French
Deutsch240-hour transit: country count and sources (2026)
[edit source]The 240-hour TWOV section still opens with “As of 2025 … 55 countries”, in the current revision ([permalink, oldid=5424351](https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Visa_requirements_for_China&oldid=5424351), timestamp 2026-11-08 03:53 UTC). The parenthetical list in that same sentence already includes Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam, and the Hainan section was updated to 61 countries in this revision, but the 240-hour lead sentence was not brought into line with the current National Immigration Administration (NIA) figures.
NIA Announcement No. 4 of 2026, effective 20 August 2026, added Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam and states that the number of countries eligible for the 240-hour visa-free transit policy rose to 57, with entry through 65 open ports. The current NIA English policy interpretation (dated 20 August 2026) says the policy applies to nationals of 57 countries, who may enter through any of the designated 65 open exit-entry ports in 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and stay in the permitted areas for no more than 10 days.
Official sources (English and Chinese):
- NIA English announcement, 20 August 2026, Announcement No. 4 of 2026: https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147468/c217849/content.html
- NIA English policy interpretation, “Visa-Free Transit Policies”, dated 20 August 2026: https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147463/c183412/content.html
- NIA Chinese announcement, 2026年第4号, 2026-08-20: https://www.nia.gov.cn/n794014/n1050181/n1050489/c1796294/content.html
- NIA Chinese policy page, “过境免签政策”, dated 2026-08-20: https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741577/c1731205/content.html
Relevant wording from the English announcement: “Effective August 20, 2026, the 240-hour visa-free transit policy and the 30-day visa-free entry policy for Hainan will apply to nationals of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam. Accordingly, the number of countries eligible for the 240-hour visa-free transit policy will rise to 57 … Nationals of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam holding ordinary passports and interline passenger tickets with confirmed dates and itineraries bound for a third country or region may enter China visa-free through any of the 65 open ports of entry …”
The Chinese announcement says: “自2026年8月20日起，对吉尔吉斯斯坦、越南公民实施240小时过境免签政策和海南30天入境免签政策。240小时过境免签政策适用国家增至57国……可从北京、上海等65个对外开放口岸免签入境，并在规定区域内免签停留不超过240小时。”
The English policy interpretation says: “Currently, China is implementing this policy for nationals of 57 countries including Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Nationals of these countries … may enter visa-free through any of the designated 65 open exit-entry ports in 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and stay in the permitted areas for no more than 10 days …”
A couple of citation issues in the same section, for editors who have time:
- The footnote currently attached to “visa-free transit” points to an NIA English news item dated 19 December 2024 (https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147413/c178106/content.html), which describes the earlier 54-country / 60-port version of the policy. The 20 August 2026 announcement and the 20 August 2026 policy interpretation would be more accurate current sources.
- The eligibility bullet lists “47 airports, 15 sea ports” plus four land or rail points (Mohan, Hong Kong West Kowloon, Hengqin, and the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge). That enumeration adds up to 66, whereas NIA’s current official total is 65 ports. I have not tried to identify which item is surplus; it may be safer to use NIA’s official total and the official port table, rather than a separately counted breakdown by type.
I have not checked every permitted stay-area city against the official port-table image today, and I am not proposing changes to the duration or travel-area sentences on the basis of this note.
Suggested replacement sentences are below, should anyone wish to update the article. Please amend as you think best.
I run a China travel guide; I am posting this only to flag the official figures and sources, and I have no request that the article link to any third-party site.
PandaWander (talk) 17:18, 13 November 2026 (UTC)
- @PandaWander Feel free to update the page to reflect on the changes. We don't need references or citations to link to the latest change on the page itself, but it can be helpful to include the reference link in the edit summary. The visa map may take some time to update. Or if you're feeling ambitious and want to give it a try, check out the comments for using a tool that supports editing images like the visa map. OhanaUnitedTalk page 18:53, 13 November 2026 (UTC)
- Thank you. I have updated the 240-hour lead sentence and the eligibility port count to the official 57 countries / 65 ports, and left the map for later. PandaWander (talk) 00:06, 14 November 2026 (UTC)