Entry documents and arrival

Part of Before you go, a sourced pre-trip guide for a first visit to Shanghai. Checked 2026-10-03; rules change, so each step links to its source. Data version 5e1254c0b277.

240 hours — Maximum visa-free transit stay, from 00:00 the day after entry.

In short

• Check your passport is from an eligible country.
• Carry a passport valid at least 3 months.
• Count your stay from 00:00 the day after entry.
• Prefill your arrival card before you fly.
• Carry the original passport, not a copy.

57 countries, 65 ports, 10-day TWOV; passport ≥3 months

1. Check that your passport is from one of the 57 countries.

2. Enter through one of the 65 designated ports.

3. Stay no more than 10 days (240 hours).

4. Carry an ordinary passport valid for at least 3 months.

5. Carry interline tickets with confirmed seats and departure dates to a third country or region.

6. Work, study and news reporting still need the matching visa.

7. Fly into Pudong Airport or Hongqiao Airport, or arrive at Shanghai Port.

8. Apply on arrival; no embassy pre-contact is required and final approval is on-site.

9. Check the eligible list, which includes the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

10. Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam were added on 20 August 2026 (Announcement No. 4 of 2026).

11. Do not confuse the two programs: TWOV is transit, while the 30-day unilateral visa-free list is a different legal path.

12. A US passport on the 240-hour list does not get 30 visa-free days.

13. A stay under 10 days still needs the third-country onward ticket and the 3-month passport validity.

• Shanghai.gov.cn FAQ Q5 says travellers may move across the designated 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. City-level limits inside some provinces are on the NIA English image and were not transcribed this round, so this item does not claim province-wide free movement.
• Shanghai.gov.cn's FAQ also names Shanghai Port (Passenger).

Sources: National Immigration Administration, National Immigration Administration, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, National Immigration Administration

Stay clock starts 00:00 the day after entry

1. Count your visa-free stay from 00:00 on the day after you enter, not from your landing time.

2. For the 240-hour program, the period starts at 00:00 on the day after arrival.

3. You may stay up to 240 hours within the permitted areas.

4. The 30-day unilateral list (compiled 17 February 2026) uses the same clock, from 00:00 on the day after the date of entry.

5. Example: if you pass immigration at 23:00 on 3 October 2026, the clock starts at 00:00 on 4 October 2026.

6. The landing hour does not cut the first night.

• The 00:00 start comes from the NIA 10-measures news (c187308) and Shanghai.gov.cn FAQ Q3 (20 August 2026).

Sources: National Immigration Administration, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, National Immigration Administration

50-country 30-day visa-free; end dates differ by nationality

1. Check the NIA 50-country compilation for ordinary-passport holders entering visa-free for business, tourism, visiting relatives or friends, exchange visits or transit.

2. Stays are up to 30 days.

3. It has no single global expiry.

4. Note that the United States is on the 240-hour TWOV list, not this unilateral list.

5. For the United Kingdom, the 30-day visa-free access runs until 31 December 2026.

6. For Russia, the unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passports runs to 24:00 on 31 December 2027.

7. It covers business, tourism, visiting relatives or friends, exchange visits or transit not exceeding 30 days.

8. Treat these as nationality-specific windows, not competing readings of one worldwide end date.

9. Confirm your own passport with NIA or the Chinese embassy that issued the latest notice for that nationality.

• The NIA English 50-country page is a compilation as of 17 February 2026. The UK and Russia end dates come from FCDO and the PRC embassy in Russia, not from that compilation.
• The NIA 50-country compilation is dated 17 February 2026 and was not re-verified country by country after that date.
• The UK date comes from FCDO print advice (updated 27 August 2026, still current on 3 October 2026).
• The Russia date comes from a PRC embassy notice dated 20 May 2026.

Sources: National Immigration Administration, UK FCDO, Embassy of the PRC in the Russian Federation

Prefill at s.nia.gov.cn; paper still OK; filling is free

1. Prefill the card on the official PC form at https://s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC/.

2. Or use the NIA government site, the 12367 app, the WeChat or Alipay mini programs, or a QR code at the port.

3. Online filling started on 20 November 2025.

4. If you cannot prefill, complete the card at the port (QR code, kiosk or paper card).

5. Seven groups are exempt, including 24-hour airside transit without leaving the restricted area, same-cruise in-and-out, designated fast lanes and foreign crew.

