China's 240-hour visa-free transit

What you need to know

China's 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy (240小时过境免签政策) allows eligible travelers to enter designated parts of China for up to 10 days while traveling onward to a third country or region.

As of October 5, 2026, the policy covers:

• 57 nationalities;
• 65 eligible entry ports;
• permitted areas across 24 provincial-level regions.

The essential route is:

A → China → B

where B must be a different country or region from A.

The route is the key

Possible qualifying patterns include:

Canada (加拿大) → Shanghai (上海) → Japan (日本)

and:

United States (美国) → Beijing (北京) → South Korea (韩国).

A simple:

Canada → Beijing → Canada

does not meet the third-country-or-region transit requirement.

If your passport separately qualifies for China's 30-day visa-free policy, that is a different entry basis.

Current eligibility

The current list contains 57 eligible nationalities, including Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and multiple countries in Europe, Asia and South America.

Kyrgyzstan (吉尔吉斯斯坦) and Vietnam (越南) were added on August 20, 2026.

Core checklist

You generally need all of the following:

• eligible nationality;
• qualifying travel document;
• at least 3 months of document validity under the current rule;
• confirmed onward travel to a third country or region;
• departure within 240 hours;
• entry through an eligible port;
• travel only within the permitted stay area.

If any one of these conditions fails, do not assume the policy applies.

How the 240 hours are counted

The visa-free period currently begins at:

00:00 on the day after entry.

Still, build a departure buffer rather than planning around the absolute deadline.

You must use an eligible port

Examples include:

• Beijing Capital International Airport (北京首都国际机场)
• Beijing Daxing International Airport (北京大兴国际机场)
• Shanghai Pudong International Airport (上海浦东国际机场)
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (上海虹桥国际机场)
• Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (成都天府国际机场)
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (成都双流国际机场)
• Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (西安咸阳国际机场)

Check the current official port list for your actual itinerary.

The permitted area matters

The 240-hour policy does not automatically allow unrestricted travel anywhere in mainland China.

Each qualifying entry arrangement has a defined permitted stay area.

Before booking internal transport, check exactly where you are allowed to travel.

What to carry

Keep these accessible:

• passport;
• confirmed onward booking;
• accommodation details;
• itinerary;
• any required entry documents for the onward destination.

What you can do during the stay

Eligible transit travelers may generally undertake activities such as tourism, business, visits and family visits.

Employment, long-term study and other activities requiring authorization remain outside the scope of the transit policy.

24-hour visa-free transit

China also has a separate 24-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy (24小时过境免签政策).

Do not treat the 24-hour and 240-hour policies as the same program.

Four questions before booking

Re-verify before travel

The nationality list, participating ports and permitted areas can change.

For an unusual itinerary, confirm it with the National Immigration Administration (国家移民管理局, NIA) or immigration hotline 12367 before travel.