240-Hour Visa-Free Transit Checker
Find out if you may transit through mainland China for up to 240 hours (10 days) without a visa.
Trip prep checklist
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How the 240-hour transit works
What to carry
- Ordinary passport of an eligible country, valid for at least 3 months
- Confirmed onward ticket (air, ship or train) to a third country or region, departing within 240 hours (counted from 00:00 the day after arrival)
- Proof you meet the entry requirements of your next destination (e.g. its visa, if required)
- Arrival Card for Temporary Entry Foreigners (paper at the port, or filled online in advance via NIA channels)
You may be refused if
- Passport/travel document valid for less than 3 months.
- Passport bears a Chinese visa-refusal stamp.
- Illegal entry/exit, illegal stay or illegal employment in China within the past 5 years.
- 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).
- Any other circumstance where entry is not permitted under Chinese law.
- No confirmed onward ticket at entry (cannot buy after arrival).
- Round trip to/from the same country or region.
See all 65 entry ports and their stay areas, or check whether your passport is on the 30-day visa-free list.
Visiting several places? Check your whole route with the itinerary checker.
This tool is not legal advice; see our terms and disclaimer.