, Wuzhou, Beihai, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Guigang, Yulin, Hezhou, Huchi, Laibin
- Guilin KWL Airport
- Nanning Airport (NNG)
- Beihai Airport (BEH)
- Beihai Port
- Guizhou Province
- Guiyang Airport (KWE)
- Hainan Province
- Hebei Province
- Shijiazhuang Airport SJW
- Qinhuangdao Port
- Heilongjiang Province – only the city of Harbin can be visited!
- Harbin Airport (HRB)
- Henan Province
- Zhengzhou Airport (CGO)
- Hubei Province
- Wuhan Airport (WUH)
- Hunan Province
- Changsha Airport CSX
- Zhangjiajie Airport DYG
- Jiangsu Province
- Nanjing Airport (NKG)
- Wuxi Sunan Shuofang Airport (WUX)
- Yangzhou-Taizhou Airport (YTY)
- Lianyungang Port
- Jiangxi Province
- Nanchang Airport KHN
- Liaoning Province
- Dalian Airport (DLC)
- Shenyang Airport SHE
- Dalian Port
- Shaanxi Province
- Xi’an Airport (XIY)
- Shanxi Province
- Taiyuan Airport TYN
- Shandong Province
- Jinan Airport TNA
- Qingdao Airport TAO
- Yantai Airport (YNT)
- Weihai Airport WEH
- Qingdao Port
- Sichuan Province – only 11 cities can be visited: Chengdu, Zigong, Luzhou, Deyang, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Yibin, Ya’an, Meishan, Ziyang
- Yunnan Province – only 9 cities can be visited: Kunming, Yuxi, Chuxiong, Honghe, Wenshan, Pu’er, Xishuangbanna, Dali, Lijiang
- Kunming Airport (KMG)
- Lijiang Sanyi Airport (LJG)
- Mohan railway border crossing
- Zhejiang Province
- Hangzhou Airport (HGH)
- Ningbo Airport (NGB)
- Wenzhou Airport (WNZ)
- Yiwu Airport YIW
- Wenzhou Port
- Zhoushan Port
Is it possible to have two or more stopovers in China?
Yes. From 2025, the full 240-hour visa-free entry to China should also apply to itineraries that include multiple stopovers in China, including domestic Chinese flights.
The condition, of course, is that you must arrive at and depart from any of the airports listed above.
Furthermore, any domestic flight or overland journey must pass exclusively through the aforementioned airports or provinces.
For example:
- Amsterdam – Xiamen – Beijing – Tokyo
- Vienna – Beijing – Haikou – Auckland
- etc.
What documents do I need?
You must always present the required documents at check-in at your departure airport and subsequently in China when completing the application for visa-free entry.
- Onward flight or ferry ticket
- A passport valid for at least a further 3 months after leaving China
- A visa for your final destination, if required
We strongly recommend that you have a printed copy of your onward flight ticket.
How do I apply for visa-free entry to China during a transit?
You cannot apply for entry online in advance.
Upon arrival, before passing through immigration control, look for the counter marked ‘Temporary Permit Application’, where you can apply for a visa-free entry permit.
You will then proceed to immigration control with this and enter China.
- ℹ️ On this website, we describe our experiences with transport from the airport to the city centre and recommend top attractions worth visiting around the world.
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How is the 240-hour period calculated?
The permitted visa-free stay in China during a transit is actually always slightly longer than 240 hours.
This is because the period only starts at 00:00 on the day following the passenger’s arrival in China.
So, for example, if you arrive at 16:20 on 1 January, you can enter China straight away, but the 240-hour period will only start at midnight on 2 January.
Risks and potential inconveniences
Ever since the policy allowing visa-free transit through China was introduced many years ago, you may occasionally encounter officials or check-in agents who do not have fully up-to-date information or who misinterpret the policy.
With more complicated itineraries, particularly those involving multiple stopovers in China or where you are travelling on from China by means other than air, situations may arise where check-in agents refuse to allow you to board the aircraft at all.
