Quick summary
China’s visa-free transit window is now 240 hours — ten days — for travellers from 57 countries, including the UK, every EU state, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, under a rule in force since 20 August 2026. It applies at 60 ports across 24 provinces, not only Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.
Passport holders from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and several African nations are excluded and must hold a Chinese visa before departure. Here is who qualifies, how the ten-day window works, and what the stopover changes at the Cambodia end of the trip.
On 20 August 2026, China extended its visa-free transit window to 240 hours, or ten days. The rule was still in force on 14 October 2026. For eligible travellers, that turns a Guangzhou or Shanghai connection into a stopover.
This article previously reported a fare gap between Chinese and European carriers on Europe-Cambodia roundtrips. No fare source in this update supports that gap. We no longer report it, and no fare is quoted below. The transit rule, rather than a fare claim, is what supports the stopover.
Your passport decides whether that stopover is available.
China’s transit window is now 240 hours
Citizens of 57 countries qualify for China’s visa-free transit window. UK, EU, US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passport holders are on the list. The rule replaced two older programmes: a 72-hour exemption used at secondary hubs and a 144-hour exemption used at Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and a handful of other cities.
The change extends beyond the clock. A China stopover no longer has to mean one of those four familiar cities. A routing that lands and departs through a smaller provincial gateway can qualify, provided the port is on the official list.
The current figures are published on the Hainan provincial government’s visa page. It provides the current version rather than a summary written before August 2026.
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Who cannot use the 240-hour window
Passport holders from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and several African nations do not qualify for China’s visa-free transit and must obtain a Chinese visa before departure. That applies even to a short airside connection. It is the fact most likely to decide whether a China routing makes sense at all.
The visa is neither free nor instant. It reportedly adds around €150-200 in fees and five to ten business days of processing. That is enough to erase the point of building a stopover around an exemption you cannot use. The eligible nationalities are set by China’s National Immigration Administration.
Our guide to split ticketing Europe to Cambodia via Bangkok sets out the trade-offs of splitting the trip there instead. It is the alternative to the China stopover.
A simple return that ends where it started does not qualify. A London-Guangzhou-Phnom Penh-Guangzhou-London itinerary therefore fails on the return leg. Structuring the trip as Phnom Penh-Shanghai-London, or using a different Chinese city on the way home, keeps it inside the programme.
What ten days changes for a stopover
Ten days makes a different trip possible. The 144-hour rule allowed six days; the 72-hour rule allowed three. Anyone who priced a China stopover against those limits was working with a window at most 60 percent of the current one.
A Europe-Cambodia routing via Guangzhou or Shanghai can now include several nights in one city, or a split between two. The wider port list also means the stop does not have to happen at the connecting hub.
The schedule remains a constraint.
Chinese carriers reportedly operate only a few weekly frequencies on Europe-Cambodia routes, against daily service from European carriers connecting through Bangkok or Singapore. A fixed departure date can therefore rule out the China routing before the visa question is even asked. Departure airport is a separate variable. Our breakdown of European departure airports for China routes covers how the gateway you leave from changes the itinerary.
Landing in Cambodia: KTI or PNH
Cambodia opened Techo International Airport (KTI) in October 2025, and several carriers have shifted operations there from Phnom Penh International (PNH). The two codes are still mixed up in booking flows. The difference is not cosmetic.
The transfer matters if you have booked a hotel near the old airport. A few dollars either way is only part of that difference.
Siem Reap (REP) remains the gateway for Angkor Wat, and a China routing reaches it on the same terms as Phnom Penh. The visa-free window does not change with the Cambodian airport you land at; only the transfer at the far end does.
What the new window changes for your trip
The booking steps turn on your passport, the ports and the arrival code. Each can change the itinerary.
Eligible passport holders. Check your passport against the official country list before you book anything. Check the port list before you commit: the exemption applies at 60 named ports across 24 provinces, not at every Chinese airport. Keep the return leg off Chinese soil if it ends at your origin city. Less suited: travellers whose return flight ends where they started, because the third-country rule rules the routing out.
Excluded passport holders. Check the official country list before assuming you are excluded. A connection through Bangkok or Singapore needs no advance paperwork. Less suited: travellers who already hold a valid Chinese visa, for whom the exemption is irrelevant.
Travellers arriving at KTI. Cambodia’s new airport sits about 30 km south of Phnom Penh. Ground transport reportedly runs $15-20 against $8-12 from PNH. That is a small sum, but it becomes a real cost if you booked a hotel near the old airport on the assumption you would land there. Check the three-letter code on your confirmation before you finalise accommodation, and budget the 45-minute transfer.
Less suited: travellers who booked near PNH before checking their ticket code. Recheck it before you fly.
Reporting by
Questions? Answers.
Does China Southern fly nonstop from Europe to Cambodia?
No. Europe-Cambodia itineraries on Chinese carriers route through Guangzhou (CAN) or Shanghai Pudong (PVG), and European carriers connect through Bangkok, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. The 240-hour transit exemption is what makes the Chinese connection usable as a stopover rather than dead time.
What is Techo International Airport and why does it matter?
Techo International (KTI) opened in October 2025 about 30 km south of Phnom Penh and has taken over from Phnom Penh International (PNH) for several carriers. Ground transport reportedly costs $15-20 from KTI against $8-12 from PNH, so the airport code on your confirmation changes your transfer plan.
Can I leave the airport during a Guangzhou or Shanghai layover?
Yes, if your passport is one of the 57 covered and your onward booking is to a third country. The window is 240 hours, or ten days, and it applies at 60 ports across 24 provinces, so the stop does not have to be at the connecting hub.
Does the 240-hour window apply at every Chinese airport?
No. The exemption is tied to 60 named ports in 24 provinces. A routing that arrives or departs through a port outside that list falls outside the programme, so check the official list before you build an itinerary around a smaller gateway.
