Question

Asked by Peter from germany | Apr. 15, 2019 12:35

About:24-Hour Visa-Free Transit

Visa for a 36 hours layover and not 24 hours ?

Hallo,
my girlfriend has a South African passport but lives in the USA. She unluckily only got a 1 time entry Visa for China.
But she will travel from the USA to Shanghai with Delta Airlines, stay there for a week and then go further to Bali, Indonesia with Air Asia.
After two weeks in Bali she will fly from Bali via Shanghai back to the USA. The layover time in Shanghai is around 36 hours. She probably even has to recheck her luggage von she is switching the Airline. I am not sure.
Does she need a second entry Visa for staying in Shanghai for these few hours or is there any chance she doesn‘t need the Visa as it is a Transition to the USA? Maybe if she stays at the airport for the time waiting for her transition flight to the USA?
All flights are booked already and can‘t be changed anymore.

I hope you can help us with this. Thank you in advance.

Best regards
Peter

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Answers (9)

Answered by Hector | Apr. 15, 2019 19:23

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Well, there is a problem, because South African passport holders do not qualify for 144 (not 72) hour transit without visa. She must either change her flight, get a visa, or add in a side-trip during those 36 hours.

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Answered by Hector | Apr. 15, 2019 20:12

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This is a problem because South African nationals do not qualify for more than 24 hours transit without visa. She must get a visa, or change her flights, or add in a side-trip during those 36 hours.

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Answered by Fred | Apr. 15, 2019 22:25

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There IS a problem. South African doesn’t qualify.

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Answered by Yves | Apr. 15, 2019 23:37

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In reality the problem does exist, because South Africans do not qualify for more than 24 hours transit without visa.

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Answered by Peter | Apr. 16, 2019 11:30

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Thank you all for the help. I am really appreciating this. I am not sure, if she is able to apply foe another visa. Coz she tried to get a 2 times entry visa but the Application center told her that is will get only a 1 entry visa. No chance for a second entry visa. So, changing the flights is not possible. She would habe to completely pay a new flight. What does a side trip mean in detail? Thank dou all wo much.

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Answered by John Doe | Apr. 16, 2019 12:30

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Means buying a round trip ticket to a neighboring country other than Indonesia. This is also hard given that SA passport has a limited number of visa-free countries (e.g., she absolutely will need a visa to Japan and Taipei) which you have to look up, and also the fare is usually not cheap - sometimes more expensive than changing your original ticket.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Apr. 15, 2019 13:06

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This is not problem at all.

She will use her single entry visa upon her first arrival in China because she will stay there for a week, i.e. 7 days and explore Shanghai and other places, of course.

For the second arrival in China, she will just apply for 72 hours free transit. She qualifies for this convenience because because she has a flight scheme: Bali (Indonesia) - Shanghai (China) - some airport in US. If the mentioned two flights are nonstop she will apply for 72 hours free transit immediately upon her arrival in Shanghai. I strongly advise that she books an accommodation for her stay because this will make the process of approving very smooth. Keep in mind, that she will be probably asked in Bali by check-in and border control staff about her intentions and she will reply exactly the same what I have written here, i.e. that she will be using 72 hours free travel in Shanghai.

I hope we have resolved the problem. In reality it did not exist at all :).

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Answered by ZUPAN | Apr. 16, 2019 10:42

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People, you are so right. My sincere apologies to Peter, his girlfriend and to all of you. I allowed myself to be misled by reading Germany and US and omitting the most important - South African passport. Indeed, South African citizens do not qualify for the mentioned convenience.

Again, my sincere apologies.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Apr. 16, 2019 13:23

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Allow me to redeem myself with one humble suggestion. South African citizens do not need a visa for Hong Kong and Macau, so it would be wise to count on this trip, i.e. to one of the mentioned Chinese territories after the second arrival in Shanghai. You can find return tickets for around or even less than 200 USD. Now, you should carefully calculate what option is more feasible for the amount of money that you can invest for the entire trip.

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