According to the China National Immigration Administration (NIA), Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan have just been included in China's 240-hour visa-free transit program. With the new policy, the number of countries applying this program has increased to 57 countries, through 65 border gates.
10-day transit, can combine with travel to China
To enjoy the policy, Vietnamese tourists must bring a valid ordinary passport, with a connecting ticket with a confirmed date and itinerary to continue to a third country or territory.
Qualified tourists can enter through 65 designated border gates, including major traffic hubs such as Beijing and Shanghai. Maximum length of stay is 240 hours, i.e. 10 days, in permitted areas as prescribed.
During this time, tourists can travel, carry out commercial activities, visit and visit relatives. However, the policy does not apply to activities that need to be approved in advance such as working, studying and journalistic activities. These cases still require a suitable visa.
The noteworthy point is that this is a transit policy, not visa exemption for every trip to China. Therefore, Vietnamese tourists who want to take advantage of 10 days of visa exemption need to have a real transit journey from a third country or territory through China and continue to another country or territory.
For example, tourists can build an international itinerary with a stop in China, spend a few days exploring Beijing, Shanghai or localities within the permitted scope before continuing the trip to the third destination.
More options for the journey to explore China
In parallel with the 240-hour transit policy, Vietnamese citizens holding ordinary passports are also allowed to enter Hainan province and stay for a maximum of 30 days without a visa. The scope of application is the open border gates of Hainan province.
The two policies have different application conditions, so tourists need to clearly identify the type of itinerary before booking tickets.
China has also implemented some separate visa exemption policies for Vietnamese tourists. According to information provided, Vietnamese tourists can come to Guilin under the visa exemption program for groups of tourists who meet the conditions; Tay Song Ban Nap also applies a visa exemption policy for Vietnamese tourist groups.
NIA said that adding Vietnam to the 240-hour transit program is to facilitate people-to-people exchanges, trade, tourism and investment with neighboring countries.
According to data released by the Chinese Immigration Department, in the first 6 months of 2026, Vietnam was the 4th largest tourist sending market to China in the world, showing that the demand for Chinese tourism from the Vietnamese market is at a remarkable level.
Note that tourists should carefully check the expected entry border gate, permitted area and connecting route before departure. Having a ticket to continue to a third country or territory is an important condition of the 240-hour visa-free transit program.
