China offers visa-free entry to travelers holding ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Australia, Poland, Slovenia, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, South Korea, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia and Japan. Citizens from those countries are able to enter China without a visa and stay for no more than 30 days for business, tourism, family visits and transit purposes till December 31, 2025.

Updates: To further facilitate cross-border travel, China decided to include more countries in its visa waiver program and extend the visa-free policy to ordinary passport holders from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay on a trial basis from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026 and from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain on a trial basis from June 9, 2025 to June 8, 2026. Ordinary passport holders from the above-mentioned five countries can be exempted from visa to enter China and stay for no more than 30 days for business, tourism, family/friends visit, exchange and transit purposes.

So if your nationality is one of those countries, you DO NOT need to follow below instructions to apply for the transit visa, just please go to immigration directly.

1. How to get the “24/240 Hours Transit Visa (Temporary Entry Permit)” and where to find our meeting point? (Please print it out or save it to your phone)

* Please follow below instructions if your flight landing at Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 3. 

Step 1: When you get off the airplane please follow the sign “Exit, Baggage Claim”. Please keep walking until you see “Temporary Entry Permit Application Counter”. (The opposite of the arrival gate E29) (Please see the picture I)
Please DO NOT stop on the way, such as: “Exit & Entry Certificate Service Office” and “Transit for international Flights within 24 hours”. You might never be allowed to come out.

Step 2: Please waiting for the line at the “Temporary Entry Permit Application Counter” you can get the “24/240 Hours Visa-free Permit ” (Temporary Entry Permit) there. You need to fill a form “Arrival Card for Temporary Entry Foreigners” (Blue one) while you are waiting. (You can get the form at the desk nearby)

Step 3: After you get the Visa-free, please walk to the left and pass through the “China Immigration Inspection”, waiting for the line for “Foreigners” to pass through the immigration. (Please see the picture II)

Step 4: After you pass through the immigration, there is an escalator. Please follow the escalator downstairs. Then you will see a little train station.

Step 5: Please get on the train, and get off the train at the terminal station (T3 C).

Step 6: After you get off the train at “T3 C”, follow the sign “Exit” you will see Exit “B“. Pass through the Exit “B”, there is a Starbucks coffee shop to the left. Our tour guide will hold your name and wait for you there.

* Please follow below instructions if your flight landing at Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 2.

Step 1: When you get off the airplane take a escalator up please follow the sign “Exit, Baggage Claim“. Please keep walking until you see “China Immigration Inspection“.
Please DO NOT stop on the way, such as: “Transit for international Flights within 24 hours”; “Entry Visa”; “Visa Application”. You might never be allowed to come out.

Step 2: Please walk through the “China Immigration Inspection” follow the yellow arrow on the ground “24/240 Hours Visa-free Transit“. At the “CHINA IMMIGRATION INSPECTION” there are several access for “Foreigners“, please go through those access. And then you can get the “24/240 Hours Visa free (Temporary Entry Permit)”.
You need to fill a form “Arrival Card for Temporary Entry Foreigners” (Blue one) while you are waiting. (You can get the form at the desk nearby)

Step 3: Continue follow the sign “Exit, Baggage Claim“ take an elevator down you will see “CUSTOMS“, through the “CUSTOMS”, you will see a Starbucks coffee shop opposite of the exit. Our tour guide will hold your name and wait for you there.

2. Flight delay/cancel & Refund? (Apply to private tours only)

If your flight delays and without your notice, our guide and driver will wait you till you arrives and finish the tour if possible. If there is not time to finish the tour, we will refund you the deposit after deducting the fee for the tour guide and driver.

In case that your flight cancels or delays, please let us know at least 4 hours in advance. This way, we can refund you the deposit in full.

3. How to book a layover tour?

Tell us the itinerary in the website you are interested in and also your modification ideas regarding to the itinerary, by filling an online inquiry form, by email, by phone or by fax. We are available 24 hours every day.

4. How to pay? (Apply to private tours only)

To book a layover tour, please pay 50% of tour fee as deposit in advance. We use PayPal online payment, which is more safe and convenient. Our travel advisor will give further details about it. The balance half could be paid upon arrival directly to the tour guide in cash, either USD or RMB. If you want to pay the rest of tour fee by credit card via PayPal as well, please pay before you landing Beijing.

5. Are these your best tour prices?

Yes, all of our tour prices are our best prices we can do. But if you can get more people join your tour, the tour price will be cheaper. You can see our Best Price Guarantee Policy at: https://www.beijinglayovertour.com/why-choose-us/.

6. How to assure a layover booking?

We will send you a Tour Confirmation via email (usually within 6 hours) after the receipt of your deposit, passport info and flight info. In this way, your booking is finally confirmed.

7. Luggage storage for the layover/Where to leave your luggage for the layover?

Leave your luggage with your airline. Passengers on layover tours arriving and departing from Beijing Capital airport will normally have their luggage sent to their final destination from their airport of origin.

Leave your luggage with us, load on our vehicle, our driver will watch for you while the tour.

If you’re looking to ditch your bags while you explore Beijing, the airport offers left Luggage counters at all the three terminals. You can leave your luggage for few hours to few days.

For example: A layover in Beijing in between flights from Amsterdam, the Netherlands to Manila, the Philippines. Luggage will be sent directly from Amsterdam to Manila. The information is only a guideline and it’s always recommend to check precise details with your airline.

8. Money exchange?

It’s advisable to exchange some money at the airport counters or ATM as you need to purchase meals or other personal expenses. Its handy to have some RMB when you arrive. There are 24 hour currency exchange counters at Beijing airport in all terminals as well as ATMs.

9. Visa-free Policy?

Please see details at: https://www.beijinglayovertour.com/visa-free-policy/.

10. What are the differences with other tour companies? What are the advantages do you have?

Please see this page about the differences between our company with others. https://www.beijinglayovertour.com/why-choose-us/.