Question

Asked by Darlene Gregory from usa | Sep. 03, 2019 09:08

About:72-Hour Visa-Free Transit FAQ

Multiple stops in China

Hi,
Wondering if I still qualify for a transit visa....I am a US citizen, will fly from NYC to Kathmandu and back. However, on my way to Kathmandu, I will have a stop in Shanghai for 1.5 hours, then a stop in Kunming for 14 hours. On my way back to NYC, I will have 3 stops, one in Kunming for 10.5 hours, the next in Hefei for 50 mins, then Shanghai for 6 hours. I just attempted to purchase this, and the company selling the ticket said I should confirm that I will be able to make this transit. If I understand correctly, essentially, as long as my ticket ends somewhere outside of China AND I do not stay in the same region for longer than between 24 hours and 144 hours, I should be fine. Is that correct??
Thanks in advance for your reply!
Darlene

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Answers (3)

Answered by Gustav | Sep. 04, 2019 19:05

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You obviously qualify for a transit visa. Whether you qualify for transit without visa depends on your exact flight timings.

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Answered by Darlene | Sep. 05, 2019 07:31

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Thank you so much for your reply! I have now decided to pay more to avoid going through China at all on this venture. I HAVE to get to my destination and back home on time and without running into problems, especially as my time in Shanghai is so tight, as you pointed out!!
Thank you again!!
Darlene

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Answered by ZUPAN | Sep. 03, 2019 12:31

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Actually, you are just partially right. If you have more than one stop within mainland China, you are eligible for 24 hour visa free transit only. The scheme with 144 or 72 hour visa free transit is available only if one makes just one stop within mainland China.

Your company said well and you should definitely calculate your time you will spend in China to see whether you are really eligible for 24 hour TWOV.

To calculate your transit time, it is not enough to take in consideration only your layovers, but also the flying time between the different points within China. In other words and to simplify the entire issue, you should count your time in transit from your first scheduled landing in China, until your last scheduled departure from China. So, if your entire transit is less than 24 hours, you are eligible for 24 hour visa free transit and if your entire transit time exceeds 24 hours for just one minute, you will have to obtain a transit (G) visa in advance.

I would suggest you to present your flights here with their exact times of arrival/departure and we will be able to offer you a correct and reliable answer.

By the way, your first layover in Shanghai that is only 1.5 hours long is very short for such a huge and time consuming airport. You have to be aware that if you are not flying on a single (through) ticket through Shanghai, 1.5 hours are almost impossible to make a connection between an international to a domestic flight, especially if they use different terminals. Be very cautious about this detail.

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