China Visum & Umsteigen: Antworten

Do I need a visa for a layover in China?

It depends on your passport, how long you stay and whether you leave the airport. If you stay inside the international transit area of the airport and fly out within 24 hours, you normally do not need a visa. If you want to leave the airport, you need either the 24-hour temporary entry permit, the 240-hour visa-free transit (57 nationalities, 10 days), or one of the visa-free entry schemes such as the 30-day unilateral visa-free list or the Hainan regional 30-day scheme. Check your own passport in the checker below — it answers in one screen.

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Is a China layover visa free?

For most transit passengers, yes — and there are two separate regimes. The 24-hour transit rule applies to nationals of all countries as long as you do not leave the port's restricted area. The 240-hour visa-free transit applies to 57 nationalities and lets you actually enter and travel inside the permitted area for up to 10 days. Being able to leave the airport depends on your nationality, not only on your ticket.

What is China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy?

Nationals of 57 countries who transit through China to a third country or region can enter visa-free through any of the designated open ports in 24 provincial regions and stay up to 240 hours (10 days). You must hold an ordinary passport and a confirmed onward ticket with a departure date to a third country or region, and you may travel, do business, visit friends or attend exhibitions inside the permitted area. Work, study and news reporting still require a visa.

240h compliance checker →

Which nationalities qualify for 240-hour visa-free transit?

57 countries: 40 in Europe (including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia and Ukraine), Canada and the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, and nine in Asia (Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, the UAE and Vietnam). Malaysia and Thailand are NOT on this list — they have their own mutual visa-exemption agreements instead, which are wider (30 days, nationwide).

See whether your passport is on the list →

Which ports can I use for 240-hour visa-free transit?

The official policy names 65 open ports across 24 provincial regions; entry and exit ports may differ. PivotCN lists 59 of them, because six official ports lie in provinces that are entirely excluded from the permitted stay area (Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Tibet) and are therefore not usable in practice. Air, sea and land crossings are all included — for example Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao airports, Shenzhen Shekou by sea, and West Kowloon station by high-speed rail (entry only).

Browse the 59 usable ports →

Do I need an onward ticket to a third country for 240-hour transit?

Yes. A confirmed onward ticket with a departure date to a third country or region is a hard requirement — flying back to the country you came from does not count. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan count as a third region, so a Beijing to Hong Kong ticket satisfies the rule. The 24-hour transit rule also requires an onward ticket, but no third-country requirement beyond leaving China.

How is the 240 hours counted — from landing or from the next day?

The 240-hour clock starts at 00:00 on the day after entry, so the remaining hours of your arrival day are effectively free. Arriving on 1 October therefore means you must leave by 00:00 on 12 October. The same next-day-00:00 rule applies to the 30-day visa-free schemes.

Can I travel between provinces during a 240-hour transit?

Yes — within the 24 permitted provincial regions you may move between provinces and cities freely, which is why a Beijing to Shanghai to Guangzhou itinerary is fine. Six of those provinces are restricted to specific cities: Heilongjiang (Harbin), Shanxi (Taiyuan, Datong), Jiangxi (Nanchang, Jingdezhen), Guangxi (12 cities), Sichuan (11 cities) and Yunnan (9 prefectures, including Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Xishuangbanna).

Which parts of China are excluded from 240-hour visa-free transit?

Seven provincial-level regions are entirely excluded: Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Tibet. Transit and stopovers there are not allowed either, so a flight that changes planes in Urumqi or Lhasa does not work. PivotCN's multi-city planner automatically removes cities in those provinces when you are travelling on a 240-hour transit identity.

Open the multi-city planner →

What is the 24-hour transit rule, and do I need a permit?

All open ports in China apply this rule to nationals of every country: with a valid travel document and a confirmed onward ticket, you may stay up to 24 hours without a visa as long as you do not leave the port's restricted area. If you do need to leave that area, apply for a temporary entry permit at the immigration inspection desk of the port — it is issued on the spot.

My passport is not on the 240-hour list. What are my options?

Check the other two channels first: the 30-day unilateral visa-free list (50 countries, nationwide travel) and the mutual visa-exemption agreements (29 countries, 30 days, nationwide). If neither applies, the Hainan regional 30-day visa-free scheme covers 61 countries — but you must enter and leave through Hainan ports and cannot travel to other provinces. Nationalities with none of these need a visa.

Check all four policies for your passport →

Where can I verify the rules officially before I fly?

The National Immigration Administration publishes the policy and the country list (nia.gov.cn), and its 24-hour hotline 12367 answers in Chinese and English. Airlines and the Chinese embassy or consulate in your country can also confirm. PivotCN syncs the four visa-free lists daily from official sources, but rules do change — always confirm with an official channel before travel.

NIA official policy page →