Question

Asked by Val from united kingdom | Jan. 14, 2026 15:04

About:24-Hour Visa-Free Transit

TWOV for a Bulgarian citizen flying from UK

Good evening!
I am a Bulgarian citizen and my flight is Manchester, UK to Beijing where I have 2 hours layover and my final destination is Tokyo. My return flight Japan - Beijing - UK but the layover is 10 hours. I am planning to stay only inside the airport during both transfers in Beijing. Do I need to fill in the Arrival form and do I qulify for the free 24 hour transit?
Many thanks

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Answers (2)

Answered by Borut | Jan. 14, 2026 17:10

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Val, I would like to inform you that Bulgarian citizens do not need any visa free transit scheme because they can travel to China absolutely visa free for up to 30 days in a very similar way as if they travel to UK or Turkey. In other words, Bulgarian citizens are not a subject of any visa free transit scheme.

Since you do not plan to exit the airport you will just walk from one gate to the other and you do not need to perform any formality nor to fill out any forms. Also, you will not be a subject to immigration or customs inspections. You will just encounter a security check between the two gates (metal detector and similar stuff). If you decide to exit the airport during your 10 hour long layover, you will fill out arrival card, perform fingerprinting at automatic fingerprinting machine and head to the immigration. In any case, I wish you a nice journey.

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Answered by Val | Jan. 17, 2026 02:21

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Thank you for thr detailed response!

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