China’s 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: How It Works in 2026

Travellers from 57 countries can now spend up to 10 days in China without a visa. Here’s exactly who qualifies, what happens at the airport, and how to plan a Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Xi’an stopover around it.

What is the 240-hour policy?

China’s visa-free transit scheme lets eligible passport holders enter without a visa when they are transiting to a third country or region. In late 2024 the allowance was extended from 72/144 hours to 240 hours — a full 10 days — and the list of entry ports was expanded to 65 ports across 24 provinces and municipalities, covering all four cities we serve: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi’an.

Do I qualify?

• Nationality: you hold an ordinary passport from one of the 57 eligible countries (as of August 2026) — including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most of the EU, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Brunei, the UAE, Qatar and Indonesia.
• Onward ticket: you have a confirmed flight, train or cruise ticket to a third country or region departing within 240 hours of arrival. A return to the country you flew in from does not count — Singapore → Shanghai → Singapore is not eligible, but Singapore → Shanghai → Bangkok is. (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan count as “third regions”.)
• Passport validity: at least 3 months remaining.

What happens at the airport

1. Look for the dedicated “24/240-hour visa-free transit” counter before immigration (at PEK, PKX, PVG, CAN and XIY it is signposted in English).
2. Show your passport, your onward ticket and your first-night hotel address, and complete the arrival card.
3. The officer stamps a temporary entry permit into your passport — no fee, no photo, usually 10–30 minutes.

What you can and can’t do

Within your permitted stay you can move freely inside the approved provinces — Beijing, Shanghai (plus Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so Suzhou and Hangzhou day trips are fine), Guangdong and Shaanxi are all included. Some regions such as Tibet and Xinjiang remain outside the scheme. The 240 hours start from 00:00 the day after entry, so in practice you get a little more than 10 days.

A perfect 10-day visa-free plan

Before you fly: three checks

• Rules evolve — confirm your eligibility on an official source such as your nearest Chinese embassy or the Chinese Visa Application Service Center before booking.
• Airlines sometimes ask for your onward ticket at check-in — keep a printed copy.
• Payment apps (Alipay/WeChat Pay) now accept foreign cards — set one up before arrival.