Using the 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit in Shenzhen
Decide whether your Shenzhen transit route qualifies before buying the onward ticket. The biggest trap is assuming a Hong Kong land crossing works; eligible air, ferry and rail entry points follow different rules.
The short answer
The 240-hour transit cannot be used — no Shenzhen land crossing is on the list. You need a visa, or another visa-free basis: the national notice says that where a mutual visa-exemption agreement or China's unilateral visa-free policy applies to you, those rules apply instead.
Come in by air at Bao'an, by boat at Shekou, or by high-speed train from West Kowloon. Bring a passport from one of the 57 countries valid at least three months, a ticket out to a third country or region within 240 hours with a confirmed date, and fill in the arrival card online first. Nothing is applied for in advance — it is decided at the border desk.
The official wording is transit through China 'to a third country or region', with a confirmed date and itinerary inside 240 hours. The notice does not spell out edge cases, so a ticket that simply takes you back where you came from is a risk not worth taking — book onward to somewhere else.
Walk out at Luohu or Futian — leaving from any open port is allowed. Count back from the Hong Kong side: East Rail's last train towards Lo Wu leaves Admiralty at 23:01. If you are flying out of Hong Kong airport, the Shekou boat is a sealed transfer straight to it.
Nobody publishes where it is. Follow the signs in the international arrivals hall or ask at the immigration desks; after clearance, the 24-hour visitor service centre east of the arrivals exit has an immigration counter, and 12367 is the immigration hotline.
Side by sideEach cell ends with the date of the notice it was checked against
Swipe sideways; the first column stays put
Bao'an International Airport (T3)
宝安国际机场（T3）Open the place →- Does 240-hour transit work here?
- Yes — one of the two Shenzhen entry points on the list (the other is Shekou). It is decided at the border desk on arrival, not applied for in advance; the airport has announced a dedicated visa-free transit lane in the T3 international arrivals area · 2025-11-03
- What you need
- A passport from one of the 57 eligible countries, valid at least three months; an onward ticket to a third country or region with a confirmed date and itinerary within 240 hours; an arrival card · 2026-08-20
- How long, and where you can go
- Up to 240 hours. The permitted area for a Guangdong port is Guangdong province, and the national notice lets transit travellers move across provincial lines within the permitted areas of 24 provinces · 2025-11-03
- Where you can leave from
- Any open port, the land crossings to Hong Kong included — flying in here and walking out at Luohu is legal · 2025-11-03
- The arrival card
- Since 20 November 2025 it can be filled in online before you fly, at s.nia.gov.cn; otherwise on arrival · 2025-11-03
- Hours & who to ask
- Air clearance round the clock. A 24-hour Service Centre for Overseas Visitors east of the international arrivals exit has an immigration counter; immigration hotline 12367 · 2025-04-09
- Don't get this wrong
- Where the transit lane sits in the hall is not published — follow the signs or ask at the immigration hall. And only Line 11 'Airport' is under T3; 'Airport East' and 'Airport North' are not · 2026-09-23
Shekou Cruise Home Port (passenger port)
蛇口邮轮母港（客运口岸）Open the place →- Does 240-hour transit work here?
- Yes — the list's Guangdong section names 'Shekou port (passenger)', and the November 2025 immigration notice confirms it · 2025-04-29
- What you need
- The same as everywhere on the scheme: an eligible passport valid at least three months, a through ticket to a third country or region within 240 hours, and an arrival card · 2025-11-03
- How long, and where you can go
- Up to 240 hours, within Guangdong and the permitted areas of 24 provinces · 2025-11-03
- Where you can leave from
- Any open port in the country, the land crossings such as Luohu and Futian included · 2025-04-29
- The arrival card
- Online before you travel since 20 November 2025, or at the border. Cruise passengers who come in and leave on the same cruise ship are one of the seven groups excused from filling it in · 2025-11-03
- Hours & who to ask
- Passenger clearance 07:00-22:30 (the freight harbour runs round the clock but carries no passengers). A desk for visa-free transit questions: not published; immigration hotline 12367 · 2026-09-22
- Don't get this wrong
- The Hong Kong airport boat from here is a closed transfer — one mainland exit, 30 minutes to the airport's SkyPier, no Hong Kong entry — so it is a way out to your flight, not a way into Hong Kong · 2026-09-22
West Kowloon rail checkpoint (train to Futian)
西九龙高铁口岸（坐高铁到福田）Open the place →- Does 240-hour transit work here?
