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, Kuwait, Bahrain, Russia, Sweden, Canada and United Kingdom. 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. Countries qualified for the 24/240 hours free Transit Visa in Beijing Capital International Airport
Beijing Capital International Airport now (Dec, 2024) adopts 240 hours free Transit visa to the holders of passports issued by the following countries: Canada, Indonesia, Chile, Czech Republic, Mexico, Macedonia, Monaco, Republic of Montenegro, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States.
According to our experience, some of the countries do not belong to the 240 hours visa free countries, but if you layover within 24 hours in Beijing, you still can obtain the visa free for 24 hours. Such as: India, Philippines, Vietnam, Columbia, Ecuador, Panama, Dominican Republic, etc.
2. Restrictions of the 24/240 hours free Transit Visa
It only applies to passengers who transit through Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing. The destination and place of departure cannot be the same.(e.g Auckland – Beijing – Auckland).
3. About how to get free Transit Visa at Beijing airport
Please see details at: https://www.beijinglayovertour.com/beijing-layover-tour-tips/.
Even if you fit all the policies above, the immigration officers still have the right to object to you for some reasons (sometimes they will tell you the reason, sometimes they don’t).
If you want to be 100% sure, please apply for the visa in advance at the Chinese Embassy.
We found some reasons that cause you can not obtain the free Transit Visa.
1. The validity of your passport is less than 3 months.
2. Worked or been to Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan.
There must be more reasons but we just don’t know yet. (The latest updated on Nov. 17, 2023)
As a tour company, if we agree to arrange a tour for you that means your flight information, layover time and your nationality fit the visa free policy requirements.
But there are still some other issues that might happen that might cause you can not obtain the visa-free or can not get out of the airport.
We don’t take any responsibility if it happens. And according to our private tour refund policy, we will deduct our tour guide and driver airport transfer costs accordingly and refund the rest of the tour fee to you. (Most companies are non-refundable)
Hope for your understanding!
Hi i will be flying from usa to beijing then on to Tokyo i have 2 hours 40 mins on way over so can i just stay airport for connecting flight do i need visa for this? Canadian passport.I will return from Tokyo just under two weeks later on return flight stop 23 hours layover can i get visa for this if i have flight on way over then return to US confused by visa .
Hi Wendy,
Thank you for contacting us!
You do not need visa, if you just stay airport for connecting flight.
If you want to get out of airport and take a tour, you can get the visa-free permit at airport. About how to get the visa-free permit, please see details at: https://www.beijinglayovertour.com/how-go-get-the-visa-free-permit-at-beijing-airport/.
If you have any other questions please let us know.
is the 24hr transit visa applicable to Kunming as well? do you have day tours for Kunming and Beijing? can you send me the details please? What time do the tours start?
Hi Divya,
About Kunming visa-free policy, you’d better contact Chinese Embassy to confirm. We do not have tours in Kunming. Sorry about that!
Hi, I have an Indian Passport and I am traveling from US to Australia with layover in Beijing or Guangzhou, will I need a visa? or do I qualify for the 72-hourvisa free transit. I dont think so but I just wanted to confirm.
Hi Divya,
If you layover in Beijing or Guangzhou within 24 hours, you will not need the visa.
Hi,
I am a travelling to Mongolia from Seoul. My flight is on Jul 27th and will arrive in Beijing at 9:40 in the morning. My connecting flight to Mongolia will be at 9:10 in the evening. Roughly I have a 10-hour layover. is it possible to join a group tour to Great wall? Also, I am a Philippine passport holder but I am currently living in Korea as a student. Will I need a visa for the transit? Will I need a visa to go on a day tour to The Great Wall?
Thank you in advance. More power!
Hi Macy,
According to our experience, you can get out of airport and take the tour if your layover in Beijing within 24 hours. And we did many layover tours for the Philippine passport holders without visa before.
According to our layover time, we do not have group tours suitable for you. You can only do the private tour. https://www.beijinglayovertour.com/mutianyu-great-wall-layover-tour-from-beijing-airport/