China visa validity and duration of stay, explained

Validity, entries and duration of stay are three different numbers on a China visa. What each controls, how the days are counted, and the overstay trap.

Important: ChinaBridge is a private Nigerian company, not the Chinese Embassy, Visa Application Service Centre, or any government agency. We simply help you prepare and review your application. You submit it yourself and pay official fees directly to the Centre. No agent can approve or guarantee a visa.

A China visa can still be valid while you are already overstaying.

That sounds wrong until you understand the three different numbers on the visa.

They control three different things:

when you may enter China

how many times you may enter

and:

how long you may stay each time.

For a Nigerian trader who travels regularly, this is worth understanding properly.

Because the number that keeps you legal after arrival is not the visa's one-year or six-month validity.

It is:

Duration of Each Stay.

The three things on a China visa #

China's official Visa Application Service Centre explains them separately.

Validity — “Enter Before” #

This tells you the period during which the visa can be used to enter China.

Unless otherwise stated, the visa runs from its issue date until:

midnight Beijing time on the final validity date.

If the visa says:

Enter Before: 30 November 2027

you can normally enter before that deadline if you still have an available entry.

After that, the visa cannot be used to enter again.

Even if:

you never travelled

or:

unused entries remain.

Number of entries #

This tells you how many times you may cross into mainland China while the visa remains valid.

You may see:

01 — one entry

02 — two entries

or:

M — multiple entries.

When the permitted entries are finished, the visa is finished.

Even if the validity period still has months left.

Duration of Each Stay #

This is the number Nigerian travellers need to watch after entering China.

It tells you:

the maximum number of days you may remain during that particular visit.

China's official guidance says the count begins:

the day after you enter China.

That is the number that controls your departure date.

How are the days counted? #

Suppose your visa says:

Duration of Each Stay: 30 days

and you enter China on:

10 April.

Your first counted day is:

11 April.

Your 30th counted day is:

10 May.

So 10 May is your last lawful day under that 30-day stay, unless you have obtained an approved extension or another lawful status.

Do not count from the day you land.

Count from the following day.

Do not call that first day “a free extra day” #

Technically, the official counting method starts the next day.

But do not build your travel plan around squeezing every final hour out of the visa.

Flights get:

cancelled

rescheduled

missed

or:

delayed.

If something genuinely prevents you from departing, contact the local exit-entry authority immediately rather than assuming the airline problem automatically protects you from an overstay.

For an ordinary buying trip, leaving a small safety margin is smarter than planning to leave on the final legal day.

Worked example: one-year multiple-entry visa #

Suppose your visa says:

Issue date: 1 March 2026

Enter Before: 28 February 2027

Entries: M

Duration of Each Stay: 30 days

Those numbers mean different things.

You can use the visa to enter repeatedly while it remains valid.

But each trip is still limited to:

30 days.

Can you enter near the end of the visa and stay beyond the “Enter Before” date? #

Yes.

This is one of the most useful rules to understand.

China's official Visa Application Centre gives this example:

if a visa remains valid until a certain date, the traveller may enter on that final valid day and still use the full permitted duration of stay afterwards.

So in our example:

you enter on:

25 February 2027

even though the visa's entry validity ends:

28 February 2027.

Your 30-day stay begins counting on:

26 February.

Your last permitted day would be:

27 March 2027.

That is legal because:

visa validity controls entry

while:

duration of stay controls how long you remain after entry.

The reverse mistake is more dangerous #

Suppose the same visa remains valid until February 2027.

You enter:

5 June 2026

with:

30 days per stay.

Your stay starts counting:

6 June.

Your final permitted day is:

5 July.

On 6 July, you would be overstaying if you had not obtained an approved extension or other lawful permission.

Your visa could still have eight months of validity left.

That does not save you.

The current trip has exceeded its permitted stay.

Valid visa does not mean legal stay forever #

Remember this sentence:

Validity tells you when you can enter.

Duration tells you when you must leave.

That distinction matters more than whether the sticker says:

six months

or:

one year.

Our multiple-entry China visa guide explains the longer visa options.

How long do Nigerian M-visa holders normally get? #

China's Nigeria-specific visa guidance does not publish a fixed duration of stay for Nigerian M-visa applicants.

There is no official rule saying every Nigerian automatically gets:

30 days

60 days

or:

90 days.

The duration is determined by the Chinese visa authority for the individual application.

So do not promise yourself a 60-day sourcing trip before seeing what is actually printed on the issued visa.

When the passport comes back:

read the sticker first.

Then finalise the trip around it.

Check the visa before you fly #

Before buying a non-changeable return ticket, look at:

Enter Before

Entries

and:

Duration of Each Stay.

Those three numbers are more important than what you requested on the application form.

The issued visa controls.

Can you extend your stay in China? #

Potentially.

China's Exit and Entry Administration Law allows a foreigner who needs additional time to apply to the local exit-entry administration of the public security authority.

The application should be made:

at least seven days before your current permitted stay expires.

Approval is not automatic.

Your reason and supporting documents are examined.

What does an M-visa extension require? #

For an M visa, China's National Immigration Administration says the applicant should provide a certification letter from the local inviting or receiving entity or individual.

If the inviting entity has not already filed its records, its registration documentation may also be required.

