The National Immigration Administration has announced as of January 1, 2019, 53 nationalities will be able to use the 144 Hour Visa Free Transit Policy when transiting via Xiamen and other cities in China. The policy requires travellers to have a flight ticket for a third country and a valid passport.
The 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy will be implemented in other five cities, including Xiamen, Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu and Kunming. Foreigners from 53 countries will be allowed to stay in the same city for up to 144 hours before they need to leave the country. Travellers transiting through Qingdao will also be allowed to stay elsewhere in Shandong Province during the period. At present, such passengers are allowed a visa-free stay of up to 72 hours in the five cities listed above.
Since 2013, the State Council has approved 72-Hour Visa-Free Transit for eligible foreign travellers across 18 cities, and later extended the period to 144 hours in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu Province, as well as Shenyang and Dalian in Liaoning Province.
