240-Hour Visa-Free Transit in China: Who Qualifies

Start with the complete journey

The 240-hour transit policy covers eligible onward journeys to a third country or region. Nationality alone does not establish eligibility: passport type, onward tickets, entry port, permitted area and activities are separate conditions.

Route and ticket conditions

The recorded conditions are Ordinary passport; Transit to a third country or region; Onward flight, ship or train ticket with a confirmed seat. The ordinary-passport requirement is separate from nationality eligibility.

Entry ports and permitted areas

The 240-hour policy applies at 65 designated ports across 24 provincial-level regions. The current port list is published by the National Immigration Administration.

Stay limit and activities

The maximum stay is 10 days, expressed as 240 hours. Permitted activities include: Tourism, Business, Visits, Family reunions. Activities requiring prior approval and the appropriate visa include work, study, news reporting.

Short transit through the port

The separate 24-hour policy applies to All countries through All open ports in China. Its conditions are Valid international travel document; Onward ticket with a confirmed seat; Transit to a third country or region.

Remain within the restricted port area. Apply to the port immigration inspection authority for a temporary entry permit before leaving it.

Compare transit with unilateral entry

Unilateral entry and transit have separate nationality lists, stay limits and conditions. The passport-based guide describes unilateral entry’s permitted purposes and counting rule; the comparison table keeps each route’s conditions alongside its own limit.

Read the nationality table as a source list

The nationality table preserves the official statement’s regional grouping, with counts calculated from the policy data. Mexico appears under South America, as classified by the NIA; the grouping reproduces the source rather than a geographic reinterpretation.

Eligible nationalities by region

The policy covers 57 nationalities, as classified by the NIA. Mexico appears under South America in this source classification.

Countries in the supplied NIA transit policy

Region	Count	Countries
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, 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