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72-Hour Visa-Free Transit in China

 The 72-hour visa-free transit has been resumed from January 8th, 2023 on, after being suspended for 3 years because of the covid-19.
Visa Free Transit Service
Transit Service Counter
in Beijing Capital Airport

The 72-hour visa-free transit policy in China allows air passengers from 54 countries to transit and stay for up to 72 hours (3 days) in 18 China cities without a visa. In order to facilitate international visitors' short stay in China, the policy is promising to be carried out in more and more cities in the future.
 

Qualified Countries

25 Schengen Agreement Countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

15 Other European Countries: Russia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia (FYROM), Albania, Belarus, Monaco

6 American Countries: the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile

2 Oceania Countries: Australia, New Zealand

6 Asian Countries: Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Qatar
 

Cities Enjoying the Policy

Harbin, Guilin, Changsha

Beijing, Tianjin, ShanghaiXi'anChongqing, Shenyang, Dalian, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Shijiazhuang, Qinhuangdao, Chengdu, Wuhan, Xiamen, Qingdao, Kunming, the whole Guangdong Province - Extended to 144-hour Visa-free Transit
 

Areas Allowed to Stay

 Cities only with the 72-hour free entry policy:

Passengers transiting in Changsha are allowed to travel in the whole province.

Passengers transiting in  Harbin and Guilin cannot leave the transit city.


 Cities where the 72 hours scheme has been extended to 144-hour transit without visa (TWOV):

Passengers transiting in Shanghai, Zhejiang, or Jiangsu can move around the three places. With the implementation of the 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy, they can actually stay for as long as 144 hours.

Passengers transiting in Xi'an Xianyang Airport are permitted to travel in Xi'an and Xianyang.

Passengers transiting in Guangdong can travel around the whole province.

Passengers transiting in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei can also move around the three places freely for 144 hours.

Passengers stopping over in Dalian or Shenyang can travel in the whole of Liaoning Province.

Passengers transiting in Chengdu, Kunming, Wuhan, Chongqing or Xiamen cannot leave the transit city.

Passengers transiting in Qingdao are allowed to move freely within the whole Shandong Province for 144 hours. 
 

Recommended Tours for Transit Passengers in Different Cities

 

Conditions for Application

1. A confirmed ticket and valid visa to a third country or region (if required) are needed for entry. Based on the latest information, the 72 hours starts from 00:00 the day following the entry date in almost all the airports, except Beijing Airport. For example, if an air passenger arrives in Guangzhou at 08:00 on June 2nd, then the latest time for him to leave is 23:59 on June 5. In this case, the actual stopover time is more than 72 hours. However, in Beijing, the 72 hours count from the scheduled arrival time of the flight. To play on the safe side, passengers are recommended to be more conservative and not to exceed the "strict 72 hours" which counts from the flights' scheduled arrival time to the departure time.

2. The flights can only stop in one Chinese city, meaning passengers have to enter and exit from the same city, except in cities where the 144-hour visa-free transit has been implemented. For instance, if a flight lands in Xi'an via Beijing, passengers are not able to enjoy the policy. In addition, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are regarded as a third region in terms of transit issues. If a flight passes USA – Beijing – Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan, passengers are able to enjoy.

3. Only use flights to transfer in China. Passengers using other vehicles (including using flight for single trip) are not eligible to enjoy the policy.

4. Passengers are required to leave from the same airport that they arrive, except in some of the cities with 144-hour visa-free transit scheme where they may enter or leave from land or sea ports.
 

Documents for Application

 Passport valid for at least 3 months from the date of entry. Actually there are cases that some passengers are denied at the immigration counter because the remaining validity of their passport is not more than 6 months, so it's better to keep your passport valid for at least 6 months to play safe.
 Visa for a third country or region (if applicable)
 A full completed Arrival/Departure Card (including name, nationality, passport no., visa no. & issuance place, flight no., purpose of visit, date of birth, gender)
 A confirmed ticket to a third country or region is needed. 
 

Procedure

Inform the airlines when boarding – Fill an Arrival/Departure Card on the flight - Apply the 72-hour permit – Claim the luggage – Go through the custom - Leave airport

 Tips:
Visa Free Direction Board
Direction Boards for 72-hour Special Counter

1. It is necessary to inform the airline at check-in, so that they can declare your request to the airport custom before landing. Passengers transiting via Beijing Capital International Airport can apply for this free transit permit after arrival.

