240 hours China Visa Free Transit policy- New from 17th Dec 2024!

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17th Dec 2024, China National Immigration Administration (NIA) has decided to further relax and optmize the Transit Visa free policy for foreign nationals. There are 3 significant enhancements, details below:

Question 1: Which country passport holder can apply 240 hours transit visa?
Answer: Travelers from following 54 countries can apply for the 240-hour transit visa exemption, which are:

• 26 Schengen countries in Europe: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherland, Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Slovak, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, Norway.
• 14 other European countries: Russia, Great Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Monaco and Belarus.
• 6 American countries: The United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile.
• 2 Oceania countries: Australia and New Zealand.
• 6 Asian countries: Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

Question 2: How to apply the 240 hours China Transit visa?
Answer: Take Shanghai for example, after getting off the plane you will head for immigration. Look for a counter that says "240-hour Transit area", you need to provide following documents:

• Your valid passport
• Air ticket with confirmed date of flight and seat for a third country (region) traveling within 240 hours.
• Arrival Card form (completely filled).

The immigration officer may ask you questions to confirm your travel plan, if everything is correct, he/she will paste the transit visa on your passport immediately.

Question 3: How to calculate that 240 hours to avoid any overstay?
Answer: After you enter China, start from the next day 0am for 10 days. For example, you enter Shanghai on 7am at 1st Dec 2024, then you can stay maximum till 12pm at 11th Dec 2024.

If visitors are unable to depart on time due to unavoidable reasons, such as flight cancellation or treatment of sudden disease, they need to apply for a visa from Municipal Entry&Exit Bureau (EEB).

Question 4: Any Restrictions of the 240-hour Visa-free Transit?
Answer: Transit visa regulation does not apply to passengers who travel on a single return flight (e.g., Hong Kong – Shanghai - Hong Kong), which means the destination and place of departure can not be the same. For example:
USA - Shanghai - Taiwan is applicable.
USA - Shanghai - USA is NOT applicable.
USA - Singapore - Shanghai - USA is applicable.

Question 5: With 240-hour Visa-free Transit, which city can I visit?
Answer: With the 240 hrs transit visa, You can make cross-province visits in any of "Permitted Stay Areas" listed above.

Question 6: Can I enter China from shanghai Pudong airport (apply the transit visa), take a train to Beijing and finally leave China from Beijing?
Answer: Yes, based on the new policy, Both Shanghai & Beijing is in the list of "Permitted Stay Areas". So this travel plan is available.

Question 7: Can I enter China from shanghai (apply the transit visa) and go to XinJiang?
Answer: No, XinJiang is not in the list of "Permitted Stay Areas".

For above Visa Free or 240 hrs transit visa policy, you MUST double check with your destination city's China customs before you plan your trip!

How to check?
A:  You can call the city's area code + China immigration hotline 12367. (Take Shanghai as an example, you can dial 021-12367 to get in touch with the customs officer)

Above information is translated from the China National Immigration Administration (NIA) website, Because VisaInChina don't have any service related to the transit visa.

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