China extends visa-free transit stays to 240 hours, increases eligible ports to 60

China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) announced on Tuesday that the permitted stay for foreign nationals entering China under the visa-free transit policy for purposes such as tourism, business, visits, and family reunions has been extended from the original 72 hours and 144 hours to 240 hours or 10 days, as part of the latest measures to further relax and optimize the visa-free transit policy. The policy takes effect immediately.

At the same time, the NIA announced that the number of ports eligible for the visa-free transit policy will be increased from the original 39 to 60, including Chengdu Tianfu International Airport Port in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province and Sanya Phoenix International Airport Port in South China's Hainan Province.

Also, as part of the latest policy announced on Tuesday, the permitted activity areas for visa-free foreign nationals will be expanded to 24 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities including Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hainan and Guizhou provinces from the original 19.

During their staying in China, foreigners who travel in transit without a visa can engage in activities such as tourism, business, visits, and family visits. However, those who want to work, study, or conduct news interviews and other activities that require prior approval still need to obtain a visa before coming to China, per the NIA.

So far, there are 54 countries that are eligible for the 240-hour transit visa exemption policy.

The latest data released by the NIA on Tuesday shows that from January to November 2024, there were 29.218 million foreign entries into China through various ports, an 86.2 percent year-on-year increase. Of these, 17.446 million entries were made visa-free, a year-on-year growth of 123.3 percent.