China has unveiled a 240-hour visa-free transit policy covering citizens from 55 countries across Europe, the Americas, Oceania and Asia.
The arrangement allows eligible passport holders to remain in China for up to 10 days without securing a visa in advance, provided they are travelling onwards to a third country.
The policy was announced in May 2026 and applies to nationals from the countries listed below.
Countries included in the policy Most of the eligible nations are in Europe. They include:
- 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
- Monaco
- Russia
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Cyprus
- Bulgaria
- Romania
- Ukraine
- Serbia
- Croatia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia
- Albania
- Belarus
- Norway
- United States
- Canada
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Argentina
- Chile
- Australia
- New Zealand
- South Korea
- Japan
- Singapore
- Brunei
- United Arab Emirates
- Qatar
- Indonesia
African countries excluded
No African country appears on China’s 240-hour transit list.
This means travellers from Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt and other African countries must continue applying for Chinese visas through the standard embassy or consulate process before travelling.
The 240-hour period is equivalent to 10 full days. However, the arrangement remains unavailable to African passport holders under the list released by China.
