China Travel Toolsby Pulp & Paw

Tianjin Seaport: 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit Guide

Last verified

Port facts at a glance: Tianjin Port (Passenger) (permitted stay area, documents, conditions).

Last verified: 2026-11-03 (240-hour rules, port list and stay area, against the National Immigration Administration). Transport information last checked: 2026-11-03 (official airport/metro pages, dated below). Rules can change at short notice; the NIA and the border officer at the port have the final say. Hotline 12367 (from abroad +86 12367).

Tianjin has two designated 240-hour ports. Binhai International Airport has its own guide; this page covers the passenger seaport, which has little official information, and sums up the rules that apply to both. Each port below has a stable section you can link to.

240-hour ports in Tianjin

Port Type NIA No. Guide
Tianjin Binhai International Airport (天津滨海国际机场口岸) air 3 Own guide
Tianjin Port (Passenger) (天津海港口岸（客运）) sea 4 Section below

⚠️ Unverified or uncertain items on this page

  • Whether Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan count as the 'third country or region' (for example Tokyo → here → Hong Kong) is stated explicitly only in an airline FAQ (China Southern, 2024-12-30), not on a government page. NIA texts say 'third country (region)'. Treat as unverified and confirm with 12367 before booking.
  • Refusal ground not confirmed for 240-hour transit: Serious violation of accommodation-registration rules within the past 2 years (listed in NIA's 24-hour transit temporary-entry rules; applicability to 240h not explicitly restated).

Tianjin Port (Passenger)
Official name Tianjin Port (Passenger) (天津海港口岸（客运）)
City Tianjin
Port type sea
NIA list number No. 4 of 65
Designated since before 2024-12-17 (one of the original 39 ports)
Transport info checked 2026-11-03

Tianjin's passenger seaport (天津海港口岸（客运）) is a designated 240-hour port, used mainly by international cruise ships. Entering here gives you the whole of Tianjin, plus Beijing and Hebei, which are also permitted in full.

⚠️ Unverified or uncertain at Tianjin Port (Passenger)

  • Terminal name, current sailings and onward transport not verified from an official page.
  • Cruise passengers may instead be covered by China's separate cruise-group visa-free scheme, which has different rules; this page covers 240-hour transit only.

Getting from Tianjin Port (Passenger) to the city

⚠️ We did not find an official page listing current international passenger sailings or transport from the terminal. Ask your cruise line or ferry operator which terminal you will use, and how to get from there to the city, before you travel.

Check a trip through this port: 240-hour checker with Tianjin Port (Passenger) pre-selected.

Who can use 240-hour visa-free transit here

You can enter at any of these ports without a visa for up to 240 hours only if all of these are true (source: NIA (EN) Policy Interpretation: Visa-Free Transit Policies (2026-08-20); conditions from NIA Announcement No. 4 of 2025, Annex 1 (2025-11-03)):

The 57 eligible countries: 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, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam.

You will be refused the 240-hour exemption if any of these apply:

Want a 30-day stay instead? Many of these nationalities can also use China's unilateral 30-day visa-free entry: see 30-day visa-free countries.

Where you may go: the permitted stay area

Entering at any 240-hour port in Tianjin puts you in the Tianjin Municipality stay area: Entire administrative area of Tianjin. Cross-province travel is allowed within the permitted areas of all 24 provinces.

You may also travel on to the permitted areas of the other 23 provinces (cross-province travel has been allowed since 17 Dec 2024, gov.cn (2024-12-17)). Areas limited to listed cities:

All 240-hour ports in this stay area (you may leave through any designated port nationwide): Tianjin Binhai International Airport, Tianjin Port (Passenger).

How the 240 hours are counted (worked example)

The 240 hours are counted from 00:00 on the day after entry. Example: enter 1 Jan, clock starts 2 Jan 00:00, leave by 11 Jan 24:00. (sources: NIA, 2025-11-03 (2025-11-03); Yunnan government Q&A (undated page; references policy status as of 2026-08-20))

You arrive at a port in Tianjin Clock starts Latest departure (onward transport must leave by)
5 May, 08:00 6 May, 00:00 15 May, 24:00 (midnight at the end of 15 May)
5 May, 23:50 6 May, 00:00 15 May, 24:00
6 May, 00:20 (flight landed just after midnight) 7 May, 00:00 16 May, 24:00

The date that counts is the date you pass the border check, not the date your flight was scheduled. Your onward ticket must show a confirmed departure inside this window and must be bought before you arrive.

One-stop trip check: what to sort out besides the visa question

Getting the visa question right is only half of it. Before you fly into Tianjin:

FAQ

When does my 240 hours start if I land at a port in Tianjin?

At 00:00 on the day after you pass the border check. See the worked example above.

Can I fly in from my home country and fly back home from here?

No. The country or region you arrive from and the one you leave to must be different (A → China → B). Yunnan government Q&A (undated page; references policy status as of 2026-08-20).

Do I have to leave from the port I arrived at?

No. You may leave through any of the designated ports, as long as you stayed inside the permitted areas and leave within the time.

Can I use Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan as my onward destination?

Probably yes, but ⚠️ this is unverified: only an airline FAQ says so explicitly. Arriving from and returning to the same place (e.g. Hong Kong → here → Hong Kong) does not qualify. Confirm with 12367.

What if my flight is cancelled and I overstay?

Before the 240 hours run out, apply to the local public security exit-entry office for a stay permit. Unauthorised overstay is illegal stay.

Sources

Information is for reference only; official sources prevail. See our terms and disclaimer.