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China Expands 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit to 57 Countries: New Options for Business Travelers (August 2026)

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  • From 20 August 2026, nationals of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam can use China’s 240-hour visa-free transit policy and Hainan’s 30-day visa-free entry policy, raising the eligible country counts to 57 and 61 respectively.
    自 2026 年 8 月 20 日起，吉尔吉斯斯坦、越南公民可适用 240 小时过境免签与海南 30 天入境免签政策，两项政策的适用国家分别增至 57 国与 61 国。
  • Eligible travellers holding ordinary passports and confirmed interline tickets can enter through any of 65 open ports, including Beijing and Shanghai, and stay up to 240 hours (10 days) within designated areas.
    持普通护照与确定日期及行程联程客票的旅客，可从北京、上海等 65 个对外开放口岸免签入境，并在规定区域内免签停留不超过 240 小时。
  • Vietnamese and Kyrgyz nationals with ordinary passports may enter through any open port of Hainan and stay up to 30 days within the province.
    吉、越两国公民持普通护照可由海南省对外开放口岸入境，在海南省行政区域内免签停留不超过 30 天。
  • The visa-free stays cover tourism, business, visits and family visits; work, study and news reporting still require a visa obtained before arrival.
    免签停留可从事旅游、商贸、访问、探亲等短期活动；工作、学习、新闻采访等仍需在来华前办妥签证。
  • Vietnam was China’s fourth-largest source of inbound travellers in H1 2026, and border traffic between the two countries has grown sharply, making the expansion commercially significant.
    2026 年上半年越南是中国第四大入境游客来源国，两国间口岸往来快速增长，本次扩围的商业意义显著。
  • For foreign-invested employers and business travellers, the expansion lowers entry friction for meetings, inspections and short assignments, but residence permit and work-permit routes remain unchanged.
    对外资企业与商务旅客而言，本次扩围降低了会议、考察与短期任务的入境门槛，但居留许可与工作许可路径保持不变。

China Expands 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit to 57 Countries: New Options for Business Travelers (August 2026) | 中国 240 小时过境免签扩至 57 国：外籍商务旅客的新选项（2026 年 8 月）

Why this matters now

On 20 August 2026, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) announced that nationals of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam would become eligible for China’s 240-hour visa-free transit policy and Hainan’s 30-day visa-free entry policy with immediate effect. The 240-hour transit scheme now covers 57 countries and the Hainan scheme 61 countries. The change is part of a steady widening of China’s short-term entry facilitation since the scheme was extended from 72/144 hours to 240 hours in December 2024, and it matters for multinational companies because two neighbouring, high-volume source markets — Vietnam and Central Asia’s Kyrgyzstan — now enjoy visa-free access for precisely the kind of short, business-driven trips that previously required advance visa arrangements.

What the August 2026 expansion means in practice

Under the NIA announcement (No. 4 of 2026), citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam who hold an ordinary passport and a confirmed interline ticket with a fixed date and itinerary, and who are transiting through China to a third country or region, may enter visa-free through any of the 65 designated open ports, including Beijing and Shanghai, and stay up to 240 hours in the designated areas. The same two nationalities may alternatively enter through any open port of Hainan Province and stay up to 30 days. The eligible activities are tourism, business, visits and family visits. Work, study and news reporting still require an advance visa, and travellers who plan to stay beyond the limits or leave the designated areas must use the ordinary visa or residence-permit route.

For foreign-invested enterprises, the practical benefit is lower friction for short trips: factory inspections, supplier meetings, trade-fair attendance, client visits and board-level discussions that fall within 10 days can now be handled visa-free for citizens of the 57 covered countries. Vietnam was China’s fourth-largest source of inbound travellers in the first half of 2026, after Korea, Russia and Malaysia, and the Hekou port on the Yunnan–Vietnam border alone recorded more than 4 million border crossings by mid-August. Kyrgyzstan’s Torugart port on the Xinjiang border also saw a 60% year-on-year increase in trips in the first quarter of 2026, so the policy is expected to accelerate both business and tourism traffic.

Practical steps for employers and travellers

  1. Confirm eligibility before booking. Check that the traveller’s nationality is on the 57-country list and that the itinerary is a genuine transit to a third country or region with a confirmed onward ticket.
  2. Stay within the 240-hour window and the designated area. Overstaying or travelling outside the approved region converts a facilitation into an immigration compliance issue; the 10-day cap counts from arrival.
  3. Choose the right route for longer stays. If the purpose is work, study or journalism, or the stay exceeds the visa-free limit, apply for the appropriate visa or work/residence permit before arrival — the visa-free schemes do not replace these.
  4. For Hainan-specific travel, note that the 30-day entry is limited to the province; leaving Hainan for the mainland requires an appropriate permit or visa.
  5. Keep documents consistent. Immigration officers verify the ordinary passport and the interline ticket; name and date mismatches can cause denial at the port.
  6. Plan compliance updates. Multinational HR and mobility teams should update internal travel policies and visa matrices so that short business trips to China use the right, fastest legal channel.

