Live Your Best Lives
  1. Travel FAQs
  2. Asia
  3. China

Will this itinerary work (visa free transit)

Travelling from the UK to China in November for the first time. Sorry the info is a little confusing, it's also not on the uk gov advice yet.

It will be

London to shanghai (air china)

4 nights

Shanghai to shenzhen (air china)

4 nights

Shenzhen to hong kong by ferry, then stay in hong kong for around 4 or 5 nights. After that we will head back to the UK

Is this route allowed on the 240 visa free transit?

Thank you

The 144-hour and 240-hour visa-free transit policies in China are designed to allow travelers to visit certain cities without a visa if they are transiting to a third country. However, the rules depend heavily on the specific cities and the mode of travel.

In your case:

  • London → Shanghai (arrival by Air China) — This is fine. Shanghai is covered under the 144/240-hour transit policies.
  • Shanghai → Shenzhen — This is where it gets tricky. The 240-hour visa-free transit is city-specific. If you enter Shanghai under this policy, leaving Shanghai for Shenzhen by domestic flight or train typically breaks the visa-free transit allowance. The policy generally allows travel only within the metropolitan area or designated regions around the port of entry. Moving to another city like Shenzhen usually requires a proper Chinese visa.
  • Shenzhen → Hong Kong by ferry — Shenzhen is in Guangdong Province. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region, and entering it is independent from mainland China visa policies. However, to legally enter Shenzhen from Shanghai, you would need a visa unless you have a special transit scheme, which does not usually cover multiple city hopping in mainland China.

Summary and advice:

  • This itinerary would likely not be allowed under the 240-hour visa-free transit, because traveling from Shanghai to Shenzhen constitutes leaving the visa-free area.
  • To make your plan work, you would either need:
    • A regular Chinese tourist visa covering all cities you intend to visit in mainland China.
    • Or to restrict your visit to the city or metropolitan region covered by the 144/240-hour visa-free transit (e.g., only Shanghai and nearby areas, returning to Shanghai for exit).
  • Traveling from Shenzhen to Hong Kong is independent, but entry into Shenzhen from Shanghai requires a proper visa if you do not have a multi-city visa or other special transit permission.

Therefore, for your planned route, it is safest to obtain a standard tourist visa for China to avoid any risk of being denied entry when moving between Shanghai and Shenzhen.

More China Travel Questions

The attractions mentioned in this question

Guangdong
Shenzhen
London
China
China
country
Shanghai

Popular Destinations

Yanyuan
Huai'an City
Soong Ching Ling Bohai Children's World
Puji Temple

Popular Travel Questions