Introduction to China's 144 hour transit visa free policy

Since January 2013, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanjing have successively been approved to implement the 72 hour transit visa free policy.

In 2015, Shanghai applied to the State Council to implement the policy of visa free transit for some national personnel, extending the stay period from 72 hours to 144 hours, expanding from airport ports to sea land airport ports, and realizing the linkage of visa free transit policies at relevant ports in the Yangtze River Delta.

Starting from January 30, 2016, a visa free transit policy will be implemented for individuals from 51 countries holding valid international travel documents and connecting tickets to third countries (regions) with confirmed dates and seats within 144 hours at various open ports in Shanghai, as well as at Nanjing Airport in Jiangsu Province and Hangzhou Airport in Zhejiang Province.

From December 28, 2017, six ports including Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing Railway West Station, Tianjin Binhai International Airport, Tianjin International Cruise Home Port, Shijiazhuang International Airport and Qinhuangdao Seaport will implement the transit visa free policy for foreigners holding valid international travel documents and connecting tickets to a third country (region) within 144 hours for 53 countries including Austria, Russia, the United States, Australia and South Korea.

From January 1, 2018, Shenyang Taoxian International Airport and Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport, two ports open to the outside world, will implement the transit visa free policy for foreigners with valid international travel documents and connecting tickets to a third country (region) in 53 countries, including Austria, Russia, the United States, Australia, South Korea, and so on, who can determine the date and seat within 144 hours.

From January 1, 2019, five cities including Xiamen, Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu and Kunming will implement a visa free 144 hour transit policy for foreigners. Personnel from 53 countries can enter the country from relevant ports of the above cities without visa by holding valid international travel documents and connecting tickets to a third country (region) with a date and seat confirmed within 144 hours. They can stay in Xiamen, Shandong Province, Wuhan, Chengdu and Kunming for 144 hours without visa.

Starting from November 17, 2023, China will implement a 72/144 hour visa free transit policy for Norwegian citizens. Thus, the 72/144 hour visa free transit policy in China has been extended to 54 countries.

On July 15, 2024, the National Immigration Administration announced the implementation of a 144 hour visa free transit policy at the Zhengzhou Air Port in Henan Province, with a stay area within the administrative region of Henan Province; Expand the 144 hour visa free transit policy in Yunnan Province from Kunming City to 9 administrative regions including Kunming, Lijiang, Yuxi, Pu'er, Chuxiong, Dali, Xishuangbanna, Honghe, and Wenshan. Three new ports, including Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport, Lijiang Sanyi International Airport, and Mohan Railway Port, have been added as eligible ports for the 144 hour transit visa free policy.

On July 20, 2024, the Mohan Railway Port on the China Laos border welcomed its first 144 hour visa free transit passenger.

In August 2024, it was reported that the 144 hour stay period of transit visa free foreigners did not start from the current time of entry, but from 00:00 on the next day of entry and ended at 24:00 on the sixth day.

On August 19, 2024, at the press conference held by the State Council Information Office, the National Migration Administration introduced the relevant policies to facilitate foreigners to come to China. The 144 hour transit visa free policy promotes the "convenience" of foreign personnel, the regional entry visa free policy helps foreign tourists "come in diversity", and the innovative port visa policy promotes the "introduction" of foreign businesses. Liu Haitao, deputy director of the National Immigration Administration, said: "More than 110 policies and measures have been introduced to facilitate foreign tourists to come to China. Recently, 'China Travel' has become popular throughout the network, and more foreign tourists have witnessed an open, confident, civilized and safe China. Recently, the popular 144 hour transit visa free policy has been extended to 37 ports and 54 countries." According to the press conference, the National Immigration Administration has successively introduced 144 hour visa free policies for foreign tourist groups from Hong Kong and Macao to enter Guangdong, 144 hour visa free policies for tourist groups from ASEAN countries to enter Guilin, Guangxi, 30 day visa free policies for 59 countries to enter Hainan, 15 day visa free policies for foreign tourist groups from coastal provinces to enter by cruise, and other policies have been introduced recently. The 144 hour visa free policy for foreign tourist groups from Australia to Hainan has benefited more than 5.9 million foreign tourists.

The Chinese cities implementing the 144 hour visa free transit policy include: 1 Beijing, 2 Tianjin, 3 Shijiazhuang, 4 Qinhuangdao, 5 Shanghai, 6 Nanjing, 7 Hangzhou, 8 Ningbo, 9 Guangzhou, 10 Shenzhen, 11 Jieyang, 12 Shenyang, 13 Dalian, 14 Qingdao, 15 Chongqing, 16 Chengdu, 17 Xi'an, 18 Xiamen, 19 Wuhan, 20 Kunming, 21. Zhengzhou.

These cities allow eligible foreigners to stay in the specified area for no more than 144 hours without visa when they hold valid international travel documents and connecting tickets to a third country (region) with a fixed date and seat within 144 hours, during which they can engage in short-term activities such as tourism and temporary business visits. In addition, three cities including Changsha, Harbin, and Guilin have implemented a 72 hour visa free transit policy.

The National Immigration Administration announced today that starting from July 30, 2024, a 144 hour visa free policy will be implemented for foreign tourist groups from Hong Kong and Macao entering Hainan. Citizens of countries that have established diplomatic relations with China who hold ordinary passports and enter Hainan for tourism through legally registered travel agencies (2 or more people) in Hong Kong and Macao can stay visa free for up to 144 hours (if they comply with the mutual visa exemption agreement signed with China or other visa free policies of the Chinese government, they can follow their regulations). The entry and exit ports are all open ports established by the country in Hainan Province, which require whole groups to enter and exit the country. The activity scope is within the administrative area of Hainan Province, and the stay time is calculated from midnight on the day after entry.