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The policy in one paragraph
Citizens of 57 countries — including the US, Canada, UK, most of the EU, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Singapore, UAE, and (since August 2026) Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan — can enter China without a visa when transiting to a third country or region, staying up to 10 days (240 hours). Entry is allowed at 65 open ports across 24 provinces, Shanghai's airports among them. During the stay you can do tourism, business, family visits, and shopping — but not work, study, or journalism, which still require a proper visa.
That's the official shape of it. The authoritative source is the National Immigration Administration's transit policy page — the country list has been expanded several times, so check it before you book rather than trusting a year-old blog post. The 12367 hotline (+86-12367) answers policy questions in English.
Who this is really useful for
Most coverage of the policy targets tourists. But for overseas Chinese — say, someone on a US or Canadian passport with aging parents in Shanghai — it changes the trip math completely:
- No consulate visit. A ten-day trip used to mean a visa appointment, fees, and weeks of lead time. Now it means picking travel dates.
- Family visits count. Visiting relatives is an explicitly permitted activity during transit status.
- It pairs naturally with a flat check. If you own an empty apartment in Shanghai, ten days on the ground is enough to do in person what our monthly checks cover remotely — and we can prep the flat before you land.
The mechanics, step by step
1. Book the right itinerary. You need confirmed onward tickets to a third country or region — the destination must be outside mainland China. You don't need to be flying from your home country; what matters is the transit chain. Book all segments before you check in, because the airline verifies eligibility at departure, not at the Chinese border.
2. Tell the check-in agent. Say you're using the 240-hour visa-free transit (some airlines want to see the onward booking and may print a transit tag). This is where most problems happen: an agent who doesn't know the policy, or a booking with an open date. Fixed dates, printed confirmations, no ambiguity.
3. At Shanghai border control. Fill in the arrival card, state transit, and the officer stamps you in for the permitted period. Keep your onward booking handy — you may be asked to show it.
4. Stay inside the permitted area. For Shanghai arrivals, the stay zone covers Shanghai plus the surrounding Yangtze River Delta, so side trips to Suzhou or Hangzhou are fine. Register at your hotel (or register at a local police station within 24 hours if staying in a private home — hotels do it automatically). Exit from an open port on or before day 10.
Where people get turned away
- Onward ticket to the same country they came from. The policy requires transit to a third country or region — a Shanghai → Los Angeles → (home) routing works, a round-trip back through the entry point may not.
- Open-dated or unconfirmed onward bookings. "I'll buy it later" is the classic check-in denial.
- Passport not on the current list. The list grows — Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan were just added in August 2026 — but it's not universal. Check before booking.
- Overstaying the 10 days. The clock is strict; a missed flight out can turn into an overstay record. Build in a buffer day.
Making the ten days count
A ten-day visa-free window is enough for the real stuff: parents, the apartment, the paperwork you've been putting off. Bills and property fees can be settled in person, or handled remotely any time through our errand service with photo-documented receipts. Documents you need scanned, signed, or shipped abroad — that's also a standard errand run. And if you'd rather not spend the trip running around, tell us what's on the list before you fly; we'll clear the errands so the ten days are for family, not queues.
How we work, payment staging, and what we don't promise — all on the Trust & Safety page.
Common questions
Can I visit Shanghai for 10 days without a visa?
If you hold a passport from one of the 57 covered countries and transit to a third country or region with a confirmed onward booking, yes — enter at an open port and stay up to 10 days in the permitted area. Verify the current country list on the NIA's policy page before booking.
What counts as an onward ticket to a third country?
A confirmed, fixed-date booking to a destination outside mainland China; Hong Kong and Macao count as separate regions for this purpose. The airline checks it at departure, so have it booked and printed before check-in.
Can I leave Shanghai during the 240 hours?
Yes — the Shanghai port's permitted area includes the Yangtze River Delta, so nearby cities are fine. Exit mainland China from an open port by day 10. Work, study, and journalism are not permitted under transit status.
Can I extend the 240 hours if my plans change?
Transit status isn't designed for extensions. If your stay might run long, apply for a regular visa instead — an overstay creates exactly the kind of record that makes future entries harder.
Want the checklist applied to your own route?
That's exactly what our trip planning service does: a written entry-route check with the source for every conclusion, plus a day-by-day itinerary and booking instructions — done before you fly.
Coming for ten days? Clear the to-do list first.
Tell us your dates and what needs handling — bills, the empty flat, document pickups. We'll stage it so you land to a clean list. We reply the same business day in business hours.
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