6. Use only the NIA URL or the QR code shown at the port.

7. Overseas copycat sites have charged fees; the official filling service is free.

8. Photograph the bio page of your travel document.

9. For Shanghai immigration questions, call +86-21-12367.

• The copycat-site warning is from a Chinese NIA notice dated 2 December 2025.

Sources: National Immigration Administration, National Immigration Administration, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, National Immigration Administration

Carry the original passport, not a copy

1. FCDO: always carry the original passport; copies are not accepted as ID.

2. Hotels register you with the passport.

3. Border inspection issues a temporary-entry permit sticker used for hotel check-in and accommodation registration.

4. FCDO: railway tickets and boarding require the passport.

• The temporary-entry sticker rule is Shanghai.gov.cn 240-hour FAQ Q6.

Sources: UK FCDO, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal People's Government

Hotel registers you; other stays: 24 hours

1. If you are staying in a hotel, they will register you when you check in.

2. The 24-hour clock is the non-hotel path.

3. If you stay somewhere that is not a registered hotel, complete registration within 24 hours of arrival.

4. Visa-free stays are included.

5. NIA has been expanding online accommodation registration; confirm the current channel on the NIA/government page before a homestay.

• The city how-to is the Shanghai.gov.cn accommodation page (22 September 2026); the check-in statement is FCDO's.

Sources: Shanghai Municipal People's Government, UK FCDO

Traveller tips

• A June 2025 Pudong landing. A traveller on Reddit (June 2025) landed at Pudong and went through fingerprints on a self-service machine, then the arrival card, then the officer. They were visa-free, were not asked for hotel bookings, and only had to confirm a return flight on the card. They used a pre-installed eSIM, kept their home line for SMS, and had already linked Alipay cards. Visit June 2025, before the 20 November 2025 online arrival-card launch. Kiosks and paper cards remain valid on NIA pages. This is one landing, not proof that 2026 first-timers skip the online card. (cv-x, 2025-06-24)
• Prefill is free; avoid paid copycats. A NIA notice dated 2 December 2025 says people who cannot prefill still complete the card at the port with a kiosk or paper card. The same notice warns that overseas copycat sites charge fees and that official filling is free. Use only s.nia.gov.cn or the QR code shown at the port. (National Immigration Administration, 2025-12-02; National Immigration Administration)
• Hotels look for the 240-hour sticker. Under the 240-hour visa-free program, border inspection puts a temporary-entry permit sticker in your passport. Hotels use that sticker for check-in and registration (Shanghai.gov.cn FAQ Q6, 20 August 2026). (Shanghai Municipal People's Government, 2026-08-20)
• US passports: TWOV, not the 30-day list. The NIA 240-hour interpretation lists the United States under North America; the 17 February 2026 unilateral 30-day compilation does not. A US visitor planning more than 10 days needs a visa unless another policy applies. TWOV still needs a third-country onward ticket and a passport valid at least 3 months. (National Immigration Administration, 2026-08-20; National Immigration Administration, 2026-02-17; National Immigration Administration)
• Count from 00:00 the next day. Both the NIA 10-measures English news and the Shanghai 240-hour FAQ Q3 start the clock at 00:00 the day after arrival. Example: enter at 23:00 on 3 October 2026, and the 240-hour or 30-day clock starts at 00:00 on 4 October 2026. (National Immigration Administration; Shanghai Municipal People's Government, 2026-08-20)
• UK visa-free runs to 31 Dec 2026. FCDO China print advice (updated 27 August 2026, still current on 3 October 2026) tells British citizens the unilateral 30-day visa-free access runs until 31 December 2026. Recheck FCDO and NIA before booking after that date. (UK FCDO, 2026-08-27)
• Russia visa-free runs to 31 Dec 2027. A PRC embassy notice in Russia dated 20 May 2026 extends the unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary Russian passports to 24:00 on 31 December 2027, for business, tourism, visiting relatives or friends, exchange visits or transit not exceeding 30 days. (Embassy of the PRC in the Russian Federation, 2026-05-20)

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