Permitted stay
In short
If you entered visa-free and need longer, the published route is a stay permit, applied for in person at the local exit-entry administration; a stay permit runs to a maximum of 180 days. A visa holder applies seven days before the visa's stay expires. Overstaying draws a warning, and in serious cases RMB 500 a day capped at RMB 10,000, or five to 15 days' detention.
Open the entry guideApplies to
Visitors whose plans changed mid-trip, anyone whose departure flight was cancelled close to their last permitted day, and travellers who have already passed that date.
Check before you rely on it
This page reports what the law and the immigration administration's own service guides state. It is not legal advice, and no opened source publishes a grace period, a fee, or an emergency route for a cancelled flight.
Review date: 2026-07-25
The date on your entry stamp is the only date that counts. Everything below is about reaching a counter before it passes, or dealing with it honestly once it has.
What to do
Overstay penalty
These are the numbers a reader is entitled to see exactly as the law prints them.
“Foreigners who reside in China illegally shall be given a warning; where circumstances are serious, they shall be imposed with a fine of RMB 500 yuan per day, with a cap of RMB 10,000 yuan in total, or be detained for not less than five days but not more than 15 days.”
Article 81 of the same law allows an order to leave China within a time limit, and deportation by the Ministry of Public Security for a serious violation short of a crime. A deported foreigner may not enter China for 10 years. Go to the exit-entry administration rather than waiting to be stopped at the airport.
Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, Articles 78 and 81 (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2021-03-10, read 2026-07-25)Which route is yours
Find your row first. The application is different for a visa-free entry and a visa, and the deadline is not the same either.
| Your situation | Published route | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| You entered visa-free and need more days | Apply for a stay permit at the exit-entry administration of a public security organ. The law caps a foreigner's stay permit at 180 days of validity. | Before the visa-free period runs out. Allow the seven working days the decision can take. |
| You hold an ordinary visa and need more days | Apply for a visa extension at the exit-entry administration at or above county level in the place you are staying. The accumulated extension cannot exceed the original duration of stay in the visa. | Seven days before the stay in the visa expires. This one is written into the law. |
| You hold an L tourist visa | Same extension counter, and the guide asks for a travel plan and itinerary. A group tourist also needs a letter from the travel agency. | Seven days before expiry. The extension may run no more than 30 days. |
| You hold a stay permit and cannot leave in time | A stay permit holder who cannot leave China within the permit's validity because of objective circumstances may apply to have the stay permit replaced. | Inside the validity period of the permit you already hold. |
| Your passport, visa or permit was lost or stolen | Apply for the reissue at the exit-entry administration of the public security organ at or above county level in your place of stay, after your embassy has dealt with the passport itself. | As soon as the loss is reported. The document reissue is a separate job from the new passport. |
| You are already past your last permitted day | Go to the exit-entry administration. Article 78 sets out a warning, or in serious cases a daily fine or detention, and Article 81 allows an order to leave within a time limit. | Immediately. The published fine accrues per day. |
The published facts
Each line links the source page and the day we read it. Sources read 2026-07-25.
Where visa-exempt foreigners need to stay in China longer than the visa-free period, they must apply for stay permits in accordance with the relevant regulations. The maximum validity period of a foreigner's stay permit is 180 days.
Article 34 · Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2021-03-10, read 2026-07-25)
The immigration administration's service guide says every applicant must submit the stay permit application in person at the exit-entry administration of a public security organ. Another person may file only where the applicant is under 16 or 60 or over, faces mobility problems through illness, has visited China before with a good record of stay, or has an inviting entity covering the costs.
Guide on Applying for Stay Permits for Foreigners (National Immigration Administration Government Service Platform, read 2026-07-25)
The office collects and reviews the materials in one go, issues an acceptance receipt, and decides within the validity period shown on that receipt, which is no more than seven working days from acceptance. Applicants collect the permit in person with the receipt.
Guide on Applying for Stay Permits for Foreigners (National Immigration Administration Government Service Platform, read 2026-07-25)
A visa holder who needs the stay extended files with the exit-entry administration of the public security organ at or above county level in the place of stay, seven days prior to the expiry written in the visa. If the extension is denied, the foreigner must leave China when the duration expires.
Article 29 · Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2021-03-10, read 2026-07-25)
The accumulated length of extension shall not exceed the original duration of stay specified in the visa. A 30-day visa cannot be stretched past 30 extra days however many times you apply.
Article 29 · Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2021-03-10, read 2026-07-25)
The service guide sets a ceiling for each visa class. An L visa holder submits a travel plan and itinerary, plus a travel agency letter for a group tour, and the stay may be extended for no more than 30 days. C, G and J2 are also capped at 30 days; F runs to 180.
