NIA: 240-hour Visa-free Transit Expanded to 57 Countries, Hainan 30-day Visa-free Entry to 61 Countries
Per a National Immigration Administration announcement (No. 4 of 2026), 240-hour visa-free transit now covers 57 countries and Hainan's 30-day visa-free entry covers 61 countries, effective August 20, 2026.
The National Immigration Administration (NIA) issued an announcement (No. 4 of 2026): from August 20, 2026, the 240-hour visa-free transit policy and the Hainan 30-day visa-free entry policy will apply to citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam. With this, the number of countries eligible for the 240-hour visa-free transit policy rises to 57, and the number eligible for the Hainan 30-day visa-free entry policy rises to 61.
The announcement specifies that citizens of the above countries holding ordinary passports and connecting tickets with confirmed dates and itineraries, transiting through China to a third country or region, may enter visa-free via 65 open ports including Beijing and Shanghai and stay visa-free for no more than 240 hours within the designated areas; and holding ordinary passports they may enter via Hainan’s open ports and stay visa-free for no more than 30 days within the administrative area of Hainan Province.
Those coming to China under the above two visa-free policies may engage in short-term activities such as tourism, business, visits and visiting relatives; for matters requiring prior approval, such as work, study and news reporting, a visa must still be obtained before coming to China.
Reference significance for charter travel: The expansion of the applicability of visa-free transit and regional visa-free entry provides more convenient entry and exit conditions for inbound tourism and transit multi-city products aimed at the relevant source countries, and is a policy basis to consider when designing charter connecting and regional multi-city routes.
(This article is compiled from the original announcement publicly issued by the National Immigration Administration.)