Compliance notes

The expansion is a facilitation of short-term entry, not a change to China’s work and residence framework. Foreign employees who enter visa-free cannot simply begin working in China; the work-permit and work-type residence permit route, and the foreigner work permit classification system, remain mandatory for employment. Employers should also be aware that the transit area restrictions differ by port group, and that the authorities retain the right to require a visa when circumstances suggest the traveller does not genuinely intend to transit. Finally, policies at the operational level — port lists, airline cooperation and regional implementation — can be adjusted by the NIA without notice, so verify the current rules before each trip. For 2026 planning, treat the August expansion as a baseline and re-check before each itinerary, because the 240-hour and Hainan schemes continue to evolve in both country coverage and port lists.

中国 240 小时过境免签扩至 57 国：外籍商务旅客的新选项（2026 年 8 月）/ China Expands 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit to 57 Countries: New Options for Business Travelers (August 2026)

为什么当下重要

2026 年 8 月 20 日，国家移民管理局发布公告，自当日起对吉尔吉斯斯坦、越南公民实施 240 小时过境免签政策和海南 30 天入境免签政策。至此，240 小时过境免签政策适用国家增至 57 国，海南 30 天入境免签政策适用国家增至 61 国。此次调整是 2024 年 12 月免签停留时长从 72/144 小时延长至 240 小时后，中国持续放宽短期入境的又一步。对跨国企业而言，两个邻近且客流量大的来源市场——越南与中亚的吉尔吉斯斯坦——如今对这类过去需要提前办签的短期商务差旅，享受免签入境。

2026 年 8 月扩围的实操含义

根据国家移民管理局 2026 年第 4 号公告，吉尔吉斯斯坦、越南公民持普通护照和确定日期及行程的联程客票，从中国过境前往第三国或地区，可从北京、上海等 65 个对外开放口岸免签入境，并在规定区域内免签停留不超过 240 小时。两国公民也可选择持普通护照从海南省对外开放口岸入境，在海南省行政区域内免签停留不超过 30 天。适用上述政策的来华活动包括旅游、商贸、访问、探亲等短期活动；工作、学习、新闻采访等仍应在来华前办妥签证，计划超期停留或离开规定区域的旅客须走普通签证或居留许可路径。

对外资企业而言，实际好处在于短期差旅摩擦降低：工厂考察、供应商会谈、参展、客户拜访、董事会讨论等 10 天以内的行程，覆盖名单内 57 国公民现在可以免签完成。2026 年上半年越南是中国第四大入境游客来源国（仅次于韩国、俄罗斯、马来西亚），仅云南河口口岸与越南的出入境人数到 8 月中旬累计已超 400 万人次；新疆的吐尔尕特口岸一季度出入境人次同比增 60%。预计该政策将同时带动商务与旅游往来。

雇主与旅客的操作步骤

  1. 预订前确认资格。 核验旅客国籍是否在 57 国名单内，且行程确为前往第三国或地区的过境，并持有确认的联程机票。
  2. 控制 240 小时与限定区域。 超期停留或离开批准区域会使便利措施变成出入境合规问题；10 天上限自入境起算。
  3. 更长的停留选择正确路径。 若目的为工作、学习或新闻采访，或停留超出免签时限，应在来华前申请相应签证或工作/居留许可——免签政策不替代这些安排。
  4. 海南专项行程注意。 30 天入境限定在省内；离开海南进入内地需相应许可或签证。
  5. 保持证件信息一致。 边检核验普通护照与联程客票；姓名、日期不符可能导致口岸拒绝入境。
  6. 同步更新合规材料。 跨国 HR 与差旅团队应更新内部出行政策与签证矩阵，确保赴华短期商务行程走正确、最快的合法通道。

合规提示

本次扩围是短期入境的便利化，不是中国工作与居留框架的变化。以免签身份入境的外籍员工不能直接开始在华工作；工作许可、工作类居留许可以及外国人工作许可分类管理路径对就业仍然强制适用。雇主还应留意，过境停留区域限制因口岸群而异，且当情况显示旅客并非真实过境时，主管机关保留要求办理签证的权力。最后，口岸名单、航司合作与地区落地细则可能由国家移民管理局随时调整，每次出行前应核实现行规则。

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