China offers visa-free entry to travelers holding ordinary passports from Brunei, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, 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, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwiat, Bahrain, Russia and Sweden. 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, 2026.
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)
Apply for Temporary Entry Permit (Picture I)

Immigration (Picture II)

* 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/.

I am a Philippine passport and a US green card holder. I have a 6hr and a 9hr layover in Beijing using Air China. Do I need to get the 24/144 visa still? And how long does it take? For my 9hr layover, I arrive at 640am and leave 4pm. Am I able to do Great Wall of China day tour?
Hi Arni,
Thank you for your asking!
The Philippines is not belongs to Beijing visa-free countries. Please apply the Chinese entry visa in Chinese Embassy in advance if you want to do a layover tour in Beijing.
My husband and I are looking at a flight from BKK-PEK (Thai Airways) arriving 0530 and PEK-IAD (United Airlines) departing 1425. Will we be able get the permit free visa? We would love to do a layover tour but are unsure about the visa. Our return trip is IAD-PEK arriving 1515 and PEK-BKK departing 1705 the next day.
Thank you.
Hi Anna,
Thank you for contacting us!
May I know your nationality? About detailed visa-free policy, please check this page: https://www.beijinglayovertour.com/visa-free-policy/.
Hi, do you think I need a visa free permit to do the tour? I´m going to be less 24 hours. PEK (China)
April 1st Sun 19:25 (arrival)
PEK (China)
April 2nd Mon 13:25 (departure)
Hi Dilma,
Yes, you have to get the visa-free permit at Beijing airport first. Then you can get out of the airport and take the tour.
Hello,
My husband and I will arrive in Beijing at 7:45 am and our flight leaves at 4::00pm. We want to take tour.
We have been to Beijing and visited the major sites, but don’t mind going again. With this time restraint, what do you suggest? We are open to suggestions. We love this city. We don’t know which site of the Great Wall that we saw.
Thanks.
Kathleen
Hi Kathleen,
Thank you for contacting us!
we recommend you visit the Mutianyu Great Wall layover tour, which is the most beautiful and close to the airport section. And you can take the toboggan at there. Have you been there?
We just sent you an email about detailed tour itinerary, please check.