The National Immigration Administration issued an announcement on December 17th, fully relaxing and optimizing the transit visa-free policy. The stay time for transit visa-free foreigners in China has been extended from the original 72 hours and 144 hours to 240 hours (10 days), and 21 new ports of entry and exit have been added for transit visa-free personnel, further expanding the area of ​​stay and activities.

Eligible citizens from 54 countries including Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, who are transiting through China to a third country (region), can enter China visa-free from any of the 60 open ports in 24 provinces (regions, cities), and stay and engage in activities in the designated area for no more than 240 hours. Compared with the 72/144-hour transit visa-free policy, the biggest feature of this policy adjustment is that it allows cross-regional travel, that is, transit visa-free foreigners can travel across provinces within the allowed area of stay and activities in 24 provinces (regions, cities). 

The applicable conditions for foreigners to apply for the 240-hour transit visa-free policy

The first is citizens of 54 countries that are eligible for transit visa exemption policies:

European countries (40): Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, Russia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Belarus, Norway;

American countries (6): United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile;

Oceanian countries (2): Australia, New Zealand;

Asian countries (6): South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Qatar.

The second is to hold a valid international travel document with a validity period of not less than 3 months and meet the entry requirements for the third country (region). 

he third is to hold a connecting ticket or relevant certificate to the third country (region) with a confirmed date and seat within 240 hours, fill in the temporary entry card for foreigners, and accept the inspection and inquiry of the entry and exit border inspection authorities. Foreigners who meet the above conditions can apply to the border inspection authorities at 60 ports in Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities in China. The border inspection authorities will handle their temporary entry procedures, and the visa-free stay time will be counted from zero on the day of entry. Those who meet the visa exemption agreements signed with China or China's unilateral visa exemption policies can enter from the designated ports.

According to the latest statistics from January to November 2024, the number of foreign visitors entering China through various ports nationwide was 29.218 million, an increase of 86.2% year-on-year. Among them, 17.446 million people entered visa-free, an increase of 123.3% year-on-year.