Under what conditions can I cross into China without a visa? And when is it possible to leave the airport and visit a city during a long layover?

China allows visa-free transit as long as the duration of stay in China does not exceed 24 hours.

However, there is a greatly expanded version of the visa-free transfer option for travelers from 54 countries for up to 240 hours.

Book a hotel when transferring in China

Visa-free transfer for 240 hours

As of 2025, China has extended the previous visa-free 72-hour or 144-hour transfer to 240 hours, which is 10 days.

For official information, please visit this page: visaforchina.cn.

Who can take advantage of the 240-hour visa exemption?

This policy applies to citizens of 54 countries.

• 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*, 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 complete visa-free entry to China until 31 December 2025 and do not have to deal with transfer conditions at all.

When and where can I use the visa-free transfer?

You can enter China without a visa during a transfer if you are transiting through China to another (third) country. The final destination must be in a different country than the city of departure.

Travel to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan also meet the definition of an international flight. They are treated as separate countries for these purposes.

Visa-free transfers apply to the provinces, airports and ports listed below.

After leaving the airport, you are free to move either throughout the province or in some cases only to the cities listed. Unless specifically stated, the entire province can be visited.

However, as of 2025, you can also transfer between all the provinces, or airports and ports , listed below.

• Beijing City
  • Beijing-Capital PEK Airport
  • Beijing-Daxing Airport PKX
• Shanghai City
  • Shanghai-Pudong Airport PVG
  • Shanghai-Hongqiao Airport SHA
  • Port of Shanghai
• Tianjin City
  • Tianjin TSN Airport
  • Tianjin Port
• Chongqing City
  • Chongqing CKG Airport
• Anhui Province
  • Hefei HFE Airport
  • Huangshan-Tunxi Airport TXN
• Fujian Province
  • Fuzhou FOC Airport
  • Xiamen XMN Airport
  • Quanzhou-Jinjiang Airport JJN
  • Wuyishan Airport WUS
  • Xiamen Port
• Guangdong Province
  • Guangzhou CAN airport
  • Shenzhen SZX airport
  • Jieyang-Chaoshan-Shantou Airport SWA
  • Nansha Port
  • Port of Shekou
• 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
  • Haikou Airport HAK
  • Sanya SYX Airport
• Hebei Province
  • Shijiazhuang Airport SJW
  • Qinhuangdao Port
• Heilongjiang Province - only Harbin city 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 KHN Airport
• Liaoning Province
  • Dalian DLC Airport
  • Shenyang Airport SHE
  • Dalian Port
• Shaanxi Province
  • Xi'an XIY Airport
• Shanxi Province
  • Taiyuan TYN Airport
• Shandong Province
  • Jinan TNA Airport
  • Qingdao TAO Airport
  • 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
  • Chengdu-Shuangliu CTU Airport
  • Chengdu-Tianfu Airport TFU
• Yunnan Province - only 9 cities can be visited.
  • Kunming KMG Airport
  • Lijiang Sanyi Airport LJG
  • Mohan railway border crossing
• Zhejiang Province
  • Hangzhou HGH Airport
  • Ningbo Airport NGB
  • Wenzhou Airport WNZ
  • Yiwu Airport YIW
  • Wenzhou Port
  • Zhoushan Port

Can I have 2 or more transfers in China?

Yes. As of 2025, the full 240-hour visa-free entry to China should apply to itineraries that include multiple stopovers in China, including domestic Chinese flights.

The condition is of course arrival and departure from any of the above airports.

In addition, the domestic flight or overland journey must also pass exclusively through the above-mentioned airports or provinces.

What documents do I need to have?

You must always present the necessary documents when you check in at your departure airport and then in China when you complete your visa-free entry application.

• A return airline or boat ticket
• Passport valid for at least 3 months after leaving China
• Visa for your final destination, if required

We consistently recommend that you have a hard copy of your connecting ticket.

How do I apply for visa-free entry to China during a layover?

You cannot apply for entry online in advance.

Upon arrival, before going through immigration control, look for the counter marked Temporary Permit Application to apply for visa-free entry.

With this, you will then go to immigration control and enter China.

How is the 240 hour time limit calculated?

Actually, the allowed period of visa-free stay in China during a layover is always a little longer than 240 hours.

