Question

Asked by Brendan from england | Dec. 11, 2025 06:21

About:240-Hour Visa-Free Transit

240 hours visa free stay

My friends are planning a trip to China which I am interested in joining them. Just that the onerous and time consuming visa application gives me second thoughts.

They said if we book air ticket from London to Beijing arriving in the afternoon (1pm) on 10th April, 2026, join you 11 days tour: Beijing - Xian - Zhangjiajie - Shanghai and leaving Shanghai on the morning of 20th April, with a flight to London via Frankurt, ie, landing at Frankfurt first, taking the connecting flight back to London, then we are eligible to the 240 hours visa free stay. Is this correct? Thank you for your help.

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Answers (3)

Answered by Borut | Dec. 12, 2025 00:35

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Yes, they are definitely and undoubtedly correct. Everything within itinerary is a textbook example of how to get the most from the planned journey in terms of available time. The fact is that the arrival day is not counted against the available 240 hours (10 days in reality), but is considered as day 0. The first day that counts in this case is April 11. In other words, April 20 will be your 10th day in China and you will be definitely within the frames defined by 240 hour visa free transit rules. Have a nice visit to China.

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Answered by Brendan | Dec. 12, 2025 00:55

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Thanks for the swift reply, but Chatbot says something different, this is its answer (I do not want to book the ticket, and then being refused entry when get there):

No — you would not be eligible for China’s 10‑day (240‑hour) visa‑free transit policy if your route is London → China → Frankfurt → London. The policy requires that China be a transit point between two different countries or regions. Returning to the same country (UK) after a short stop in Frankfurt does not qualify as “transit to a third country.”

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Answered by Borut | Dec. 14, 2025 22:56

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Brendan, the itinerary:

London -> China -> Frankfurt -> London

Is eligible in every possible aspect regardless of the length of your stay in Frankfurt. The only thing that matters is even mentioned by chatbot and that is, your immediate points before and after mainland China have to be in two different countries or eligible territories (eligible territories are Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau). Your immediate points are in UK and Germany -> two different countries and that is all that matters. The rest of chatbot`s narrative is irrelevant.

I guarantee that you will not be refused entry and I am telling you this based on my years long experience, knowledge and advising the visitors to China specifically in the fields of Chinese visa free transit schemes and visas on arrival. I will repeat, you can proceed with your travel plans with absolute peace of mind because I am not guessing, but know what I am talking about. I hope you will accept this explanation over the chatbot`s narrative. In any case, I wish you a great day.

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