240-Hour Transit Proof for Check-In (English/Chinese)
Last verified
Last verified: 2026-11-03. This page quotes official text only, from China's National Immigration Administration (NIA). It is not a visa or a permit, and the border officer decides at the port. Airlines check entry rules in IATA's Timatic database. Timatic is a subscription service and we have no official access to its wording, so we do not quote Timatic. Staff can look up China's transit rules there themselves; a public version is IATA's Travel Centre (iatatravelcentre.com).
How to use this page: open it on your phone at the check-in desk, together with your passport and your confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region departing within 240 hours.
1. The policy (NIA, English, 20 Aug 2026)
"Currently, China is implementing this policy for nationals of 57 countries including Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Nationals of these countries, who need to transit through China to third countries or regions, may enter visa-free through any of the designated 65 open exit-entry ports in 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and stay in the permitted areas for no more than 10 days, provided that they hold ordinary passports and onward tickets with confirmed seats and departure dates."
Source: NIA, Policy Interpretation: Visa-Free Transit Policies, section II (2026-08-20).
2. The conditions (NIA, English and Chinese, 3 Nov 2025)
| English (official NIA translation) | 中文（国家移民管理局原文） |
|---|---|
| "II. The applicant must hold a valid international travel document (with a validity of at least 3 months) and meet the requirements for entering a third country(region)." | "二是需持本人有效国际旅行证件，有效期不少于3个月，符合前往第三国（地区）入境条件。" |
| "III. The applicant must hold interline tickets to a third country(region) with confirmed arrangements and departure dates within 240 hours or other proof documents, fill in the Arrival Card for Temporary Entry Foreigners and cooperate with inspections by the immigration authorities." | "三是需持240小时内已确定日期及行程的前往第三国（地区）的联程客票或相关证明，填写临时入境外国人入境卡，接受出入境边防检查机关的检查和询问。" |
| "Foreign nationals who meet the above conditions may apply to the immigration inspection authorities at the 65 ports in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, etc., for the 240-hour visa exemption. The immigration inspection authorities will handle the temporary entry formalities, and the visa-free stay period will be calculated from 0:00 on the day following the day of entry. For any foreign national covered by a mutual visa exemption agreement or unilateral visa exemption policy, the relevant provisions shall prevail." | "符合上述条件的外国人，可向中国北京、上海、广东等地的65个口岸的出入境边防检查机关提出申请，出入境边防检查机关将为其办理临时入境手续，免签停留时间自入境次日零时起算。符合与我国签署互免签证协定或我单方面免签政策的，可从其规定。" |
Sources: NIA Announcement No. 4 [2025], Annex 1 (English); 国家移民管理局公告，附件1（中文） (both 2025-11-03, effective 2025-11-05).
Note on the country count: condition I in the Nov 2025 annex lists 55 countries. Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam were added on 20 Aug 2026 (now 57): NIA Announcement No. 4 of 2026 (English) / 国家移民管理局公告2026年第4号（中文）. The current list of 57 is on the NIA policy page.
3. The 57 countries (NIA, 20 Aug 2026)
Europe (40): Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom. North America (2): Canada, United States. South America (4): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico. Oceania (2): Australia, New Zealand. Asia (9): Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam.
Source: NIA policy page, section II(I) (2026-08-20).
4. Your trip details (fill in before you go)
Write these down and show them with the official text above. Your own details are not official text.
| Passport nationality | ________ |
| Arriving from (country/region A) | ________ |
| China entry port (must be one of the 65) | ________ (check with the transit checker) |
| Onward to (country/region B, different from A) | ________ |
| Onward departure date and time | ________ (must be within 240 h counted from 00:00 the day after entry) |
What this page does not cover
- Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan as the third region: NIA texts say "third country (region)" / "第三国（地区）". A government source explicitly naming Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan as qualifying was not found; only an airline FAQ says so. ⚠️ Unverified.
- Airline-specific policies: some airlines may apply their own checks. We do not quote airline or Timatic wording.
FAQ
The check-in agent says I need a visa. What can I do?
Show sections 1–2 (the official NIA text) and your onward ticket, and ask them to check China's transit-without-visa (TWOV) entry in Timatic. The airline makes its own boarding decision, and at the port the border officer decides.
Is a printed copy better than the phone?
Either can be shown. Printing this page plus your onward ticket avoids battery or network problems.
Information is for reference only; official sources prevail. See our disclaimer.