So if your factory inspection genuinely runs over, speak to the Chinese company hosting you early.

Do not wait until the day before expiry.

How much extra time can an extension give? #

This part is often explained incorrectly.

Chinese law says:

the accumulated period of extension cannot exceed the original duration of stay stated on the visa.

That does not mean your total time in China can never exceed the original stay.

For example:

Original permitted stay:

30 days

Maximum accumulated extension under that rule:

up to another 30 days

if the authority approves it.

Potential total:

up to 60 days.

That is different from saying:

“You can never stay beyond the original 30 days.”

An extension only affects the current visit #

Another important rule:

an approved stay extension applies only to the current entry.

It does not automatically change:

the visa's number of entries

or:

the original entry-validity period.

So extending one trip does not turn a six-month visa into a longer multiple-entry visa.

It solves the current stay.

How long can the extension decision take? #

China's regulations say that once a qualifying visa-extension application is accepted, the authority issues an acceptance receipt valid for up to:

seven days

and makes its decision within that receipt period.

During processing, the applicant may remain lawfully in China using that official acceptance receipt while the passport is held, subject to the applicable rules.

That is another reason to apply properly rather than simply overstay and explain later.

What happens if you overstay? #

China's Exit and Entry Administration Law is clear.

A foreigner staying illegally may receive a warning.

Where the circumstances are serious, Article 78 provides for:

RMB 500 per day

up to:

RMB 10,000

or:

5–15 days detention.

For a trader whose business depends on returning to China, the fine may not even be the biggest risk.

Does every overstay mean a five-year ban? #

No.

Do not exaggerate the rule.

China's law distinguishes between an overstay itself and more serious immigration enforcement.

A person who is formally repatriated may be prohibited from entering China for:

one to five years from the date of repatriation.

That does not mean:

one accidental extra day automatically equals a five-year ban.

But an overstay can escalate into a much more serious immigration matter.

For somebody who needs China for business, it is an unnecessary gamble.

Keep proof if something genuinely goes wrong #

If a serious medical issue, flight cancellation or other exceptional event prevents departure:

keep:

airline notices

medical documents

booking records

and:

any other evidence.

Then contact the local immigration authority as soon as possible.

Do not simply remain in China and assume:

“They will understand at the airport.”

Solve the immigration problem while you are still inside the lawful process.

What about China's visa-free transit rules? #

For Nigerian passports, this needs careful wording.

Nigeria is not currently one of the 57 nationalities eligible for China's:

240-hour visa-free transit programme.

Nigeria is also not one of the 61 countries currently covered by the:

30-day Hainan visa-free entry scheme.

So a Nigerian cannot simply arrive in Guangzhou and claim the 10-day transit scheme.

But Nigerians can potentially use the 24-hour direct-transit rule #

China's National Immigration Administration says the 24-hour visa-free transit policy applies to nationals of all countries at open ports.

To qualify, you must genuinely be transiting China to a third country or region, hold the required international travel documents and confirmed onward ticket, and normally remain inside the restricted transit area unless a temporary entry permit is granted.

That is very different from ordinary visa-free entry.

It does not give a Nigerian trader:

24 hours to enter Guangzhou and visit suppliers.

Think:

airport transit

not:

business trip without visa.

Hong Kong is different again #

Hong Kong has its own immigration system.

For Nigerian nationals, Hong Kong Immigration currently says:

visa required

even for travellers who are only in direct air transit and remain airside.

So do not assume:

“Transit passengers never need Hong Kong visas.”

For a Nigerian passport, they can.

Check this before buying a Lagos–Hong Kong–mainland China ticket.

Our flights from Nigeria to Guangzhou guide explains the routing issue.

A simple example to keep on your phone #

Imagine your visa says:

ENTER BEFORE
30 November 2027

ENTRIES
M

DURATION OF EACH STAY
30 days

Read it as:

Enter Before
I must cross into China before the validity ends.

M
I can enter repeatedly while the visa remains valid.

30 days
Each visit can last only 30 counted days.

That is it.

Do not combine the three numbers into one.

The trader's rule #

When you land in China:

write down your entry date.

Then calculate:

Day 1 = the next day.

Then calculate your final permitted day.

Put it in:

your phone calendar

and:

your travel itinerary.

Set a reminder several days before it.

Do not depend on remembering.

The short answer #

China visa validity is not the amount of time you may remain in China.

The visa has three separate controls:

VALIDITY
When you may enter.

ENTRIES
How many times you may enter.

DURATION OF EACH STAY
How long each visit may last.

China counts the stay from:

the day after entry.

You may enter on the final valid day and still use the full permitted stay afterwards.

If you need additional time, an extension should normally be requested at least seven days before your permitted stay expires, and approval is not automatic.

And do not rely on visa-free rumours:

Nigeria is not eligible for China's 240-hour visa-free transit or Hainan visa-free entry.

A qualifying 24-hour direct transit is a separate rule available to all nationalities under its conditions.

For longer repeat travel, read multiple-entry China visa for Nigerians.

If you genuinely need more time during a trip, use how to extend a China visa in China.

And before your next trip, use how to apply for China visa in Nigeria.

First published 23 Sep 2026. Last checked 23 Sep 2026 by The ChinaBridge desk. Something here out of date? Tell us in the comments and we will fix it.