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240-hour transit visa-free now covers 57 countries

China added Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam to its 10-day transit visa-free list on 20 August 2026. What changed, who can use it, and what to show at the border.

By Xiaoman (小满) Updated 2026-08-30
A view of a modern airport terminal showcasing Gate E25 with a flight display board.
A view of a modern airport terminal showcasing Gate E25 with a flight display board.

Checked by our team on 30 August 2026.

China's 240-hour transit visa-free policy now covers 57 countries. On 20 August 2026 the National Immigration Administration added Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam to the list, effective the same day. If you hold either passport, you can now stop over in mainland China for up to 10 days without a visa, as long as you are genuinely passing through to a third country or region. Everyone else can use this note to confirm which rule applies to their passport — and to know that the official English pages still lag behind the Chinese announcement.

What changed on 20 August

The announcement took effect the day it was published. Two passports joined the 240-hour transit list — Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam — bringing the total to 57: 40 European countries, six in the Americas, two in Oceania and nine in Asia. The same announcement added both countries to Hainan's separate 30-day visa-free entry, which now covers 61 nationalities arriving through the island province's open ports.

The move continues a two-year trend. China widened the transit window from 72 or 144 hours to 240 hours in December 2024, and the country list has grown since: 54 countries under the old 72/144-hour scheme, 55 when the 240-hour version launched, 57 now. The immigration administration describes the goal as making tourism, business, visits and investment easier.

How the transit rule works

The rule is for transit, not direct visits. You need an ordinary passport from a listed country and a confirmed onward ticket with a fixed date and itinerary to a third country or region. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan count as different regions, so a routing like Hanoi to Shanghai to Tokyo qualifies, while a round trip back to Hanoi does not.

You enter at any of the 65 designated ports across 24 provinces — all major international airports are on the list — and stay inside the permitted zone for no more than 240 hours, counted from 00:00 the day after entry. Tourism, business, visits and family trips are allowed. Work, study and news reporting still require a visa arranged before you fly.

The full mechanics — the port list, what counts as a third country, where the zone boundaries run — are on our visa-free eligibility guide.

What this means for Vietnamese and Kyrgyzstan passport holders

Neither country was on the transit list before 20 August. With an onward ticket booked, a Vietnam to somewhere-else routing can now include up to 10 days in mainland China — a weekend in Shanghai between flights, a few days in Beijing before continuing.

The same applies to Kyrgyzstan passport holders transiting in either direction. The stay must remain inside the permitted area and end within 240 hours.

For a trip that is specifically to Hainan, the same two passports now get 30 days visa-free within the province via its open ports.

A direct visit is a different question

Neither Vietnam nor Kyrgyzstan is on the 30-day unilateral visa-free list, so the new rule does not turn a direct round trip into a visa-free one. If you fly from Hanoi to Shanghai and back to Hanoi, you are not transiting, and you need a visa. The 240-hour rule only applies when China sits between two different places.

What to bring and what to say

The two most common turnarounds at the border are a missing onward ticket and a routing that is really a round trip. Both are easy to fix before you fly.

Which rule applies to your passport

Three schemes cover most visitors in 2026. The 30-day unilateral visa-free list covers 50 passports — most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, much of Latin America and the Gulf — for direct visits anywhere in mainland China. The 240-hour transit list covers 57 countries for stopovers only. A small set of bilateral agreements covers a few more. If your passport is on none of these, you still get the 24-hour transit rule: everyone, at any open port, can stay up to 24 hours without leaving the restricted area.

Use our visa checker to see which rule stamps you in. It reflects the 20 August change and was last verified on 24 August 2026.

Who should still get a visa

Apply through the Chinese embassy or consulate in your home country.

One official lag to know about

The English version of the National Immigration Administration's transit policy page still listed 55 countries when we checked on 30 August 2026. The Chinese-language announcement of 20 August is the authoritative one. If a page you find says 55, you are looking at the older list — our checker and guide use 57.

Sources