In fact, the time limit does not start to run until 00:00 the day after the passenger arrives in China.

So, for example, if you arrive at 16:20 on 1 January, you can enter China immediately, but the 240-hour period will not be calculated until midnight on 2 January.

Risks and possible inconveniences

Since the early days when the policy of allowing visa-free visits to China on transfer was introduced many years ago, you will occasionally encounter officials or check-in agents who are not fully up-to-date or misinterpret the policy.

With more complicated itineraries, especially those that include multiple stopovers in China, or if you are continuing on from China other than by plane, there may be situations where check-in agents will not want to let you board the plane at all.

However, the information given here is based on official documents from Chinese visa centres (see visaforchina.cn) and can also be verified against the Tiamtic database used by airlines.

Timatic in a simplified version is publicly available free of charge, for example on the United airlines website.

Denial of entry clearance

The final decision to grant visa-free entry is always up to the official in China.

You may not be granted entry into China, in which case you must remain in the transit area of the airport for the duration of your transfer.

Usually officials will not give entry permits if you have too short a transfer time and would not be able to get a meaningful tour of the city.

Getting to/from Hong Kong or Macau by train or boat

Visa-free entry for 240 hours while in transit through China can also be used when crossing the border between China and Hong Kong or Macau by boat or train.

However, you can only use the designated stations or ports, the so-called "ports of call". Open Entry / Exit Ports.

However, different conditions apply for the journey to Hong Kong/Macao and different conditions apply for the return journey from Hong Kong/Macao to China.

In order to take advantage of the 240-hour visa-free policy when transiting through China, you must enter Guangdong Province (the only province bordering Hong Kong and Macau) only through the international airport or exclusively and only these two ports on the outskirts of Guangzhou:

• Nansha
• Shekou

You cannot enter China through any other port (for example, at Shenzhen Airport or any port other than Nansha and Shekou) without a visa, nor can you enter China by train.

However, the situation is different when travelling the other way. You can leave China for Hong Kong and Macau via any port or XRL high-speed rail border crossing.

This is only true when travelling by XRL high-speed train, but you cannot leave China by subway via the Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau border crossings.

Specific examples:

• Arrival in Guangzhou - XRL high-speed train to Hong Kong
  • No need to arrange a visa to enter China - a 240-hour visa-free entry policy can be used
• Arrival in Shenzhen - ferry from any port in Shenzhen to Hong Kong or Macau
  • No need to arrange a visa for China - 240 hours visa-free entry policy can be used
• Arrival in Hong Kong or Macau - ferry to Shekou or Nansha port
  • No need to arrange a visa for China - 240 hours visa-free entry policy can be used
• Arrival in Hong Kong or Macau - ferry to a port other than Shekou or Nansha
  • China visa required
• Arrival in Hong Kong or Macau - train to Guangzhou or Shenzhen - flight out of China
  • Need to arrange a visa for China

Examples of itineraries

To give you a better overview, below are 5 examples where you can use the 240-hour entry into China on a transfer and 5 examples where you cannot.

✔ It is possible to enter China for 240 hours	x Cannot be used
Budapest - Ningbo - Shanghai - Auckland	Istanbul - Urumqi - Hong Kong (Urumqi airport does not fall under this policy)
Los Angeles - Beijing - Hong Kong	Hong Kong - Canton train Guangzhou - Amsterdam
Sydney - Haikou - Beijing - Prague	London - Beijing - Lanzhou - Bangkok (Lanzhou airport is not covered by this policy)
Bangkok - Shanghai Train Shanghai - Beijing Beijing - Tokyo	Tokyo - Beijing - Osaka (transfer must be to a different country than departure)
Paris - Guangzhou Ship and train to Hong Kong	Paris - Shenzhen subway to Hong Kong

Visa-free transfer for 24 hours

If you do not qualify for visa-free transit for up to 240 hours, in the vast majority of cases you will at least be eligible for a visa-free transfer within 24 hours.

This is available if you are flying through an airport that does not fall within the extended 240-hour period (international airports include Urumqi URC, Lanzhou LHW, Yinchuan YIC, Changchun CGQ or Lhasa LXA).

In this case, the time is calculated from the exact arrival in China to the departure from China.