The 240-hour transit, from booking to exit
The 240-hour transit gives nationals of 57 countries up to ten days in China without a visa. The rules are published in several places — this page walks the timeline in the order you will actually experience it, from the moment you book to the moment you exit.
Most transit failures happen at two moments: the airline check-in desk and the ticket-booking stage weeks earlier. Both are avoidable with the right order of operations.
Step 1: confirm your passport is on the list
The transit scheme covers 57 nationalities — including the United States, the United Kingdom, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, Japan and South Korea. If your passport is also on the 30-day visa-free list, stop here: use that instead, it has no route requirement and twice the time.
Step 2: book the right itinerary, in the right order
- The route must be A → China → B, where B is a third country or region — not the country you came from.
- The onward ticket must be confirmed and dated, inside the 240-hour window.
- Enter and exit through ports that keep your whole route inside one designated stay area — Shanghai in, Shanghai out works; Shanghai in, Beijing out does not.
- Book the China legs only after the onward ticket is issued. A one-way booking into China with nothing confirmed is the single most common cause of refused boarding.
Step 3: at check-in
The airline — not Chinese immigration — makes the first judgement, because it is liable for flying in passengers who will be refused. Expect the agent to ask for the onward ticket and to check your nationality against the list.
Have printed or offline copies of the onward booking. Airline systems are sometimes slow to show codeshare or separately-ticketed legs, and a printout ends the conversation quickly.
Step 4: at the Chinese border
- Follow the transit / temporary entry channel rather than the standard visa-free entry queue, and declare you are using the 240-hour transit.
- You will complete an arrival card stating your purpose and route.
- The officer verifies the onward ticket and stamps your permitted stay — the end date on that stamp is the authority, not your own count of 240 hours.
Step 5: during your stay
- Travel only inside the designated stay area for your arrival port — typically the province or city cluster around it.
- Register your accommodation as usual; hotels do this automatically, private stays require a police registration within 24 hours.
- If plans change and you need to leave the area or stay longer, contact the local exit-entry administration before — not after — the deadline.
Step 6: exit on time
Leave China for the third country on your booked flight, a day before the stamped deadline if you can. Overstaying by even one day is treated as a visa violation regardless of how valid the trip started.
Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan count as third regions, so exiting to Hong Kong from Shanghai satisfies the onward requirement.
The whole flow at a glance
| When | What must already be true |
|---|---|
| Before booking | Passport on the 57-country list; itinerary is A → China → B |
| Before flying to China | Confirmed onward ticket issued; route inside one stay area |
| At check-in | Onward booking visible (printed copy helps) |
| At the border | Arrival card filled; transit declared; stamp collected |
| During stay | Travel inside the stay area only |
| At exit | Departure before the stamped date, to a third country or region |
Frequently asked
How many days do I actually get on the 240-hour transit?+
Up to ten days, counted from entry. Because the clock starts on arrival day, an evening arrival costs most of day one — count backwards from the date stamped at the border, not forwards from your booking.
Can I enter China twice on the 240-hour transit in one trip?+
Each entry stands alone and needs its own qualifying A → China → B ticket. Two separate transits are possible, but never assume a return leg through the same route will qualify.
What happens if my onward flight is cancelled mid-trip?+
Keep the booking and get written confirmation of the cancellation and rebooking, then contact the local exit-entry administration before your stamped stay expires. Documentation of genuine onward intent is what matters.
Check your own passport
The guides explain the rules. The checker applies them to your nationality and shows the exact date your policy runs to.
Visa rules by nationality
The 30-day visa-free policy covers 18+ of these nationalities. Pick yours:
Read next
China’s 240-hour visa-free transit, explained
Ten days in China without a visa, if your itinerary is A → China → B. Here are the exact rules on tickets, ports, stay areas and what counts as transit.
Where can you actually go on a 240-hour transit?
Your transit stay area depends on the port you land at, not on the visa policy. Here is how the areas work and how to plan a ten-day route that stays legal.
240-hour transit vs 30-day visa-free entry
Two different schemes, two different sets of rules. Picking the wrong one at check-in is the most common avoidable problem for China-bound travellers.
This guide is compiled from publications by China’s National Immigration Administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese visa application centres. Entry decisions rest with the border inspection authority. Confirm your own case with your airline and the nearest Chinese embassy before booking.