What are the 24-hour, 72-hour, 144-hour Visa-Free Transit Policies for Foreign Nationals?-FAQ

What are the 24-hour, 72-hour, 144-hour Visa-Free Transit Policies for Foreign Nationals?

2024-03-11

In line with global norms, China has implemented a 24-hour visa-free transit policy for foreign nationals from all other countries around the world at all its accessible exit-entry ports. Foreign nationals holding valid international travel documents and connecting tickets with confirmed seats, who intend to transit via China by international flights, ships, or trains to third countries or regions, are exempt from visa applications, provided that their stay periods in China will not exceed 24 hours and that they will remain within the corresponding ports. Those who plan to leave the ports must apply for temporary entry permits at the exit-entry border inspection authorities of the corresponding ports.

Currently, 38 exit-entry ports in 18 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government of China have implemented the 72-hour or 144-hour visa-free transit policy for foreign nationals from 54 countries. These countries are Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Foreign nationals from these countries holding valid international travel documents and connecting tickets with information on confirmed dates and seats for transit via China to third countries or regions within specified time frames can apply for visa-free transits at the exit-entry border inspection authorities of the ports in the cities where the visa-free transit policies are in effect. The exit-entry border inspection authorities will then process their applications and grant temporary entry to the eligible foreign nationals. The duration of stay for each foreign national starts from 0:00 on the day following the day of entry.

The list of the ports in cities where the 72-hour and 144-hour visa-free transit policies are in effect is stated below.

S/N	Provincial-Level Administrative Division/Region	Eligible City		Eligible Port	Permitted Stay Area(s)	Notes
72-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy
1	Hunan Province		Changsha, Hunan	Changsha Huanghua International Airport	Hunan Province
2	Heilongjiang Province		Harbin, Heilongjiang	Harbin Taiping International Airport	Harbin City
3	Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region		Guilin, Guangxi	Guilin Liangjiang International Airport	Guilin City
4			Beihai, Guangxi	Beihai Port (for passenger transport)	Beihai City
144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy
1	Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region	Beijing		Beijing Capital International Airport	Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province	Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province have collaboratively implemented the 144-hour visa-free transit policy. Foreign nationals meeting the policy's requirements can enter and exit China through all the eligible ports within the region, and stay for a maximum of 144 hours in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.
2				Beijing Daxing International Airport
3				Beijingxi Railway Station
4		Tianjin		Tianjin Binhai International Airport
5				Tianjin International Cruise Home Port
6		Shijiazhuang, Hebei		Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport
7		Qinhuangdao, Hebei		Qinhuangdao Port (for passenger transport)
8	Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai region	Shanghai		Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport	Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province	Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province and Shanghai Municipality have collaboratively implemented the 144-hour visa-free transit policy. Foreign nationals meeting the policy's requirements can enter and exit China through all the eligible ports within the region, and stay for a maximum of 144 hours in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
9				Shanghai Pudong International Airport
10				Shanghai Port (for passenger transport)
11				Exit-Entry Port of Shanghai Railway Station
12		Nanjing, Jiangsu		Nanjing Lukou International Airport
13		Lianyungang, Jiangsu		Lianyungang Port (for passenger transport)
14		Hangzhou, Zhejiang		Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
15		Ningbo, Zhejiang		Ningbo Lishe International Airport
16		Wenzhou, Zhejiang		Wenzhou Port (for passenger transport)
17		Zhoushan, Zhejiang		Zhoushan Port (for passenger transport)
18	Guangdong Province	Guangzhou, Guangdong		Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport	Guangdong Province	Foreign nationals meeting the policy's requirements can enter China through the airports in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Jieyang, as well as Nansha Port and Shekou Port, and stay for a maximum of 144 hours. Foreign nationals having entered China through the aforementioned ports in Guangdong Province are permitted to leave China through all the 36 exit-entry ports providing passenger transport services within the province.
19				Nansha Port (for passenger transport)
20		Shenzhen, Guangdong		Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport
21				Shekou Port (for passenger transport)
22		Jieyang, Guangdong		Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport
23	Liaoning Province	Shenyang, Liaoning		Shenyang Taoxian International Airport	Liaoning Province	Foreign nationals meeting the policy's requirements can enter and exit China through the airports in Shenyang and Dalian, as well as Dalian Port, and stay for a maximum of 144 hours.
24		Dalian, Liaoning		Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport
25				Dalian Port (for passenger transport)
26	Shandong Province	Qingdao, Shandong		Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport	Shandong Province
27				Qingdao Port (for passenger transport)
28	Chongqing Municipality	Chongqing		Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport	Chongqing Municipality
29	Sichuan Province	Chengdu, Sichuan		Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport	Chengdu City, Deyang City, Leshan City, Luzhou City, Meishan City, Neijiang City, Suining City, Ya'an City, Yibin City, Zigong City and Ziyang City
30	Shaanxi Province	Xi'an, Shaanxi		Xi'an Xianyang International Airport	Xi'an City and Xianyang City
31	Fujian Province	Xiamen, Fujian		Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport	Xiamen City
32				Port of Xiamen (for passenger transport)
33	Hubei Province	Wuhan, Hubei		Wuhan Tianhe International Airport	Wuhan City
34	Yunnan Province	Kunming, Yunnan		Kunming Changshui International Airport	Kunming City

For further information，please visit website https://en.nia.gov.cn