However, the information provided here is based on official documents from Chinese visa centres (seevisaforchina.cn) and can also be verified against the Timatic database, which is used by airlines.
A simplified version of Timatic is freely available to the public, for example on the Emirates website.
Refusal of entry
The final decision on whether to grant visa-free entry always rests with the official in China.
It may happen that you are ultimately not granted entry to China, in which case you must remain in the airport’s transit zone for the entire duration of your stopover.
Officials usually do not grant entry permission if your layover time is too short and you would not have enough time to make a meaningful visit to the city.
Travelling to/from Hong Kong or Macau by train or boat
The 240-hour visa-free entry during transit through China can also be utilised when crossing the border between China and Hong Kong or Macau by boat or train.
However, you may only use designated stations or ports, known as Open Entry / Exit Ports.
Specific examples:
- Arrival in Guangzhou – XRL high-speed train to Hong Kong
- There is no need to apply for a Chinese visa – you can make use of the 240-hour visa-free entry policy
- Arrival in Shenzhen – ferry from any port in Shenzhen to Hong Kong or Macau
- There is no need to apply for a Chinese visa – you can make use of the 240-hour visa-free entry policy
- Arrival in Hong Kong or Macau – take a ferry to Shekou or Nansha port
- There is no need to apply for a visa for China – you can take advantage of the 240-hour visa-free entry policy
- Arrival in Hong Kong or Macau – ferry to a port other than Shekou or Nansha
You will need to apply for a visa for China- From 2025, there is no need to apply for a visa for China – you can take advantage of the 240-hour visa-free entry policy
- Arrival in Hong Kong or Macau – train to Guangzhou or Shenzhen – departure from China
You will need to obtain a visa for China- From 2025, you will no longer need to apply for a visa to China – you can take advantage of the 240-hour visa-free entry policy
💡You may also be interested in
- Visas and entry formalities for Hong Kong or Macau
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Sample itineraries
To give you a clearer picture, below we’ve listed 5 examples of when you can use the 240-hour transit entry to China, and 5 examples of when you cannot.
| ✔ You can enter China for 240 hours | x Cannot be used |
|---|---|
| Budapest – Ningbo – Shanghai – Auckland | Istanbul – Urumqi – Hong Kong (Urumqi Airport is not covered by this policy) |
| Los Angeles – Beijing – Hong Kong | Guangzhou – Amsterdam available from 2025 |
| Sydney – Haikou – Beijing – Prague | London – Beijing – Lanzhou – Bangkok (Lanzhou Airport is not covered by this policy) |
| Bangkok – Shanghai Shanghai – Beijing train Beijing – Tokyo |
Tokyo – Beijing – Osaka (the transfer must be to a different country from the one of departure) |
| Paris – Guangzhou ferry and train to Hong Kong |
Paris – Shenzhen underground to Hong Kong |
Visa-free transit for 24 hours
If you do not meet the conditions for visa-free transit for up to 240 hours, in the vast majority of cases you will at least be eligible for visa-free transit for up to 24 hours.
You can make use of this if you are flying via an airport that is not covered by the extended 240-hour period (examples of international airports include Lanzhou LHW, Yinchuan YIC, Changchun CGQ and Lhasa LXA).
In this case, the time is calculated from the exact time of arrival in China until departure from China.
Airports through which visa-free transit is not permitted
According to the Timatic visa requirements database, which is used by airlines, visa-free transit is not permitted – even within the 24-hour period – via Urumqi URC, Mudanjiang MDG and Huangshan TXN airports.
However, these exceptions are not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the official information.
Any questions left?
If you have any questions or comments about the article...
10 comments
Milan _26
Translated from cestee.cz
If the main condition for being granted a 240-hour visa is that I must leave China for a country other than the one I arrived in, will a nine-day itinerary of Prague–Beijing–Chengdu–Chongqing–Beijing–Vienna work, or is this just too obvious an attempt to get round the system?
cali
Translated from cestee.cz
You haven’t even read the TWOV rules...