- Yes, since 5 November 2025 — but the checkpoint is at West Kowloon in Hong Kong, where both sides' formalities are done; Futian station itself has no immigration hall · 2025-11-03
- What you need
- The same 240-hour conditions for the mainland side, and for this train a visa or visa-free basis for each side — you are in Hong Kong before you board · 2025-11-03
- How long, and where you can go
- Up to 240 hours; West Kowloon's permitted area is also listed as Guangdong province, with the 24-province rule on top · 2025-11-03
- Where you can leave from
- Any open port, Shenzhen's land crossings included · 2025-11-03
- The arrival card
- Online before you travel since 20 November 2025, or at the West Kowloon mainland port area · 2025-11-03
- Hours & who to ask
- West Kowloon port 6:30-23:30 — no cross-border train outside it. Enquiry desk on B2 south of the arrivals hall; its hours are not published · 2025-10-31
- Don't get this wrong
- Futian station is not Futian Port, the land crossing, which is not on the list. Shenzhen North also has trains from West Kowloon (18 minutes at the fastest); Futian is 14 · 2025-10-15
Luohu and the other land crossings
罗湖等陆路口岸Open the place →- Does 240-hour transit work here?
- No. Luohu, Futian, Huanggang, Shenzhen Bay, Liantang and Man Kam To are not on the list — none of Shenzhen's land crossings is · 2025-11-03
- What you need
- A visa or another visa-free basis to enter here; the 240-hour scheme cannot be used · 2025-11-03
- How long, and where you can go
- Whatever your visa or visa-free basis allows — not the 240-hour rules · 2025-11-03
- Where you can leave from
- Yes as an exit: if you came in on the 240-hour scheme at the airport, Shekou or West Kowloon, you may walk out to Hong Kong here. Mind the Hong Kong side — the last East Rail train towards Lo Wu leaves Admiralty at 23:01 · 2025-11-03
- The arrival card
- Since 20 November 2025 you can fill it in online in advance, or scan a code on the spot · 2025-11-03
- Hours & who to ask
- Luohu 6:30-24:00. Enquiry desk by the sightseeing lift at the north exit of the ground-floor arrivals hall; immigration hotline 12367 has English · 2026-09-22
- Don't get this wrong
- The 'face-scan' smart lanes launched here from 5 November 2025 list only mainland, Hong Kong / Macau and Taiwan travel permits, not ordinary foreign passports — queue at a staffed counter · 2025-11-03
| Compare | Bao'an International Airport (T3) | Shekou Cruise Home Port (passenger port) | West Kowloon rail checkpoint (train to Futian) | Luohu and the other land crossings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does 240-hour transit work here? | Yes — one of the two Shenzhen entry points on the list (the other is Shekou). It is decided at the border desk on arrival, not applied for in advance; the airport has announced a dedicated visa-free transit lane in the T3 international arrivals area · 2025-11-03 | Yes — the list's Guangdong section names 'Shekou port (passenger)', and the November 2025 immigration notice confirms it · 2025-04-29 | Yes, since 5 November 2025 — but the checkpoint is at West Kowloon in Hong Kong, where both sides' formalities are done; Futian station itself has no immigration hall · 2025-11-03 | No. Luohu, Futian, Huanggang, Shenzhen Bay, Liantang and Man Kam To are not on the list — none of Shenzhen's land crossings is · 2025-11-03 |
| What you need | A passport from one of the 57 eligible countries, valid at least three months; an onward ticket to a third country or region with a confirmed date and itinerary within 240 hours; an arrival card · 2026-08-20 | The same as everywhere on the scheme: an eligible passport valid at least three months, a through ticket to a third country or region within 240 hours, and an arrival card · 2025-11-03 | The same 240-hour conditions for the mainland side, and for this train a visa or visa-free basis for each side — you are in Hong Kong before you board · 2025-11-03 | A visa or another visa-free basis to enter here; the 240-hour scheme cannot be used · 2025-11-03 |
| How long, and where you can go | Up to 240 hours. The permitted area for a Guangdong port is Guangdong province, and the national notice lets transit travellers move across provincial lines within the permitted areas of 24 provinces · 2025-11-03 | Up to 240 hours, within Guangdong and the permitted areas of 24 provinces · 2025-11-03 | Up to 240 hours; West Kowloon's permitted area is also listed as Guangdong province, with the 24-province rule on top · 2025-11-03 | Whatever your visa or visa-free basis allows — not the 240-hour rules · 2025-11-03 |
| Where you can leave from | Any open port, the land crossings to Hong Kong included — flying in here and walking out at Luohu is legal · 2025-11-03 | Any open port in the country, the land crossings such as Luohu and Futian included · 2025-04-29 | Any open port, Shenzhen's land crossings included · 2025-11-03 | Yes as an exit: if you came in on the 240-hour scheme at the airport, Shekou or West Kowloon, you may walk out to Hong Kong here. Mind the Hong Kong side — the last East Rail train towards Lo Wu leaves Admiralty at 23:01 · 2025-11-03 |
