Question

Asked by Vihaan from india | Jul. 21, 2019 02:14

About:24-Hour Visa-Free Transit

Indian Passport with Turkey stamp transit via CAN

Hi

I’m flying from Brisbane to Guangzhou with China Southern on a separate ticket and then taking high speed train to Hongkong. My total time in Guangzhou is under 24hrs. I have few questions and would need your advice before I can book tickets.

1. Indian passport holder and have travelled to Turkey for Holiday 5years back. My passport has turkey stamp on it, is there an issue to obtain TWOV ? Especially in CAN and / or while exiting via train to Hongkong.

I read several blogs/travel advice including wiki travel that it is a risk to travel to China with Turkey stamp as we would be denied entry irrespective of nationality. Is that true?

2. Can I obtain 24hrs TWOV if I fly into CAN and leave by train to HongKong and of course will have confirmed itinerary. If flight is safer option then I’m flexible.

I have Pre-Visit Authorisation for HK and I hold Valid visa from US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Thanks in advance for the help.

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Answers (4)

Answered by Vihaan | Jul. 21, 2019 10:35

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Many thanks for transparent and honest advice. This is much appreciated, glad I haven’t booked my ticket. Is Turkey visa problem only for Guangzhou or any major airports across China? I can Change my port of entry and exit accordingly.

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Answered by Vihaan | Jul. 21, 2019 11:52

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Very clear now. For safer plan, I will go for a direct HK flight or transit via non Chinese ports. I wish, the situation changes ASAP as it is difficult to avoid China to connect Far East to West for a good stop over. I was keen to do a stop over but very unfortunate I may need to skip this time.

I really appreciate you and your team great support and I must tell you that you guys make a difference to Chinese Tavel. I can strongly recommend your site to any transit travellers or full plan tourist. Kudos folks !!

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Answered by ZUPAN | Jul. 21, 2019 09:40

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1. Your itinerary is eligible for 24 hour visa free transit in case that you board the train or a plane within 24 hours from your scheduled landing in Guangzhou.

Turkey stamp could be an issue, especially if your travel to Turkey was of relatively recent date. Since your stamp is 5 years old, you will be allowed to perform your transit to Hong Kong. Anyway, if I may suggest, I would recommend you to take a plane. Your flight from Brisbane arrives in Guangzhou at 17:15 and the flight from Guangzhou to Hong Kong departs at 22:20 daily. I'm telling you this just because of potential problem that Turkey stamp may cause. If the immigration authorities decide that the stamp is a problem, they will be willing to see your plane ticket that will take you out of mainland China as soon as possible, so that they can control your movements until your departure. The only drawback for this plan is the fact that this, very short flight, is relatively expensive.

2. As already said, you are honestly suggested to take a flight. Of course, the option with a train is much cheaper and also quite fast. By the way, this option would allow you to see the city because you could take a train the next day at, let's say, 16:00 and enjoy your time. If only there is no that stamp in your passport, trust me, I would be insisting that you take a train. By the way, the only eligible train for this route is Guangzhou–Kowloon through train departing from Guangzhou East railway station and arriving in Hung Hom railway station in Hong Kong. The ride takes just a bit less than 2 hours. I'm sorry because I really cannot suggest you this train option, but I really would not like that you find yourself in some kind of unpleasant situation.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Jul. 21, 2019 11:23

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This particular stamp is a problem that tend to reappear according to political circumstances. You don't need to be a prophet to realize that it has direct connection with the situation in Xinjiang province where a portion of Turkic speaking people were encouraged to radicalize with the help from Turkish circles.

So, Turkish visa is actually a problem, but this could be changed within a months or even less than that. In reality, let's be frank, there are literally hundreds of Turkish citizens arriving daily in China by 6 daily direct flights from Istanbul and beside that, several hundred daily visitors with Turkish stamps. Maybe just a couple of them have some more serious questioning, but the largest majority has just a couple of usual question like where you are going first, where you will sleep and similar benign questions.

To conclude, the situation in Guangzhou is the same or quite similar to the situation in the rest of mainland China, so you will be just fine if you take a plane from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. This is guaranteed.

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