Q:What Are the Requirements for Foreigners to Apply for the 72/144-Hour Visa-Free Transit in China?
A: Any foreigner applying for the 72/144-hour visa-free transit needs to meet the following three conditions:
1.He/she must be a citizen of one of the countries entitled to the 72/144-hour visa-free transit (Please check the table below for the list of the countries entitled. ↓↓↓);
| List of Countries Entitled to the 72/144-Hour Visa-Free Transit | |
| Schengen States（25） | Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Croatia |
| Other European countries (14) | Russia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Monaco, Belarus |
| American countries (6) | United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile |
| Oceanian countries (2) | Australia, New Zealand |
| Asian countries (6) | South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Qatar |
2. He/she must hold a valid international travel document (valid for no less than three months) that can prove his/her nationality and identity, and meet the conditions for entering a third country/region;
3. He/she must hold a connecting ticket to a third country/region with a confirmed date and seat for departure within 72/144 hours or relevant certificates as per the amount of time applied for the visa-free transit, fill out the Arrival Card for Temporary Entry Foreigners, and accept inquiries from the entry-exit border inspection authority.
Which Regions, Cities, and Ports in China Are Visa-free?
Now, there are 20 cities in China implementing the 144-hour visa-free policy.
How to Calculate the 144 Hours?
On arrival at one of the entry points, eligible foreign passengers will be issued a temporary entry permit by immigration officials. You can stay in a certain region without a China visa for up to 144 hours.
The 144 hours start from 00:00 hrs immediately following the time of entry.
For example, if you enter Chengdu at 6:00 am on May 1, 2024, your stay period starts counting down from 00:00 on May 2. So you can stay until 23:59 on May 7.
So you may stay longer than 144 (but less than 168) hours, depending on arrival and departure times.
What is an eligible transit route?
A → B: one of the 72/144-hour visa-free transit cities→ C
A and C should be different countries or regions.
Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan can be the Destination A or C, so the route “UK-Shanghai-Hong Kong” is acceptable as the typical route “US-Hangzhou-Japan”.
B refers to only one of the 144-hour visa-free cities in China Key point: The international flights flying in and out of China – from A to B and from B to C – should be non-stop, without a stopover anywhere in .
Eg:
× UK – Guangzhou – Shanghai – Hong Kong
× US – Beijing – Shanghai – France
Note:
Both of Beijing and Shanghai are eligible for this policy, but you can only have one between the original country and the third country.
√ US – Dalian – South Korea
√ Singapore – Shanghai – Hangzhou – Malaysia
How to Apply for 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit?
1. Inform your carrier agent that you wish to use a 144-hour visa-free transit at check-in.
2. Complete and submit the Arrival/Departure Card when you arrive at the China border.
3. Pass through the 144-hour visa-exemption transit inspection channel.
4. Present your tickets, passport, and arrival card to the immigration officer, stating your intention for visa-free transit.
5. Claim luggage and go through customs as normal.
6. Depart from the designated port before midnight on the sixth day and submit the departure card at security inspection.
Kind Reminder
The border control authorities will not issue temporary entry permits to a foreigner if:
- His/her passport or any other international travel document is expiring in less than three months, or any of his/her travel documents has a rejection stamp by a visa-issuing agency in China;
- He/she has a record of illegal entry or exit, illegal residence, or illegal employment within the last five years.
Foreigners under these circumstances are not entitled to the 72/144-hour visa-free transit.