| The arrival card | Since 20 November 2025 it can be filled in online before you fly, at s.nia.gov.cn; otherwise on arrival · 2025-11-03 | Online before you travel since 20 November 2025, or at the border. Cruise passengers who come in and leave on the same cruise ship are one of the seven groups excused from filling it in · 2025-11-03 | Online before you travel since 20 November 2025, or at the West Kowloon mainland port area · 2025-11-03 | Since 20 November 2025 you can fill it in online in advance, or scan a code on the spot · 2025-11-03 |
| Hours & who to ask | Air clearance round the clock. A 24-hour Service Centre for Overseas Visitors east of the international arrivals exit has an immigration counter; immigration hotline 12367 · 2025-04-09 | Passenger clearance 07:00-22:30 (the freight harbour runs round the clock but carries no passengers). A desk for visa-free transit questions: not published; immigration hotline 12367 · 2026-09-22 | West Kowloon port 6:30-23:30 — no cross-border train outside it. Enquiry desk on B2 south of the arrivals hall; its hours are not published · 2025-10-31 | Luohu 6:30-24:00. Enquiry desk by the sightseeing lift at the north exit of the ground-floor arrivals hall; immigration hotline 12367 has English · 2026-09-22 |
| Don't get this wrong | Where the transit lane sits in the hall is not published — follow the signs or ask at the immigration hall. And only Line 11 'Airport' is under T3; 'Airport East' and 'Airport North' are not · 2026-09-23 | The Hong Kong airport boat from here is a closed transfer — one mainland exit, 30 minutes to the airport's SkyPier, no Hong Kong entry — so it is a way out to your flight, not a way into Hong Kong · 2026-09-22 | Futian station is not Futian Port, the land crossing, which is not on the list. Shenzhen North also has trains from West Kowloon (18 minutes at the fastest); Futian is 14 · 2025-10-15 | The 'face-scan' smart lanes launched here from 5 November 2025 list only mainland, Hong Kong / Macau and Taiwan travel permits, not ordinary foreign passports — queue at a staffed counter · 2025-11-03 |
Shenzhen Bay Port：Not a 240-hour port either, even though Guangdong's list since 5 November 2025 includes road and rail crossings such as Hengqin, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and West Kowloon — none of Shenzhen's land crossings made it. Its visitor service centre in the arrivals-hall walkway has an immigration counter. Which crossing to use for Hong Kong has its own page. → See “Which Crossing to Hong Kong from Shenzhen?”
One by one
Bao'an International Airport (T3)
宝安国际机场（T3）The simple way in: fly to Bao'an with a passport from one of the 57 countries and a ticket out to a third country within 240 hours, and you are admitted at the border desk — nothing to apply for first. Fill in the arrival card online before you fly. Nobody publishes where the dedicated transit lane is in the Terminal 3 hall, so follow the signs, and if you need help afterwards the 24-hour visitor service centre just east of the arrivals exit has an immigration counter. Once admitted you are free to leave from anywhere, including on foot to Hong Kong at Luohu. For anyone flying in on a through ticket.
Open the place →Shekou Cruise Home Port (passenger port)
蛇口邮轮母港（客运口岸）The sea route in, and the one most people forget: Shekou's passenger port is on the 240-hour list, so a traveller on a through ticket who arrives by boat is admitted here on the same terms as at the airport. Passenger clearance runs 07:00-22:30. The same terminal is also the neat way out — its Hong Kong airport boat is a sealed transfer with one mainland exit check and no Hong Kong entry, 30 minutes to the airport — which suits a 240-hour stay that ends on a flight from Hong Kong. For arrivals by boat, and anyone ending the stay on a flight from Hong Kong airport.
Open the place →West Kowloon rail checkpoint (train to Futian)
西九龙高铁口岸（坐高铁到福田）The newest of the three, and the one with a catch: it only helps if you are already in Hong Kong. Since 5 November 2025 West Kowloon counts as a 240-hour entry port, and because the high-speed line clears both sides at West Kowloon, you board there, are admitted onto the mainland there, and step off 14 minutes later at Futian with nothing more to do. The checkpoint's 6:30-23:30 hours are the hours of your train. You still need whatever Hong Kong asks of you to get to West Kowloon in the first place. For anyone already in Hong Kong on a through ticket.
Open the place →Luohu and the other land crossings
罗湖等陆路口岸The way most people cross from Hong Kong, and the one place the 240-hour transit does not work — nor at Futian, Huanggang, Shenzhen Bay, Liantang or Man Kam To, whatever a blog says. Walking in over the Luohu bridge needs a visa or another visa-free basis. As a way out, though, it is fine: anyone admitted on the scheme at the airport, Shekou or West Kowloon may leave through here, and many will. Just count back from the Hong Kong side, where East Rail's last train towards Lo Wu leaves Admiralty at 23:01, well before the crossing shuts at 24:00. For leaving for Hong Kong on foot after a 240-hour stay; entering here needs a visa.
Open the place →