China 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: Eligibility, Ports and Stay Areas

Official sources checked: 2026-10-19. This summary reflects the notices located in this review; recheck before departure.

The transit structure is an overseas country or region A → mainland China → a different overseas country or region B. A and B are the locations before and after mainland China, not your passport nationality. A → mainland China → A does not meet that structure. A qualifying route alone does not guarantee boarding or admission.

The 57-country list and latest change

NIA’s announcement effective 2026-08-20 added Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan. The current list has 57 countries, with 65 entry ports and designated stay areas within 24 provincial-level regions. The former figures of 54 or 55 countries and 60 ports are outdated.

Official source: NIA policy interpretation (Chinese) · 2026-08-20

Official source: NIA policy interpretation (English) · 2026-08-20

Official source: NIA: Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan added · 2026-08-20

Europe (40): France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Monaco, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Belarus

Americas (6): Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Canada, United States, Mexico

Oceania (2): Australia, New Zealand

Asia (9): Brunei, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan

Ordinary passports, onward tickets and 240 hours

This guide follows the ordinary-passport wording in NIA’s 2026-08-20 interpretation. The conditions attached to its 2025-11-03 notice also require at least three months of travel-document validity and eligibility to enter the onward country or region. Do not assume other document types qualify; confirm them separately.

Have onward tickets to a third country or region with a confirmed date and itinerary; NIA’s English interpretation also specifies confirmed seats. Complete the required temporary-entry information and border checks. The maximum stay is 240 hours (10 days), counted from 00:00 on the day after entry under the conditions attachment. Follow the deadline on your actual permit, rather than assuming any departure on “day 10” is valid.

Official source: NIA policy interpretation (Chinese) · 2026-08-20

Official source: NIA policy interpretation (English) · 2026-08-20

Official source: NIA application conditions attachment · 2025-11-03

65 ports and 24 regions do not mean unrestricted travel

Apply for entry at one of the 65 designated ports. Cross-province travel is allowed between the permitted areas below, but the entire travel path must comply. Check the official table and immigration authority for the exit port and operating arrangements. The table allows departure through all open ports in Guangdong; that exception must not be assumed elsewhere.

Yunnan’s listed entry ports are Kunming Changshui International Airport, Lijiang Sanyi International Airport and Mohan Railway Port. The five Guangdong ports added on 2025-11-05 are Guangzhou Pazhou, Zhongshan, Hengqin, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge and West Kowloon Station on the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link; they are not five airports. Use the official table for all 65 port names.

Official source: Official table of 65 ports and permitted areas (Chinese)

Official source: Official table of ports and permitted areas (English)

Official source: NIA application conditions attachment · 2025-11-03

Implications for Yunnan, Xinjiang and western Sichuan

Yunnan is limited to the nine listed cities/prefectures and excludes Diqing (Shangri-La). Sichuan is limited to 11 listed cities; do not assume routes into Garze, including Daocheng Yading, are covered. Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai and Gansu are absent from this table and cannot be included under this 240-hour scheme. This does not mean these destinations are closed to travelers holding another valid entry basis.

Official source: Official table of 65 ports and permitted areas (Chinese)

Activities, disruption and outstanding checks

Short visits for tourism, business, visits and family reunions are covered. Work, study and news reporting still require the appropriate prior approvals and visa. For urgent justified reasons or force majeure requiring extra time or travel outside the permitted area, apply in advance to the local public security exit-entry administration for a stay permit; permission is not automatic.

Official source: NIA policy interpretation (Chinese) · 2026-08-20

Official source: NIA: applications in urgent circumstances · 2024-12-17

Confirm non-ordinary passports or nationality issues, the exact onward tickets and transit sequence, actual entry and exit ports, any transit through unlisted areas and the final immigration permit. A country list is not a personal eligibility decision. Residence in Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan or use of Chinese does not itself place someone under a foreign ordinary-passport scheme. Private itineraries still require confirmation of permits, connections, tickets and costs.