China generally requires most foreign visitors to apply for a visa in advance. However, several cities in China allow international visitors to stay without a visa for up to 3 days (72 hour visa free transit) provided they meet certain conditions which are explained below. So if you are interested in travel to one of these Chinese cities, you may be able to visit for up to 72 hours without the need to obtain a visa in advance.
What Cities in China Offer 72 Hour Visa Free Transit?
The Chinese cities currently offering 72 hour visa free entry are Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Xian, Guilin, Kunming and Hangzhou.
What are the Rules and Requirements For 72-Hour Visa-Free Transit?
The requirements for China’s 72 transit without visa are as follows:
– You must arrive and depart by air from the same city. Travel by land or sea does not qualify.
– You must have a passport from one of the approved countries. The approved countries currently are: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (FYROM), Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.
– Your time in the Chinese city you visit must be no more than 72 hours. The 72 hour period starts on the date and time of your scheduled (not actual) arrival and ends on the time and date of your scheduled departure. The only exception is Guangzhou which calculates the 72 hours from midnight following arrival, allowing a slightly longer visa-free transit period.
– You are not allowed to leave the city during the 72 hour period (except in Guangzhou where you are permitted to travel anywhere in the Guangdong province). Although we do not recommend breaking the law, in practice, there is no way to monitor if you leave a city (for example, many travelers in Beijing using the 72 hour visa free rule visit the Great Wall which is outside the city limits). However, leaving a city would be a problem if you are planning on staying at a hotel outside one of these cities as hotels check that you have a visa.
– You must have confirmed air tickets to a different third country (than the country arriving from). So whatever country comes after China can’t immediately come before China. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are considered third countries.
For example, you cannot fly Chicago- Shanghai -Chicago. So if you want to visit Shanghai, you can fly Chicago-Shanghai – Hong Kong- Chicago. It does not matter that eventually you are going back to the city your trip started (in this case Chicago). You also cannot fly Chicago-Shanghai – Los Angeles because Chicago and Los Angeles are in the same country. But you can fly Chicago-Hong Kong- Shanghai -Los Angeles.
– You can visit more than one city in China, but not back to back. The Chinese cities you visit need to be separated by visits to third countries. In our case, we traveled Chicago-Tokyo-Chengdu-Taipei-Shanghai-Chicago. Since we visited a 3rd country (in this case Taiwan) in between we were able to combine 2 cities in China. There must always be a 3rd country in the middle of any Chinese cities you plan to visit.
– There is no limit to how many times you can visit the same Chinese city visa free as long as you transit to a third country. So, for example, you can travel Chicago-Shanghai-Taipei-Shanghai-Chicago if you want to spend more than 3 days in Shanghai.
What Procedures Do I Need to Follow If I Meet the Requirements for 72 Hour Visa Free Transit?
You do not have to do anything in advance to take advantage of 72 hour visa free rule other than book your flight out of China before landing in China and making sure that you have a printed copy of your flight with you when you check in for your flight to the Chinese city you are visiting.
When you check in for your flight to China, you should inform the airline you are using 72 hour visa free entry and they will request a copy of your ticket out of China. (In our case, when we checked in for our flight to Chengdu in Tokyo, the agents had not yet heard that the rule applied to Chengdu. They consulted a book and we are guessing it was updated with the rule because we received our boarding passes.) A couple of websites suggest letting your airline know in advance you will be taking advantage of 72 hour visa free transit but from reading other people’s experiences as well as our own this is not the case.
It might be a good idea to print a current copy of the rule from an official looking website, such as a consulate or embassy, just in case the airline agents are not familiar with the rule. Some official looking websites that describe the 72 hour visa free rule include http://www.travelchinaguide.com/ which has the most current information and the Beijing International Airport website.
When you land in China, immigration will also ask for a copy of your ticket out of that city as well as the address where you are staying. Some cities have special lanes for 72 hour visa free transit but if there isn’t one or it is closed just go through any line for citizens of your country.
If you are not staying at a hotel or other accommodation, you must register at the local police station within 24 hours of arrival. (Hotels automatically take care of this).
We think it is great that 3 day visa free visits are allowed for some of the more visited Chinese cities and that the list of cities is expanding. Taking advantage of 72 hour visa free transit is a great way to visit parts of China without having to go through the costly and time consuming process of applying for a Chinese visa (cost for US citizens is currently $160). If you use 72 hour visa free transit, there is no fee or cost because you are not obtaining a visa. It is also the easiest way to visit China on a whim, allowing you to take advantage of a cheap last minute fare or last minute award availability!
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This article was originally published on March 18, 2014 but updated to reflect the current list of Chinese cities offering 72 hour visa free entry.
Didn’t know about this. Sounds like it is almost as much trouble as getting a visa. Guess it could come in handy for some though.
