China recently issued updates to its transit visa-free policy by expanding the scope to citizens of more countries. Qualified foreign individuals are able to travel to China without visa for up to 10 days – a great opportunity to explore the country. This post will present everything you need to know about this transit visa-free policy, and you are able to quickly check out the eligibility with a simple quiz at the end!
What you can get:
10 days (240 hours) of travel in China without hassle of getting a Chinese visa.
Travel purpose could include tourism, business, visiting, family visit, etc.
Tip: You can fulfill the “transit” condition by choosing to use a connecting flight from a third country/region (e.g. Japan, Dubai or Hong Kong) to China.
Pre-requisite:
You need to be citizen(s) from 54 countries/regions listed below:
Europe
Albania（阿尔巴尼亚）
Austria（奥地利）
Belarus（白俄罗斯）
Belgium（比利时）
Bosnia and Herzegovina（波黑）
Bulgaria（保加利亚）
Croatia（克罗地亚）
Cyprus（塞浦路斯）
Czech Republic（捷克）
Denmark（丹麦）
Estonia（爱沙尼亚）
Finland（芬兰）
France（法国）
Germany（德国）
Greece（希腊）
Hungary（匈牙利）
Iceland（冰岛）
Ireland（爱尔兰）
Italy（意大利）
Latvia（拉脱维亚）
Lithuania（立陶宛）
Luxembourg（卢森堡）
Malta（马耳他）
Monaco（摩纳哥）
Montenegro（黑山）
Netherlands（荷兰）
North Macedonia（北马其顿）
Norway（挪威）
Poland（波兰）
Portugal（葡萄牙）
Romania（罗马尼亚）
Russia（俄罗斯）
Serbia（塞尔维亚）
Slovakia（斯洛伐克）
Slovenia（斯洛文尼亚）
Spain（西班牙）
Sweden（瑞典）
Switzerland（瑞士）
Ukraine（乌克兰）
United Kingdom（英国）
Americas:
Argentina（阿根廷）
Brazil（巴西）
Canada（加拿大）
Chile（智利）
Mexico（墨西哥）
United States（美国）
Oceania:
Australia（澳大利亚）
New Zealand（新西兰）
Asia:
Brunei（文莱）
Japan（日本）
Qatar（卡塔尔）
Republic of Korea（韩国）
Singapore（新加坡）
United Arab Emirates（阿联酋）
You can also check the interactive map below:
Your passport needs to be valid for at least 3 months since your arrival.
China needs to be your stop in the middle: You need to possess valid interline passenger tickets with specified dates and seats for you to travel from China to a third country/region within 240 hours of arrival.
Travel purpose does not include work (which requires a Z-visa), study (which requires a X-visa) and news reporting (which requires a J-visa).
You must enter China through one of the listed 60 ports/airports, and can travel freely between the listed regions, without having to limit travel destination to only one province/city. (Find the detailed ports/airports list here, or you can take a small quiz at the end of this post)
Notes:
240 hours start as of the next 12:00 am of arrival (eg. If you arrive at 2:00 am of January 1st, the 240 hours’ count will start at 12:00 am of January 2nd)
You don’t have to depart China from the same airport of arrival, as long as the departing airports are on the list.
No fee will be charged upon receiving your permit to stay visa-free.
You don’t automatically enter China without visa – you still have to fill in an entry form and make the application at border.
If your country has a separate mutual agreement or enjoys visa-free treatment from China, this policy will yield to the separate agreement terms.
Here is a small quiz to test if you are eligible for this Transit Visa-Free policy:
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