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Asked by GK from uk | Jun. 12, 2018 08:40
About:72-Hour Visa-Free Transit FAQ

Do we need visas for a 1 night trip to Chengdu from our Hong Kong stop-over?

Hi,
We are flying back to London from Brisbane via Hong Kong. On the same day we land in HK we fly to Chengdu, stay overnight, see the pandas and return to HK in the afternoon. We stay overnight in HK and leave for London the next afternoon. We are a family 4 UK citizens. We'd like a definitive written answer on whether we are covered by the 72 hour transit policy for Chengdu, that part of the stopover is less than 24 hours but we fly back to Hong Kong before returning home. The Chinese Embassy in London suggest we won't need visas but defer to Chengdu airport immigration who we could not communicate with. The airline for our return to HK have not responded to this question either. Ultimately we don't want to be refused entry to Chengdu to see the pandas on our daughter's birthday. We hope you can help.
Thanks!

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Answers (4)
Answered by Rob | Jun. 12, 2018 08:42
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Hong Kong-Chengdu-Hong Kong is not a transit, and therefore transit without visa does not apply. You will need a Chinese visa in advance for that.
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Answered by GK | Jun. 12, 2018 09:58
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Thanks Rob. What a fantastically quick response. That's probably the definitive "correct" answer. But interestingly when we have asked we have never had that formal reply. There's always a suggestion of some leeway to having to get a 2 year visa for effectively a less than 24 hour trip to the mainland but we can only ever find out when we actually get off the plane and ask for a waiver! Your answer is much appreciated anyway.
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Answered by Rob | Jun. 12, 2018 11:21
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You wouldn't get as far as Chengdu. You would be denied boarding in Hong Kong when your airline sees that you don't have a visa for China. The only way around it would be to fly Hong Kong-Chengdu-Macao on non-stop flights, which would then be a transit in Chengdu.
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Answered by GK | Jun. 13, 2018 01:29
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Thanks again Rob that's an interesting solution!
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