China visa-free transit: the 240-hour rule explained
Citizens of 57 countries can enter China for up to 10 days without a visa, through 65 ports in 24 provinces. Here are the conditions, the limits, and the obligation most travellers miss.
China now runs two parallel visa-free transit schemes. The wider one lets citizens of 57 countries stay up to 240 hours — 10 days — without applying for a visa. It is the single most useful entry route for short business trips and stopovers, and it is routinely misunderstood.
Which scheme applies to you
24-hour transit is open to all nationalities, at all open ports. You need a valid travel document and an onward ticket with a confirmed seat, and you must remain inside the port restricted area.
240-hour transit is the substantial one. Citizens of 57 countries may leave the airport and travel within designated areas for up to 10 days.
The 57 eligible countries
By region, as published by the National Immigration Administration:
- Europe — 40 countries, including the UK, France, Germany and Russia
- Asia — 9 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Vietnam
- South America — 4 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico
- North America — 2 countries: Canada, United States
- Oceania — 2 countries: Australia, New Zealand
Country counts change as the policy is extended. Some secondary sources still cite 55; the National Immigration Administration listing says 57. Check the NIA page below against your own passport before booking.
The two conditions
Both are strict, and both are checked at the counter:
- A valid international travel document
- An onward ticket to a third country or region, with a confirmed seat and departure date
“Third country” is the part people get wrong. You must be travelling through China to somewhere else — not flying in and back out to where you came from. An open-dated or unconfirmed onward ticket does not qualify.
Where you can enter
The policy operates at 65 designated exit-entry ports across 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Recent additions include Guangzhou, Hengqin and Zhongshan in Zhuhai, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and West Kowloon Station on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.
What you may and may not do
Permitted: tourism, business, visiting friends, family reunion.
Not permitted: work, study, or news reporting. Those require prior approval and the appropriate visa — entering on transit and then working is a straightforward way to get yourself banned.
Area limits: you must stay within the permitted zone for the port you entered through. Leaving that zone requires a temporary entry permit from the port immigration authority. This catches people who enter at one city intending to travel across the country.
The obligation almost everyone misses
Visa-free entry does not exempt you from accommodation registration. If you stay anywhere other than a hotel — a friend’s flat, a short-term rental — you must still register your address with the local police within 24 hours, exactly as a visa holder would. Hotels do it for you automatically.
See the city guides for where to go: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen.
Sources
- National Immigration Administration — Visa-Free Transit Policies
- The State Council — China’s 240-hour visa-free transit policy
- The State Council — China widens visa-free access
Visa policy changes frequently and eligibility depends on your specific passport and itinerary. This page records what the official sources said on the verification date shown above. Confirm with a Chinese embassy or consulate before booking travel.