China Names 53 Countries Whose Citizens Qualify for 72-Hour and 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit
- China published its official list of countries eligible for visa-free transit under its 72-hour and 144-hour policies
- The list of 53 eligible countries spans Europe, the Americas, Oceania, and Asia, with no African nation appearing on it
- Citizens from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the UAE are among those who qualify for the transit arrangement
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China has released a full list of 53 countries whose citizens qualify for its visa-free transit arrangements, and not a single African nation made the cut.
The Chinese government's transit policies allow qualifying travellers to pass through the country for either 72 or 144 hours without securing a visa beforehand, subject to conditions set by Chinese authorities. The arrangements are intended to facilitate short-stay transit travel rather than full tourism or residency.
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China's visa-free transit policy
1. Austria
2. Belgium
3. Czech Republic
4. Denmark
5. Estonia
6. Finland
7. France
8. Germany
9. Greece
10. Hungary
11. Iceland
12. Italy
13. Latvia
14. Lithuania
15. Luxembourg
16. Malta
17. Netherlands
18. Poland
19. Portugal
20. Slovakia
21. Slovenia
22. Spain
23. Sweden
24. Switzerland
25. Croatia
26. Russia
27. United Kingdom
28. Ireland
29. Cyprus
30. Bulgaria
31. Romania
32. Ukraine
33. Serbia
34. Bosnia and Herzegovina
35. Montenegro
36. North Macedonia
37. Albania
38. Monaco
39. Belarus
40. United States
41. Canada
42. Brazil
43. Mexico
44. Argentina
45. Chile
46. Australia
47. New Zealand
48. South Korea
49. Japan
50. Singapore
51. Brunei
52. United Arab Emirates
53. Qatar
China's transit policy: No African country qualifies
Africa is absent from China's visa-free transit list. No country on the continent, including major economies such as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, or Egypt, appears among the 53 eligible nations.
This means travellers holding African passports must obtain a standard Chinese visa before transiting through the country, regardless of the duration of their stopover.
The absence of African countries is particularly notable given the volume of travel that takes place between Africa and other regions, with Chinese airports serving as common transit hubs for intercontinental routes.
China 240-hour visa-free transit
Meanwhile, Legit.ng recently reported that China listed 55 countries eligible for its 240-hour visa-free transit policy, allowing their citizens to stay for up to 10 days without a visa.
However, no African country made the list, meaning Nigerians, Ghanaians and other African travellers must still obtain a Chinese visa before travelling.
Source: Legit.ng