Milan _26
Translated from cestee.cz
I’ve read it about sixty times now
SDLC
Translated from cestee.es
Hello! I’m travelling to China and Japan with an Italian passport that’s valid for less than three months. The itinerary is Barcelona – Shanghai (a stopover of a few hours) – Osaka. We’ll then return to Shanghai for a week before heading back to Spain. Can I apply for the 30-day visa (which only requires the passport to be valid for the duration of the trip) instead of a TWOV?
cali
Translated from cestee.cz
My fresh experience with TWOV in China.
I note that this was my fifth trip this way, i.e. using TWOV with a multi-day stay in China. Previously 3 times Beijing, 1 time Shanghai and now Guangzhou. The tickets were from an event/bug with Saudia from Barcelona.
At the business/status counter I hand in my passports and tickets from Guangzhou (CAN) to Saigon (SGN). The employee flips through the passports for a while, looks at the computer and then asks where my visa is. I tell him I don't need a visa because I want to use TWOV and I have a valid connecting ticket to a third country. He flips through my passport again, looks something up on the computer, and finally gives me back my passport, saying that they can't transport me without a visa. So I tell him to please call a supervisor. The answer was: "I am the supervisor." And he made no effort whatsoever to resolve the situation.
I explain again that this is how TWOV works, that I have used it four times, and show him my passport full of Chinese stamps. I suggest he look into Timatic. He says he has looked and that we don't meet the conditions of entry that the carrier has set.
I'm getting a little upset. My wife paled, but I was still absolutely sure. I was still checking the MFA and Travel China Guide websites on my phone. Finally, a little irritated, I told her to check again because I really was 100% sure.
After a few minutes, he's on the phone somewhere, and in another ten minutes a boss comes in wearing a suit, an Arab from Saudi Arabia. I explain the whole story again, this time rather excitedly.
That didn't help either. For the next ten minutes he studies the computer, his wife meanwhile has completely stopped talking, and then the Arab starts shaking his head. He says no. He says TWOV doesn't apply to Canton and only applies to Shenzhen in this area. He kept repeating something about carrier conditions. I was getting really pissed off by then. He, on the other hand, tried to reassure me that he was doing his best to verify everything.
And then came the twist. Suddenly he started smiling and triumphantly announced that I was right. He had found the right information and Kanton (CAN) was fine for TWOV. He gave us our boarding passes, apologized, shook our hands and we were good to go. It took all of 50 minutes.
I then sweated through security, headed to the lounge and had a shot of Torres to calm down.
This trip was some kind of vicious. I later dealt with another incredible snafu with Vietnam Airlines. I may also write it up as a lesson for others.
pokus
Translated from cestee.cz
Thanks to cali for the post, it confirms my theory that anything is possible but can always be solved somehow. Last time we had to drink all our small bottles of alcohol at security in Shanghai, because apparently you can't carry alcohol even in a 100ml bottle. At least we had fun.
E
Translated from cestee.no
Hello, I have a question,
I have a question about visa-free transit in Beijing on emergency passport.
Also if this only applies to arrivals and departures through the same terminal.
Norway - Beijing - Seoul
Kryštof Hájek
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello, I honestly can't answer this question with 100% certainty.
The official site does not specify the exact conditions of the passports or emergency transfer passes.
But in general, to process a visa-free transfer through China (i.e. if you would like to get out of the airport and see the city during the transfer), you need a passport with a minimum validity of 3 months after the trip. Which I don't think an emergency passport will meet, I don't know.
But if you're only staying in the transit area (you don't just walk outside the airport during the transfer - but the whole ticket must be purchased in one booking), then it shouldn't be a problem.
E
Translated from cestee.no
Thank you very much for your reply.
The transit takes place at the same terminal, so will not leave the terminal or airport - and the entire ticket is booked in one. So the luggage also goes possibly directly.
Will see if I can check this a little more thoroughly
Kryštof Hájek
Translated from cestee.cz
I think this should work normally without any glitches.
Alberto9
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello,
I have a question about the 240-hour visa-free entry to China. Is Taiwan considered a third country? I read here that it does, but I couldn't find it officially anywhere.
