China Transit Visa-Free Entry: Which Route Applies?
Get the entry path for your transit: an ordinary visa-free rule, 24-hour transit, 240-hour transit — or a clear visa requirement.
China transit visa checker
Build the route first — the checker decides whether it is transit
Enter what is immediately before and after mainland China. Then add passport, timing and port details only when they can change the answer.
One more detail
Your checked trip
Your answer
Why this is your result
What was checked and matches
What blocks another visa-free path
Do this
Airline check-in pack
What to show at airline check-in
Use this summary to help the airline review your full itinerary. It supports the document check; it does not guarantee boarding or admission to China.
- ✓Eligible ordinary passport
- ✓Third-country / region route
- ✓Designated 240h entry port
- ✓Confirmed onward ticketConfirmed date and seat to the onward country / region.
- ✓Within the permitted 240h period
- ✓Onward entry requirements confirmedThe checker result includes your confirmation for the onward country / region.
The country or region immediately before and after mainland China must be different for this third-country transit route.
The NIA 240-hour policy requires an eligible ordinary passport and an onward ticket to a third country or region with a confirmed date and seat.
Open current NIA policy ↗Keep the booking that shows the onward destination, departure date and confirmed seat together with your passport and full itinerary.
- Ask staff to review the complete itinerary, not only the mainland-China destination.
- Show the current NIA 240-hour transit policy and your onward ticket.
- If the issue remains, ask for a supervisor or document-check desk to review the itinerary and travel-document requirements.
Do this
Arrival preparation
Entering China? Check whether you should complete the official arrival card before travel. The arrival card does not replace transit eligibility or immigration approval.
Extra help · optional paid service
Airport / border verification pack
Your free answer is complete. This separate service prepares traveler-specific evidence for the moments when airline or immigration staff need more than your checker result.
Where this pack earns its value
3 real situations this pack helps you handle
Your free check gives the answer. The pack is for the moment you have to explain that answer to someone else, show the official basis, or rebuild the proof after the trip changes.
Staff says “visa required” even though your route qualifies.
Show the complete itinerary first. If the first-line agent still disagrees, move to the official English evidence and the escalation script.
The counter asks why you can leave the restricted area or enter mainland China.
Use the traveler-specific explanation first, then the Chinese official wording and source QR if staff needs the policy basis in Chinese.
Your flight, airport, port, or timing changed after you checked the route.
Do not defend a changed trip with an old pack. Rerun the free checker, then generate a fresh proof set that matches the new itinerary.
This is what you show at the airport
A real example of the generated pack
Your paid pack uses your exact route and your result. These previews show the same PDF layout generated by this tool.
- Your exact itinerary + result
- Official rule mapping
- English + Chinese official evidence
- QR links to original government pages
- Desk script + refusal / escalation steps
See all 6 sample filesFull purchase preview
Preview before you pay
See exactly what you would receive and when to use it.
Your paid version will use your route and your result.
Solves: “Why does this exact trip qualify?”
Why this result: route continues to a different country / region, timing fits the policy, and the required onward travel is reported.
Solves: foreign airline staff need official English wording.
Includes the official text used for your result, source date, clause reference, and a labeled QR to the original government page.
QR → original official page解决：中国边检或中文工作人员需要直接看中文官方依据。
包含相关官方正文、条款位置、核验日期，以及指向原始官方网页的二维码。
二维码 → 官方原网页Solves: you know the rule but do not know how to explain it at the counter.
“Could you please review the complete itinerary? My trip continues through mainland China to a different country / region under the applicable visa-free entry rule...”
解决：工作人员仍说需要签证时，不知道下一步该怎么处理。
请按完整行程核验；如系统仍显示不同要求，请协助联系 supervisor / document-check desk，并告知具体缺少哪一项签证或旅行证件要求。
Solves: you downloaded several files but do not know which one to show first.
- Show file 01 first.
- If staff wants policy proof, open file 02 or 03.
- If they still disagree, use file 04 / 05 and ask what exact system requirement is blocking boarding.
Early-access price test
Airport verification pack · $9.90
Checkout is not live yet. Clicking the button records that this pack is worth $9.90 to you; no charge will be made today.
Complete your pack
Add the exact itinerary staff will compare with your booking.
This information is only requested after your result. It does not change the answer above; it makes the downloaded travel summary specific to your trip.
The pack includes the relevant official policy text, your itinerary-to-rule mapping, and labeled QR codes that staff can scan only when they need to verify the original government page.
You get the answer first. Only if you choose to create the pack do we ask for the extra booking details needed to make the PDFs useful at the airport or border desk.
Official source checked: September 29, 2026
Was this answer helpful?
Thanks — this helps us improve the page.
01 Route test
The country / region before and after mainland China must be different
Do not decide for yourself whether the itinerary “counts as transit.” Enter the two international sides of the mainland-China stop and let the checker compare them.
A and C are different countries / regions.
A and C are the same. Use the ordinary-entry checker instead.
02 24-hour transit
Staying airside and entering mainland China are two different actions
Stay inside the restricted transit area
- No China visa for the direct-transit path
- No temporary entry permit
- Current NIA rules exempt direct 24-hour airside transit from the Arrival Card
- Follow the carrier / airport international-transfer route
Leave the restricted area / enter mainland China
- No advance China visa under the 24-hour transit rule
- Apply to immigration inspection for a temporary entry permit first
- Approval is not automatic
- Complete entry formalities / Arrival Card when required
03 240-hour transit
What to do before flying, at immigration, during the stay, and before exit
Ordinary passport, confirmed onward booking, and proof you can enter the onward country / region.
Fill the Temporary Entry Foreigners Arrival Card online before travel or at the port.
Apply for the 240-hour visa-free temporary entry formalities at the designated port.
Remain inside the permitted area linked to your entry port.
Leave through a designated port before the checker’s calculated deadline.
Common questions
Current transit policy
Can a U.S. ordinary-passport holder use China’s 240-hour transit policy?
The current NIA 240-hour list includes U.S. ordinary-passport holders. Your itinerary must still meet the route, designated-port, timing, onward-ticket and onward-destination conditions, so use the checker for the trip you actually plan.
Is the old 72-hour or 144-hour transit policy still the one to check?
Those are legacy search terms. The earlier 72-hour and 144-hour transit policy was extended to the current 240-hour (10-day) policy. If you searched for “144-hour” or “10-day transit visa,” use this current checker.
06 Sources and freshness
Trust
Sources
Policy sources checked September 29, 2026. Rules, validity dates, and port arrangements can change. Final admission and permit decisions rest with Chinese immigration authorities.
Plan your visit
- 01Ministry of Foreign Affairs — FAQs on unilateral visa-free entry (50 countries, validity dates, 30-day stay)
- 02China Consular Service — unilateral visa-free FAQs (same 50-country baseline)
- 03National Immigration Administration — details of mutual visa-exemption agreements
- 04National Immigration Administration — regional visa-free entry policies
- 05National Immigration Administration — 24-hour and 240-hour visa-free transit policy interpretation (English)
- 06国家移民管理局 — 过境免签政策（中文）
- 07National Immigration Administration — Conditions for Foreign Nationals Applying for 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy
- 08国家移民管理局 — 外国人申请240小时过境免签政策的适用条件
- 09National Immigration Administration — Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam added to 240-hour transit (effective August 20, 2026)
- 10Beijing Government — 240-hour visa-free transit and Beijing airports
- 11China Consular Service — Visa Application Instructions