2. There is a special counter/lane for the 72-hour free transit at the immigration, so passengers can go there directly by following the signs. For example, the immigration channels 2 to 4 are for 72-hour TWOV passengers in Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

3. After the request to enjoy the 72-hour China TWOV is approved, the officer will stamp a stay permit on your passport. The duration of stay is written on the passport. Remember to tell the officer that one wants to use the 72-hour free transit if he/she already has a valid visa for China.

4. After leaving the airport, remember to register at local police station within 24 hours of arrival if one wants to stay over 24 hours. Those who live with family or friends need to go to register in person at the police station with relatives or friends. Those who live in hotels do not need to go, because the hotels will do it for the guests.

5. 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 Public Security Bureau (PSB). Otherwise, tourists cannot apply for an extension of stay.
 

Difference between 72-Hour Visa-Free Transit and 24-Hour Visa-Free Transit

Direct Transit within 24 hours is available for any nationality passenger and it is applicable to any vehicle, while the 72-hour Free Transit is only possible for passengers from designated countries and requires to transit in the airport.

Two pictures are helpful to make you clear.

24-Hour Direct Transit 72-Hour Free Transit
 

Other Services for Free Transit

There are service centers for transit passengers in the terminals, offering rest places with drinking water and reading materials if they do not want to leave the airport. For visa-free transit passengers, the airports also provide services for currency exchange, mobile phone rental, car rental, left luggage, as well as local souvenir shops. Tour buses are available from the terminals for the convenience of tourists.

 Read FAQ about 72-hour Visa-free Transit

 Note:
In case that 1) you can't provide any of the required documents listed above, 2) or your flight route does not qualify, 3) or you have the record of overstaying in a country or getting visa refusal before, your application for the 72-hour visa-free transit permit may be refused. For fear of troubles caused by such cases, please make sure that you are eligible or apply for a regular transit visa in advance. 

 

 Further Reading:
China Visa-free Policy

How to Travel to China without a Visa

- Last updated on Mar. 20, 2024 by Brenda Lian -
Questions & Answers on 72-Hour Visa-Free Transit
Asked by Lucille Brown from AUSTRALIA | Mar. 26, 2024 22:46Reply
High speed train from West Kowloon to Guangzhou
Hi there,
Is the 24hr visa free option available if you are entering China via the high speed train from West Kowloon to Guangzhou. We are Australian citizens and our return flights are booked and paid into Hong Kong. We would like to book the high speed train to Guangzhou returning to Hong Kong on the same day (attending the Canton Fair). Can we use the 24hr visa free option or the 144hr visa free option for this or does entry to China have to be via an airport?
Thank-you
Answers (2)
Answered by Lori | Mar. 27, 2024 19:12
00Reply


It's not available for neither 24-hour or 144 visa-free transit if traveling between HK and Guangzhou by train.
If you directly fly from Australia to Guangzhou, then to HK by ferry, you are eligible for the 144.
Answered by Borut | Mar. 28, 2024 01:18
00Reply


No, unfortunately, the train is not an eligible way how you could enter mainland China from Hong Kong using 24 or 144 hour visa free transit. You can only enter mainland China or to be precise Guangdong province by air. This is the only eligible way.

Another problem in your itinerary is the fact that you plan to return by air. So if you adapt to the entry requirement to enter Guangzhou by air, you cannot exit in the same way and remain eligible for 24 or 144 hour visa free transit because that would be a round trip and not a transit. A transit represents a journey where there has to be three countries (or eligible territories) within the itinerary. If you only have asked how to organize your visit to Guangzhou under 144 hour visa free transit, I would suggest you to fly from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and then to exit from Shenzhen by ferry to Macau. That would be a transit.

Now, I cannot see a simple solution if you have already bought your ticket from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. Maybe you could think to fly from Hong Kong to Taiwan and from Taiwan to Guangzhou. That would be also an eligible itinerary.

Please, try to think about the possibility to change your flight ticket in order to enter mainland China by air and to exit mainland China by ferry from Shekou port in Shenzhen to Macau. If you need some additional clarification, just write here and you will be assisted.
Asked by Assunta from ITALY | Mar. 20, 2024 12:35Reply
Visa Free transit Hong Kong
Hello,
I am going to Bali on May 23rd and I will transit in CAN Guangzhou on the 24th from 6am until 6pm (then I already have the flight confirmation at 6pm on the same day for Bali), can I request the visa and visit Guangzhou? And then again, in my way back, on June 3rd at midnight I leave Bali with destination CAN Guangzhou (I’ll get there at 5am), can I request the free visa transit to Hong Kong ? I have the departure already confirmed from CAN Guangzhou to Rome at 00:20 on June 4th. Do I need to inform the hostess during the check in? Thank you for the help!
Answers (1)
Answered by Borut | Mar. 21, 2024 00:56
00Reply


