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China 24-Hour Visa-Free Transit

  Foreigners eligible for the 24-hour visa-free transit can be exempt from border inspection procedures at the following 9 airports: Beijing Capital Airport, Beijing Daxing Airport, Shanghai Pudong Airport, Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport, Xiamen Gaoqi Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, Shenzhen Bao’an Airport, Chengdu Tianfu Airport, and Xi’an Xianyang Airport.

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
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?

Starting: scheduled arrival 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. 
- Last updated on Jan. 23, 2024 by Kate Liu -
Questions & Answers on 24-Hour Visa-Free Transit
Asked by meryem from TURKEY | Mar. 18, 2024 12:31Reply
turkey passport transit visa
hello, i am a citizen of turkey and i will have a transit ticket by sichuan airlines, Turkey via China Chengdu TFU to osaka Japan and there is 4 hours layover so i am confused if i need a transit visa as a turkish citizen. Thanks in advance.
Asked by Mari from AUSTRALIA | Mar. 18, 2024 05:12Reply
Change of the airports in Shanghai
Hi, I'm a russian passport holder , have a very tight layover of 4 hours in Shanghai. Need to change airports : arrive to Pudong from Sydney departure from
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
Asked by Deepak from UNITED KINGDOM | Mar. 17, 2024 13:01Reply
London->Zhengzhou->Guangzhou->Melbourne transit
Hello all,

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
Answers (1)
Answered by Borut | Mar. 18, 2024 16:03
00Reply


Yes, you are eligible for 24 hour visa free transit and you do not need any kind of visa. When you land in Zhenghzhou the first thing what will you do is to approach the transit counter where you will apply for a temporary entry permit. This permit is free of charge and here you will present your flight tickets and I advise you to have them at hand as printouts. After your permit is granted, you will cross the immigration and take a domestic flight to Guangzhou. In Guangzhou you will exit China and proceed with your flight to Melbourne.
Asked by Colin from UNITED KINGDOM | Mar. 16, 2024 23:28Reply
24 hour visa
Hi we are in transit Guangzhou for 8 hours both ways. To get our stamp for TWOV do we just go to border control? Also how time consuming is exit and re entry? We just want to get a couple of hours sleep and a shower
Answers (1)
Answered by Borut | Mar. 18, 2024 15:59
00Reply


This is actually 24 hour visa free transit and that implies that there is no visa at all. The first thing you will do upon landing is to approach transit counter where you will apply for a temporary entry permit that is free of charge. After a permit is granted, you will proceed through immigration to the hotel of your choice. Waiting time for the entire procedure depends on the part of the day and the number of those applying for the same status, but it should not exceed 60 minutes.
Asked by Maksim from RUSSIA | Mar. 16, 2024 10:26Reply
Phuket - Xi'an - Beijing - Moscow
Hello,
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!
Answers (1)
Answered by Borut | Mar. 18, 2024 15:56
00Reply


Unfortunately, you will have to obtain a Chinese visa in advance for your itinerary. It is allowed to have two Chinese destination in a row only if your entire transit time in China is less than 24 hours long. Your entire transit time exceeds 24 hours, so a visa obtained in advance is a must. I'm sorry.
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