What should I do if a cancelled flight could make me overstay in China?

At a glance

• MFA's visa-free FAQ says a visitor who needs to remain beyond 30 days for appropriate and sufficient reasons should apply for a stay permit at a public-security exit-entry administration. [1]
• For ordinary 30-day visa-free entry, the stay count starts on the day after entry. Use the actual entry record and applicable permission to establish your deadline. [1]
• The 240-hour transit route has its own permission and allowed-area conditions. Keep the revised route within the applicable conditions while resolving the disruption. [2]
• Prepare five records: passport, entry permission, cancellation notice, new flight options and current accommodation registration.

What to do next

1. Before the final days of your permitted stay, keep the departure booking accessible and avoid leaving no recovery time where a delay would be difficult to handle. Save the entry deadline beside the flight so a cancellation triggers an immigration check immediately.
2. When the flight is cancelled, ask the airline or ticket seller for a written notice and the earliest workable replacement. Establish whether the new departure is confirmed and whether it leaves before your current permission ends.
3. If it could exceed the deadline, contact the local public-security exit-entry administration promptly. Use 12367 to identify the office and procedure for your location, and state your passport nationality, entry route, deadline and the cancelled flight.
4. Bring the passport, entry record, accommodation registration, cancellation evidence and proposed onward travel to the instructed office. Ask what application or supporting material is required for your case and keep the receipt or written instructions.
5. Arrange accommodation and a flight that fit the authority's decision and the actual processing timeline. Update the hotel and transfer provider, and ask the airline about changes without assuming a new ticket settles the stay-permission issue.
6. Before departure, carry the relevant immigration paperwork, replacement booking and original cancellation evidence with your travel document. Keep the case records for any later airline or insurance claim.

If your situation is different

You entered under ordinary visa-free entry: explain why the additional stay is needed and use the MFA-described stay-permit route. Do not describe a planned long holiday as an unexpected cancellation if the original itinerary already exceeded the permission.

You entered under 240-hour transit: tell the authority the entry port, permitted area and replacement onward destination. A changed flight can affect both the departure deadline and the third-country route, so supply the complete revised itinerary.

You hold a visa or residence permit: show that document and its actual stay conditions. The correct procedure follows your permission and case, not the 30-day visa-free example on this page.

Your deadline has already passed: contact the authority immediately and explain the timeline honestly. Keep evidence of the disruption and follow the instructed resolution before attempting to leave.

Common mistakes

• Waiting until the airport check-in to raise the problem: contact exit-entry before expiry when the risk becomes clear.
• Treating the airline's cancellation message as an extension: obtain the immigration procedure separately.
• Rebooking without checking the new route: confirm the date, destination and applicable transit-area conditions.
• Keeping only a screenshot without flight details: retain the booking reference and written cancellation/rebooking record.

Quick questions