China 240-hour visa-free transit: rules to check

What to do

1. Open the current NIA 240-hour transit policy and check that your ordinary-passport nationality appears on the live eligible-country list. The published total can change.
2. Check that your planned arrival port is one of the designated ports and that every mainland stop remains within the permitted areas shown by NIA.
3. Check your confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region and the dates against the official policy. Keep the travel document and booking available for inspection.
4. Check the entry and exit path as one itinerary, including any side trip or return. Do not treat the phrase “240 hours” as permission to travel anywhere in the country.
5. Recheck NIA shortly before departure and ask an official service if any part of the route or document is unclear.

What NIA currently publishes

As checked on 17 October 2026, NIA’s August interpretation states 57 eligible countries and 65 ports across 24 provincial-level areas. It requires an ordinary passport and an onward ticket with confirmed seat and departure date to a third country or region. The maximum stay is 240 hours in permitted areas, rather than a general national visa waiver.

The source list is not reproduced here because names and designated ports may be updated. Click the official NIA page for the complete current list. NIA’s notices can add countries or ports, and a later notice supersedes an older count.

Do not confuse this with other entry rules

China also has other visa-free, visa and short direct-transit arrangements. The 240-hour policy has its own requirements. A person eligible under another rule should check that rule separately; a traveller without one of these conditions should not assume the 240-hour headline applies.

NIA says short-term tourism, business, visits and family visits can be permitted within the transit policy, while work, study and news reporting requiring prior approval need the appropriate visa. The activities and permitted stay area still depend on the official policy and inspection decision.

Questions to resolve before payment

Check the exact passport nationality, designated entry port, onward destination and ticket. Consider whether a return to the point of origin is really a third-country transit, and ask NIA rather than relying on forum examples. Keep enough flexibility in your booking until the official conditions are clear for the whole route.

Check the whole transit, not one flight

Read your itinerary from the country or region before mainland entry through the onward destination after mainland departure. Compare the passport nationality, designated arrival port, confirmed onward ticket and each planned stop with the current NIA page. A headline about ten days does not by itself show that a particular airport, train transfer or side trip is permitted.

If you change flights, buy a new onward ticket or add a mainland stop, repeat that check before travelling. Keep the official policy page and your confirmed tickets available at check-in and border inspection. Airline staff and immigration officers may ask to see the actual route and travel document. Where the official wording does not clearly cover your plan, contact NIA 12367 or the relevant authority instead of relying on a generic example.

Common problems