Do you need a visa to go from Hong Kong to Shenzhen?
Yes, unless a visa-free route covers you. Shenzhen is mainland China, so crossing from Hong Kong is a normal entry. Which route fits depends on your passport. Check these routes in this order:
- 30-day visa-free entry or a mutual-exemption agreement, by passport.
- The 240-hour transit rule, which has a through-ticket condition.
- A Hong Kong package tour of up to 6 days.
- A port visa at the border, for urgent cases only.
- Otherwise, a visa obtained before you travel.
For which crossing to use and when it is open, see our Hong Kong Shenzhen border crossings page. Once you are in, our Shenzhen travel guide and Guangzhou travel guide cover the next steps.
Hong Kong to Shenzhen visa-free: the 30-day lists by passport
The Hainan provincial government's English page (updated 2026-08-20) says ordinary passport holders from 29 mutual-exemption countries and 50 unilateral visa-free countries can enter China visa-free through any open port. The Hong Kong-Shenzhen crossings are open ports, so they are covered.
The 50-country unilateral list
You can stay up to 30 days, counted from 00:00 the day after you enter. Allowed purposes are business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, visits and exchanges, and transit. You do not need a return ticket. Work and journalism are not allowed. Forty-eight of the 50 countries are covered to 31 December 2026, Russia to 31 December 2027, and Brunei has no end date. Our 30-day visa-free country list has the full names and the deadline.
Two things catch people out. The United States is not on this list. Czechia and Lithuania are also missing, although both are on the 240-hour list below.
The 29 mutual-exemption countries
Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dominica, Ecuador, Fiji, Georgia, Grenada, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Malaysia, Mauritius, Qatar, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Thailand, Tonga, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
For these, the stay and the allowed purposes are set by each country's agreement. They are generally up to 30 days per stay and 90 days in any 180, but read your own country's terms.
US, Indian and Philippine passports: what applies
A US passport is on neither the 30-day unilateral list nor the mutual-exemption list. The US is on the 240-hour transit list, and US citizens can join a Hong Kong group tour. Our China visa for US citizens page covers the rest.
Indian and Philippine passports are on none of the 29-country mutual-exemption list, the 50-country unilateral list or the 57-country 240-hour list. The Philippines appears only on the 61-country list, which is for Hainan only and does not help you in Shenzhen. For both passports, that leaves the Hong Kong group tour (open to citizens of countries that have diplomatic relations with China), a port visa in an urgent case, or a visa obtained in advance.
Does the 240-hour transit rule work from Hong Kong to Shenzhen?
Maybe. The rule covers 57 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan and Korea. You need an ordinary passport with at least 3 months of validity left, and a through ticket with a confirmed date and itinerary from China to a third country or region within 240 hours; your departure point and destination must be in different countries or regions. You enter at one of 65 open ports in 24 provinces and may stay in the prescribed areas for no more than 10 days. For Guangdong, that area is the whole province. The 10 days count from 00:00 the day after you enter. Tourism, business, visits and family visits are allowed. Work, study and journalism need a visa beforehand. Province-by-province details are on our 240-hour transit areas page.
Which Hong Kong crossing counts as an entry port
Of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen crossings, only one: the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail West Kowloon station. NIA Announcement No. 4 of 2025 added it as an entry port from 2025-11-05. Luohu, Futian, Huanggang and Shenzhen Bay are not on the Guangdong entry-port list. In Shenzhen, Shekou Port and Bao'an airport are on it. So if you walk across at Luohu, the 240 hours do not start there.
Does Hong Kong count as the third place?
This is the open question. The rule asks for a through ticket from China to a third country or region. The NIA pages do not mention Hong Kong or Macao in this rule, either way. Whether Hong Kong counts is therefore an inference, not an official statement. If you plan to rely on it, ask the NIA's 12367 hotline first.
The 24-hour rule is no use for a day trip
The 24-hour transit rule needs a through ticket with a confirmed seat to a third country or region, a stay of no more than 24 hours and staying inside the port's restricted area (leaving it needs a temporary entry permit from border inspection), so it is no use for a day trip into Shenzhen city.
Hong Kong group tour to Shenzhen: the 6-day (144-hour) policy
This is a package-tour route, not independent travel. Under the NIA's regional visa-free policy, you qualify if you meet all of these:
- You hold an ordinary passport from a country that has diplomatic relations with China.
- You are in Hong Kong or Macao.
- You travel in a group of 2 or more organised by a travel agency registered in Hong Kong or Macao.
- You enter and leave as a group (团进团出).
You may visit Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhaoqing, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Shantou, entering and leaving through the open ports of those 10 cities. The stay is up to 6 days, counted from 00:00 the day after entry. Where you qualify under a mutual-exemption agreement or another visa-free policy, the NIA page says you may follow that rule instead.
A Shenzhen Port Office page (published 2024-07-12, from the Guangdong Department of Commerce) adds that nationality is not otherwise restricted, but official and diplomatic passports are not covered. It also says visitors to Shantou must enter and leave through Shantou and stay there. We do not run these groups or recommend an agency.
Shenzhen visa on arrival at the border: is it possible?
Only as an emergency route. A Shenzhen Special Zone Daily article (2025-06-30) says that since 1 January 2025 the authority to issue port visas has been devolved. Holders of ordinary passports with an urgent need to enter, and no time to get a visa at a Chinese embassy or consulate abroad, can apply at any of 87 ports. Four are in Shenzhen: Luohu, Huanggang, Shekou and the airport. Futian and Shenzhen Bay are not among them.
| Shenzhen port | Port visa handling hours |
|---|---|
| Huanggang | 24 hours |
| Shenzhen airport | 24 hours |
| Luohu | 06:00-24:00 |
| Shekou | 07:00-22:30 |
The article says a visa can be completed within 30 minutes of arrival. Its example is a university inviting a professor, with the passport and invitation letter checked in advance. The NIA's English instructions (2021-04-01) say individuals need an invitation letter as well as supporting materials stating the urgent need to enter. A port visa holder enters through the port where the issuing authority is. The same page says port visa service is charged under the State's standards and gives no amount. The Shenzhen article also says that from April 2025 Shenzhen police piloted port group tourist visas with 12 travel agencies.
Do not count on it as a tourist
A port visa is not a counter service for people who forgot to apply. The Shenzhen article and the NIA instructions describe it for urgent entry with supporting documents, so it is not a plan for a leisure trip.
The Shenzhen 5-day visa
A 2021 NIA description covers this visa. It says port visa authorities in Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Xiamen "may issue special economic zone tourist visas with a duration of stay for three or five days". Holders "shall not stay beyond the city's administrative area where the entry port is located". The 2025 Shenzhen article does not mention this visa, and neither page gives a fee or says which nationalities can or cannot get it. Do not plan a trip around getting one at the border.
If none of these apply: get a visa before you travel
Then you need a mainland China visa before you cross. This page does not cover applying for one in Hong Kong.
Do you need an arrival card when you cross into Shenzhen?
Usually yes. Since 2025-11-20, foreign visitors can fill in the arrival card online before travelling. The channels are the NIA website, the government service platform, the 移民局12367 app, WeChat and Alipay mini-programs, and scanning the arrival card QR code on your phone. If you have not done it online, you can scan the QR code or use the smart devices at the port, or fill in a paper card.
Seven cases are exempt. They include holders of the Hong Kong/Macao Resident Mainland Travel Permit who are not Chinese nationals, and people entering on a group visa-free policy, which covers the Hong Kong group tour above. Steps are on our China arrival card page.