Assunta, assuming that you are Italian citizen, I will inform you that you do not have to bother with these visa free transit rules because you, as Italian citizen, can enter China freely and absolutely visa free as if you were traveling to UK, for example. So, when you land in Guangzhou (first and second time) you will just fill out arrival/departure card that you will receive on board the plane or upon the landing where you will just write a tourist visit to China. So, with this arrival/departure card and with your passport you will just head straight to the immigration and upon exit from the airport building you will proceed wherever you want. I would say that this is perfectly simple. Also, you do not have to announce your intentions to anybody.
Asked by Caithlin from NETHERLANDS | Mar. 20, 2024 06:45Reply
HongKong-Guangdong-Macau
Hi, is it possible to travel Visa transit free in China with the above flights? I'm uncertain since it are 'special regions'. Furthermore, is it possible (a-b-c) for C to be Thailand, Vietnam, etc. or can C only be one of the countries listed above (such as Japan)?
Answers (1)
Answered by Borut | Mar. 21, 2024 00:51
00Reply


Caitlin, I hope you will find my answer on your second post below to your question as comprehensive enough for your needs. I will just reiterate to tell you that you will have to take a ferry from Guangdong province to Macau because there are no flights on this route. I have explained how you can do that.
Asked by Caithlin from NETHERLANDS | Mar. 19, 2024 16:42Reply
Traveling a-b-c eligible countries
Do the a and c in a-b-c (b being China) only apply to the qualified visa free transit countries listed above or all countries?
Answers (4)
Answered by Borut | Mar. 20, 2024 00:42
00Reply


Visa free transit through China is permitted for all countries, but it is limited to 24 hours for most citizenship. Those citizenship listed above are eligible for both 72 and 144 hour visa free transit, but not the other countries.

I will again confirm to you, if you are a citizen of Netherlands, you do not have to bother with visa free rules and regulations because you can travel to/through China absolutely visa free for stays of up to 15 days long.
Answered by Caithlin | Mar. 20, 2024 06:37
00Reply


Thank you, however I am travelling to China after November. What I mean to say is for example A is NL, does C have to be one of the above notated countries, or could it be any country (for example Thailand)? And are the A en C able to be ROG states? For example, from Macau to Guangdong to HongKong?
Answered by Randy | Mar. 20, 2024 18:47
00Reply


Yes, C can be any other country, and also Hong Kong / Macau / Taiwan. And Macau to Guangdong to Hong Kong is also eligible.
Answered by Borut | Mar. 21, 2024 00:48
00Reply


You can use any country of this world for 144 hour visa free transit. In other words, if you fly from Netherlands to China and after that to Thailand, that is fine. When we talk about the countries that are eligible for 144 hour visa free transit, it is not meant that such a country should be a destination or similar, but just that its citizens are eligible or not. Again, you can use any country of this world for performing 144 visa free transit. Also, beside the countries, you can use eligible territories and they are: Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. They act in this regard as countries.

It is possible to travel Hong Kong - Guangzhou - Macau. In reality, many use this option, but not exactly for Guangzhou, but Hong Kong - Beijing - Macau and similar. If you plan to use this scheme for Guangzhou, then you should be aware that you will have to fly from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and then exit from Shenzhen (Shekou port) to Macau by ferry. Also, it will be necessary to book your ferry ticket through TurboJet website even before your departure from Hong Kong, print it out and have the printout with you.

By the way, I am more than certain that China will extend visa free scheme fort visits of up to 15 days for many EU countries, Netherlands included for at least another year.
Asked by Caithlin from NETHERLANDS | Mar. 19, 2024 16:05Reply
The amount of times you can enter China visa-free
If you want to stay in China 144 days Visa Free (with traveling a-b-c), how many times are you able to do this within a certain period? Is it possible to do (a-b-c) twice a month or only once a 180 days?
Answers (1)
Answered by Borut | Mar. 20, 2024 00:39
00Reply


You are allowed to use 144 hour visa free transit literally unlimited times within a certain time frame and also at the frequency you wish to do. No limits, literally.

By the way, if you are a citizen of Netherlands, you can enter and exit China as much as you wish free from visa free regulations because the citizens of Netherlands can enter and stay in China visa free for up to 15 days, again, in unlimited number during a particular time frame.
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