Guide on Visa Extension, Change and Reissuance for Foreigners (National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25)
The immigration administration entrusts the exit-entry departments of public security organs at or above prefecture-level cities, including counties and districts of the four municipalities, to take foreigners' visa business. County-level offices can be authorised to accept applications too.
Guide on Visa Extension, Change and Reissuance for Foreigners (National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25)
"Foreigners who reside in China illegally shall be given a warning; where circumstances are serious, they shall be imposed with a fine of RMB 500 yuan per day, with a cap of RMB 10,000 yuan in total, or be detained for not less than five days but not more than 15 days."
Article 78 · Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2021-03-10, read 2026-07-25)
A foreigner who is no longer eligible to stay or reside may be ordered to exit China within a time limit. Where a violation of the law is serious but not a crime, the Ministry of Public Security may deport them, and a deported foreigner may not enter China for 10 years from the date of deportation.
Article 81 · Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2021-03-10, read 2026-07-25)
Decisions by the exit-entry administration rejecting an application for a visa extension or reissuance, or refusing to issue or extend a stay or residence document, are final. Plan on the assumption that there is no appeal to buy you time.
Article 36 · Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2021-03-10, read 2026-07-25)
Where an ordinary visa, stay permit or residence permit needs reissuing after damage, loss, theft or robbery following entry, the holder applies at the exit-entry administration of the public security organ at or above county level in the place of stay. For a lost stay permit the guide asks for a Confirmation of Reporting the Loss of Passport or an official note from your embassy, plus the new passport.
Article 35 · Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2021-03-10, read 2026-07-25)
The guide names three expedited cases only: a foreigner who lost a passport and urgently needs a visa to leave, a seafarer needing a stay permit to reach an outbound flight, and a tour group member needing separation from the group visa to depart. Each needs confirmed tickets. A cancelled holiday flight is not on that list.
Guide on Visa Extension, Change and Reissuance for Foreigners (National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25)
The China Immigration Service Hotline on +86-12367 answers English directly through its voice response system and runs around the clock. The same service is in the NIA 12367 app and its WeChat and Alipay mini-programs, both bilingual.
China Immigration Service Hotline 12367 Now Supports French (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2025-12-11, read 2026-07-25)
In short
The questions people ask at the counter, and the ones they ask after the date has already passed.
A stay permit, not a visa extension. The law says a visa-exempt foreigner who needs longer than the visa-free period must apply for a stay permit, and caps a stay permit's validity at 180 days. You apply in person at the exit-entry administration of the public security organ where you are staying.
A visa holder must apply seven days before the stay in the visa expires. For everyone, the decision takes up to seven working days from the day the office accepts the application, and you have to go back in person to collect the document. Treat a week of working days as the minimum.
No opened official source publishes an emergency extension for a cancelled flight. The three expedited cases the immigration administration publishes are a lost passport needing a departure visa, a seafarer reaching an outbound flight, and a tour group member leaving the group. Go to the exit-entry administration the same day, take the airline's cancellation notice, and call +86-12367.
Article 78 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law sets a warning, and in serious cases a fine of RMB 500 per day capped at RMB 10,000 in total, or detention of five to 15 days. Article 81 allows an order to leave within a time limit, and deportation for a serious violation carries a 10-year entry ban. Go to the exit-entry administration rather than waiting for the airport.
The immigration administration's guide caps an L visa extension at 30 days and asks for a travel plan and itinerary, with a travel agency letter if you are on a group tour. The law separately caps the accumulated extension at the original duration of stay written in the visa.
Only in the listed cases. The guides require the application in person unless the applicant is under 16 or 60 or over, faces mobility problems through illness, has visited China before with a good record of stay, or has an inviting entity or individual covering their expenses.
Article 36 makes that decision final, and Article 29 says a foreigner whose extension is refused must leave China when the current duration expires. There is no published appeal, so book a departure that works whether or not the application succeeds.
Not published
A reader in this situation carries real legal exposure. Here is exactly where the sources stop.
The passport, the wallet and the tickets were all in one bag. What to freeze, who to call, and which errand belongs to which office.
Open the recovery pageIf the extra nights are in an apartment or a friend's flat, the 24-hour registration duty moves to you and your host.
Open pageEmergency numbers, city sources, insurer contacts, and where a dispute goes.
Open pageNext move
Read enough to make the decision smaller, then open the checklist, search a specific question, choose a setup tool, or share the page with the person planning with you.
Use the checklist when the question has shifted from research to preparation.
Search by the actual problem: Alipay, eSIM, transit visa, first transfer, vegetarian food, or a city name.
Open recommendations when the task is clear enough for a short list to be useful.