Using transit visa for vacation instead of applying for a full visa

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Question: Asked by PN from republic of korea | Nov. 30, 2017 02:58

About:72-Hour Visa-Free Transit

Using transit visa for vacation instead of applying for a full visa

My friend and I are based out of South Korea. We're looking to hop over to Shanghai for a short vacation during new year's break - under a week. Applying for an entry permit would cost us $300+ each, which would be fine if we could get one of the 10 year multiple entry ones, but it's likely my friend would not as it's her first time visiting China. If we instead simply used that $300 to fly to a 3rd country afterwards before returning to South Korea, could we have a 5 day holiday in Shanghai without having to pay a fee?

Follow up, would Hong Kong or Taiwan count as a 3rd destination?

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Answers (3): Answered by Erwin | Nov. 30, 2017 03:16

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Hi, if you have South Korea passport, you can use the 144 hr free transit in Shanghai by traveling like South Korea-Shanghai(6 days)-HK/Macau-South Korea. No regular visa will be needed then. Nice trip.

0 0 Reply; Answered by PN | Nov. 30, 2017 18:24

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So HK or Taiwan would count as 3rd country? Is there any way to verify that I'll get a visa, because I've heard of Americans (I'm American, friend is Korean) being rejected for a transit VOA, which would definitely put a damper on the vacation. Should I go to the embassy and ask?

0 0 Reply; Answered by John Doe | Nov. 30, 2017 21:31

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Those who were rejected were mostly because their routings were not compliant or they have violated Chinese laws in the past. Shanghai Immigration's website has more information.

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