Thanks for reading! Hopefully we did not make it sound too difficult but it is rather easy if you meet the guidelines. You definitely need a visa to travel around most of China but this is a way to visit a Chinese city if you are flying through on your way to another country. We were not planning on visiting China on our last trip but we had a flight through Shanghai and after learning about the rule we decided to stay for 3 days.
Great news!
Unfortunately we are planning a 1.5 months stay in China in Aug/Sept as part of our big trip so have to go through the motions of getting the soddin’ visa (and having to pre-book everything in advance).
Nomadic Boys,
That is great you are able to stay in China so long. Getting a visa will definitely be worth it!
As i know, Guilin and Xi’an also offer visa-free transit now.
I’d like to visit Guilin, but there aren’t that many direct flights. Is it possible to do like this: Country of origin – Shanghai Pu Dong with direct transfer to a flight to Guilin – Third country.
I don’t think that is allowed. You could break up the Shanghai to Guilin leg by flying to a close international city like Hong Kong or Taipei in between those cities.
Thanks for revealing this little trick. It may not be a great way to visit China for more than a few days, but if you’re travelling to Asia, it could be a great way to fit in a quick visit to a city you’ve wanted to see, or attend an event. I went to China last year and getting a visa wasn’t a terrible ordeal, but it did take some time and effort — not to mention the fee.
Hi,
I am trying to visit Beijing for my winter Asia trip without going through the visa process. So in order to do this, do I book a direct flight from San Diego, California to Beijing, China and then fly from Beijing 72hours later to Seoul Korea and finally Osaka Japan? Or do I need to find a layover in Beijing for 72 hours from San Diego to Seoul in order to use the 72 hour transit?
I think it would make more sense to book a direct flight to Beijing with hotel and then apply for the 72 hour transit visa. Thank you for your help in advanced! We will be traveling in December 2015.
Hi Jessica,
Just to make sure I understand you want to fly San Diego-Beijing-Seoul-Osaka? That would be OK if you are in Beijing under 72 hours. If you are flying from the US into Beijing would your flight be nonstop or have a connection? It might be an issue if your connection was in Seoul coming from the US. Let me know if you have other questions or if this is still not clear.
Hi,
Very useful article. Still a bit confused however. You mentioned there being a rule about “confirmed air tickets to a different third country”. Does that apply for China as well?
I ask because I’m planning a trip to visit both South and North Korea in the fall. I would be flying from Russia (Moscow) to Beijing, to immediately hop on a flight to Seoul, South Korea. After two weeks in South Korea I would fly back to Beijing, leaving for Pyongyang, North Korea with a group tour the next day. After five days in North Korea I would be flying back to Beijing, only to fly back to Moscow on the same day.
So the travel over a 21 day period would like:
Moscow -> Beijing -> Seoul -> Beijing -> Pyongyang -> Beijing -> Moscow.
Just wondering if this would disqualify me for the 72 hour visa free transit policy.
Thanks.
You have an great trip planned-would love to visit North Korea.
If you are flying between every city and are in Beijing less than 72 hrs each time, you should be able to take advantage of the 72 hour visa free rules.
Great, thanks for clarifying.
Yes, I’m beyond excited to see both Koreas and how completely shockingly different they will.
Great article and detailed instructions.
Do you know when the 144 hour policy for Shanghai will go into effect? When I search the web, I see a lot of December 2015 articles that say “soon”. We are traveling January 28-Feb 1 and would love not to have to get a Visa. Entering from Cambodia and departing to Japan.
They have not said when it would go into effect. So not sure how soon it will be. Might be a good idea to apply for a visa unless you can rely on a 72 hour visa.
We are flying from the US to Singapore, staying 2 nights then taking a cruise- Thailand, Vietnam and landing in Hong Kong. We stay one night and then fly to Beijing and stay 3 nights. We then fly straight back to the US and wanted to check if we qualified for the 72 hr transit visa.
Yes that should qualify if your stay is under 72 hours.
Hello!
I would be flying London-Beijing, have two nights in Beijing with the 72 visa-free transit, then Beijing-Tokyo and Tokyo-London on the same day 6 days later.
My question is, due to the gap between my London-Beijing flight and Beijing-Tokyo flight, how would I go about getting my boarding card to Tokyo to prove I will be departing within 72 hours? With Air China it can only be done checking in just before departure? Can you just pull up your booking (e-ticket numbers and booking reference) or do I do something else? Thanks for your help but if you don’t know that’s okay! Very informative post that has helped 🙂
Hi Sophie,
You do not need your boarding card to Tokyo. Just print your Beijing-Tokyo flight confirmation (from your email or your frequent flyer account) before you leave London and bring it with you as proof that you have a departing flight out of Beijing. Hope this helps!