Planning Self-Check

China Visa & Entry Planning: A Self-Check

This page helps you work out which question to ask. It is not visa advice, and it does not determine your eligibility. Entry decisions rest with China's immigration authorities and the embassy or consulate serving you — check their official guidance before you book anything.

CHC is a non-travel-agency coordination service. We do not apply for visas, do not advise on visa categories, and do not guarantee entry. Visa categories, required documents, and processing are decided by the Chinese embassy or consulate serving your location and by China's National Immigration Administration. Always confirm with those official sources before you book anything.

240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: Key Policy Facts

China's National Immigration Administration publishes the 240-hour visa-free transit policy. Eligibility and entry decisions rest with the authorities. Please check the official sources below.

Duration & Implementation

The stay duration is 240 hours (10 days). Effective 2024-12-17, this policy replaced an earlier, shorter-duration transit arrangement.

Eligible Countries

The policy currently applies to 57 countries (on 2026-08-20 the National Immigration Administration announced the addition of Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan).

Passport & Ticket Requirement

Requires an ordinary passport and a confirmed-date onward ticket to a third country/region.

Designated Ports & Stay Area

Entry through 65 open ports in 24 provinces, including Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport. Travelers must stay within the designated area.

Permitted & Restricted Activities

Activities the official source lists are tourism, business, visiting, and visiting relatives. Work, study and news-reporting require a visa obtained beforehand.

National Immigration Administration Official Policy Notice

Start here: which situation describes your trip?

Work down the list in order. The first line where you answer "no" tells you that the 240-hour transit route is not the right shape for your trip. Nothing here is a decision about your eligibility — it is a way of finding the right official page.

Where these figures come from: the 57-country list, the 65 ports across 24 provinces, and the 10-day limit are all stated in the NIA policy source linked at the bottom of this page (page dated 2026-08-20, checked 31 October 2026). No figure here is recalled from memory.Not sure whether your country is on the list? The full list of all 57 countries, grouped by region, is published on that NIA page — open the NIA list. We deliberately do not copy the list onto this page, because a copied list can go stale while the official one is updated.
1

Is your nationality on the 240-hour visa-free transit list of 57 countries?

Yes → Continue to the next line.

No → This transit route does not apply to your trip structure. You would need a visa appropriate to your purpose — see the official sources below.

2

Are you only transiting through China to a third country or region (with an onward ticket to that third country or region)?

Yes → Continue to the next line.

No → This transit route does not apply to your trip structure. You would need a visa appropriate to your purpose — see the official sources below.

3

Is your stay within the designated area for 10 days (240 hours) or less?

Yes → Continue to the last line.

No → This transit route does not apply to your trip structure. You would need a visa appropriate to your purpose — see the official sources below.

4

Are your planned activities limited to tourism, business, visiting, or visiting relatives (not work, study, or news-reporting)?

Yes → 240-hour visa-free transit may fit this trip — subject to the port-of-entry decision described below.

No → Work, study and news-reporting require a visa obtained beforehand.

"May" is deliberate. The final decision on entry is made at the port of entry by immigration officers, and CHC cannot predict it.

Official sources

Every policy figure on this page comes from the sources below, and each figure was located in the primary text rather than recalled. If a figure could not be found in the primary text, it is not stated here.

The 57-country figure, the 65 ports across 24 provinces, and the 10-day limit all appear in the NIA policy sources, which reflect updates through 2026-08-20. All six sources were checked on 31 October 2026.

What CHC does and does not do here

CHC does not

  • apply for a visa on your behalf, or act as a visa agency
  • advise which visa category you should apply for
  • prepare, review, or submit visa documents
  • predict, promise, or guarantee entry, stay duration, or approval
  • assess whether you are eligible to enter China

What we can do

Once you have settled your own entry arrangements and dates, we can work from the dates you give us and set out administrative coordination arrangements against that timeline. We organize coordination that comes after your travel is settled — we do not decide it for you.

If your plans depend on entry timing, settle that with the official sources first. We would much rather you ask them than rely on us.

Read the 240-hour transit policy summarySee how CHC worksStart a Free Initial Inquiry
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