Question

Asked by Quynh OnThai from united states | Jan. 20, 2026 10:45

About:240-Hour Visa-Free Transit

240 hour free visa questions

Hello, I’m US passport holder. Will be traveling to Beijing from Los Angeles, CA May 23, 2026 and arrive into Beijing May 24th. Stay in Beijing until we travel to Shanghai on May 27-29. Then to Xian from May 29-31. May 31-June 1 back to Beijing to fly back to Los Angeles, CA ON June 1. Will we qualify for the 240 hour free visa?

Reply

Answers (1)

Answered by Borut | Jan. 20, 2026 17:01

0 0 Reply

Unfortunately, your itinerary is not eligible for 240 hour visa free transit. The basic rule of 240 hour visa free transit requires that the immediate points, before and after mainland China are located in two different countries or eligible territories (eligible territories are Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau). As you can see, both of your immediate points are located in a single country - US.

If you want to retain actual itinerary you will have to obtain a Chinese tourist visa in advance. If your itinerary is not a fixed one, you can maybe make it eligible in a creative way. For example by adding Hong Kong or Japan or Taiwan within your itinerary, for example US - mainland China - Japan - US... Hopefully, you will be able to make such an intervention in your itinerary. I would like to stress the importance of correct terminology because this is not 240 hour transit visa, but 240 hour visa free transit, so there is no any kind of visa involved. Hope this helps.

0 0 Reply

See more answers...

Related Questions: