China 24-Hour Visa-Free Transit
24-hour visa-free transit in China, also called the 24-hour transit without visa (24-hour TWOV for short), regulates that visa is not required for air, train, and ship passengers transiting in mainland China for a stay of no more than 24 hours before heading for a third country or region.
Who are eligible for the 24-hour TWOV of China?
National of most countries are eligible for the 24-hour visa-free transit, while there are exceptions in certain airports for some nationalities.
1. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Yemen passport holders transiting in Xiamen require a visa.
2. Syrian citizens transiting in Guangzhou are not eligible for the 24-hour visa-free transit.
What are the port restrictions?
Though a majority of international airports in China opt in the 24-hour TWOV, passengers transiting through the following airports all need a visa no matter how long the layover is.
• Huangshan Tunxi Airport
• Mudanjiang Hailang Airport
• Yanji Chaoyangchuan Airport
Citizens from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Turkey and Yemen are not eligible for 24-hour visa-free transit in Urumqi Diwopu International Airport.
If transiting in Guangzhou for less than 24 hours, you are able to apply for the 24-hour TWOV from Guangzhou Baiyun airport instead of its railway stations or other ports of entry. That is, only entering Guangzhou by air, you would be issued the 24h visa-free transit under qualified travel itinerary.
What is an eligible transit route?
24-hour Direct Transit Rules |
An eligible transit route goes like Country A → China → Country C.
A and C are different countries. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan can be regarded as A or C in this respect. For instance, if a passenger travels like USA – Beijing – Hong Kong, there is no doubt that this route qualifies for China 24 hour TWOV.
Generally speaking, the 24-hour visa-free transit allows aliens to have multiple stops in China as long as they leave the country within 24 hours, therefore the route USA - Beijing - Shanghai - South Korea also counts as eligible.
What are the requirements for TWOV?
Passport valid for at least 3 months from the date of entry
Onward air, cruise or train ticket with confirmed seat and date
Visa for a third country or region (if needed)
Can I get out of the airport during layover?
Passengers wishing to get out of the restricted transit area to claim luggage, take a connecting flight, or do some sightseeing in the city can apply for the 24-hour visa-free entry permit, which is a stamp or sticker on passport showing the permitted stay length.
Apply for 24-hour visa-free entry permit in 4 steps
Fill an Arrival/Departure Card at the border inspection counter
Get the temporary entry permit stamp or sticker
Claim the luggage (if needed)
Go through the customs
How to count the stopover time?
Ending: scheduled departure time
Recommended Tours for Transit Passengers
Differences among 24/72/144-hour free transit
24-Hour TWOV | 72-Hour Visa-Free Transit | 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit |
---|---|---|
For almost all countries | For 54 countries | For 54 countries |
Available in most Chinese cities | Available in major Chinese cities | Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Dalian, Shenyang, Chengdu, Wuhan, Qingdao, Kunming, Xiamen, Xi'an, Chongqing |
By air, cruise, train | By air | By air, cruise, train |
Counted from the landing time | Counted from 0:00 the day following the entry date (Scheduled landing time in Beijing) | Counted from 0:00 the day following the entry date |
Multiple stops | Single stop | Multiple stops |
Note:
Note that if 1) you lack any of the required documents listed above, 2) or your route does not qualify, 3) or you have the record of overstaying in a country or getting visa refusal before, your application for the 24-hour visa-free transit may be turned down. For fear of inconvenience caused by such case, please make sure that you are eligible or apply for a regular transit visa in advance.
HONGQIAO to Tokyo. Ticket is within one air company under one booking number.
Can I get TWOV without booking hotel as it's obviously purely transit need? Thank you
I am British passport holder and have booked the following flight - London->Zhengzhou->Guangzhou->Melbourne transit. The total transit time ( between arrivnig and Zhengzhou and departing from Guangzhou ) is around 17 hours. Given there is a domestic leg in this itenierary am I elgible for 24 houra transit visa ? For the domestic leg from Zhengzhou to Guangzhou I assume I need to go through passport control/customs.
Regards
Deepak
I am a Russian passport holder and will be traveling with my wife. We are planning a layover trip with the following route: Phuket - Xi'an - Beijing - Moscow. During our layovers, we will have 4 hours in Xi'an and 22 hours in Beijing. Could you please clarify whether we need a visa for these layovers? Additionally, we would like to know if it’s possible to exit the airport in Beijing for an overnight stay at a hotel. In Xi'an, we do not plan to leave the airport.
Thank you for your assistance!