We are planning to travel Vienna-Chengdu-Beijing-Taipei (3 days in Beijing).
Back Taipei-Xiamen-Beijing-Prague (in Xiamen 4 days)
Alternatively, where to check this information?
Kryštof Hájek
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello, yes. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are all third countries. All flights from China to these destinations are handled as international flights.
Stan
Translated from cestee.com.ua
Hello everyone! I need advice from those who have had experience of transiting through China.
I have the following route (separate tickets):
Phuket → Chengdu (transfer 10 h 15 min)
Chengdu → Urumqi → Istanbul (this is one ticket)
I am a citizen of Ukraine. I plan to fly without a Chinese visa, using a 24-hour visa-free transit (Transit Without Visa). I don't need to change airports, the whole transit is less than 24 hours.
But I found information on Timatic that visa-free transit may not be possible through Urumqi Airport (URC), even within 24 hours.
Has anyone had a similar route via Chengdu + Urumqi without a Chinese visa?
Were you allowed to board the first flight and transit in China?
I will be very grateful for your real experience 🙏.
cali
Translated from cestee.cz
With this routing, I don't think they'll even let you get on at HKT. I would take that up with the carrier and the embassy, i.e. the current status.
Stan
Translated from cestee.com.ua
Could I ask for a more detailed answer? Thank you!
floodland
Translated from cestee.cz
Two separate tickets. So no transit and as mentioned above, I would expect problems already in HKT.
Stan
Translated from cestee.com.ua
From what I've seen, the transit conditions are getting worse because I'm going to a third country. And I won't be in Hong Kong, so I think you've made a mistake. I would really appreciate your advice
cali
Translated from cestee.cz
HKT=Puket. Again, this should be addressed primarily with the carrier to see if they will approve it. There is the problematic intrastate section from Chengdu to Urumqi, which has always been problematic. The 2 separate tickets are not a problem in themselves, I myself did a layover with TWOV in Shanghai this way in November with no problems.
Kryštof Hájek
Translated from cestee.cz
Now I can't trace exactly what forum I read this on, but there was indeed a problem with the Urumchi after the new update.
It used to fall under visa-free transit for at least 24 hours, but not now. And it's really in Timatico, so with high probability they really won't let you board in Phuket.
filipzidek123
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello,
I have a question if this would work without a visa (Czech passport):
Amsterdam -> Shanghai
Shanghai: 6 days
Shanghai -> Singapore
Singapore: 3 days
Singapore -> Vietnam
Vietnam: 5 days
Vietnam -> Shanghai
Shanghai: less than a day
Shanghai -> Amsterdam (ticket purchased as return ticket together with the first flight Amsterdam -> Shanghai)
Theoretically it would be two transits. The first one from NL via Shanghai to Singapore and the second one from Vietnam via Shanghai to NL. The second thing is that the Amsterdam - Shanghai ticket would be a return ticket because it is cheaper. This means that there is a third country (Singapore and Vietnam), but I am actually flying in and out of China for the whole trip.
Thank you very much for your reply.
Marek Lepil
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello, we have bought tickets to the Philippines with a change of planes in Beijing. The flight there takes 13 hours and the return flight in 14 days takes 12 hours. Can we use the 24 hour visa free change on the way there and back? Thank you
Kryštof Hájek
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello. Yes, see the information above (Visa-free transfer is up to 240 hours, not just 24 hours).
Martin Hladis
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello,
I am planning to fly from budapest to shenzhen, then to shanghai and back to shenzhen- budapest, so visa will be needed right ? total stay about 7 days....
if I were to take a multicity flight from budapest to shanghai in 2 days from shanghai to hong kong
from hong kong in 4 days via shanghai to budapest ? ... is it an option to use transit without visa ?
I heard they won't let me on the plane without a visa, right?
J0x
Translated from cestee.cz
Three times yes.
Will this itinerary work? It should
IST – SHA (3-day stopover)
SHA – PEK – BKK (11-hour stopover in PEK)
That should be fine.