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Interpretation of 72-hour Visa-free Transit Policy for Foreigners from Some Countries
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With the approval of the State Council, 11 air ports in Guangzhou, Guilin, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming, Xi'an, Xiamen, Wuhan, Harbin, Qingdao and Changsha will implement the 72-hour visa-free transit policy for foreign nationals from 53 countries (list is attached).
Foreign nationals applying for 72-hour visa-free transit shall hold a valid passport or other international travel documents, interline tickets with confirmed date and seat to leave for a third country (region) within 72 hours, fill landing card for transit foreigners , and accept inquiries from the entry-exit frontier inspection station. The entry-exit frontier inspection station shall not issue temporary entry permits to foreigners in the following circumstances:
- Foreigners who are not allowed to enter China by laws or administrative regulations;
- Foreigners whose passports or other international travel documents are expiring in less than 3 months, or with stamp of rejection by China's visa-issuing agencies;
- Foreigners who have a record of illegal entry or exit, illegal residence, or illegal employment within 5 years;
- Foreigners who have a record of violations of accommodation registration regulations within 2 years and the circumstances are severe.
During the visa-free transit, foreigners shall abide by Chinese laws and regulations, and shall not leave the permitted area of staying and exceed the permitted transit time. For foreigners staying at hotels, the hotels shall register their stay. For foreigners residing or staying at other places, the foreigners or their host shall register at public security organs (police stations or service stations for foreigners) within 24 hours of their stay. For foreigners overstaying the 72-hour time limit of the temporary entry permit due to force majeure, they shall apply to the exit and entry departments of China's public security organs for corresponding stay permit in accordance with regulations.
Foreigners, who leave the restricted area, overstay the temporary entry permit period or leave China via points of exit and entry other than designated ones, shall be treated and punished in accordance with law by entry-exit frontier inspection authorities or public security organs of the local government.
Attachment:
1.List of countries entitled to 72-hour visa-free transit policy (53 countries in total)
Austria, Belgium, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Monaco, Belarus, United States of America, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
2.Air ports that accept the 72-hour visa-free transit policy and the respective scope for visa-free stays
No.
Name of Ports
Located in (City)
Effective Since
Scope of Visa-free Staying
1
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
August 1, 2013
Guangdong Province
2
Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport
Chengdu, Sichuan Province
September 1, 2013
Chengdu, Sichuan Province
3
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport
Chongqing Municipality
December 30, 2013
Chongqing Municipality
4
Guilin Liangjiang International Airport
Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
July 28, 2014
Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
5
Xi'an Xianyang International Airport
Xianyang, Shaanxi Province
June 1, 2014
Xi'an and Xianyang, Shaanxi Province
6
Kunming Changshui International Airport
Kunming, Yunnan Province
October 1, 2014
Kunming, Yunnan Province
7
Qingdao Liuting International Airport
Qingdao, Shandong Province
November 16, 2015
Shandong Province
8
Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport
Xiamen, Fujian Province
April 1, 2015
Xiamen, Fujian Province
9
Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
Wuhan, Hubei Province
May 1, 2015
Wuhan, Hubei Province
10
Harbin Taiping International Airport
Harbin, Heilongjiang Province
August 1, 2015
Harbin, Heilongjiang Province
11
Changsha Huanghua International Airport
Changsha, Hunan Province
January 1, 2016
Hunan Province
Notice: This English version is only for reference. To learn more, please refer to the authoritative Chinese version.