Question

Asked by Adam from united states | Sep. 20, 2019 10:53

About:72-Hour Visa-Free Transit

Transfer

Hello, first of all, thank you so much for providing this advice. I truly appreciate it. I am planning travel to Seoul from Minneapolis and am finding that routing through Shanghai by booking "multi-city" is significantly cheaper (even though I'd be flying on the same flight to Seoul). As long as I have an outbound ticket from Shanghai within 72 hours of my arrival at PVG, I would still be eligible to apply for the 72 hour transit visa when I arrive in China, correct?

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Answers (3)

Answered by Adam | Sep. 23, 2019 06:01

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Hi Zupan,
My apologies for the lack of clarity. My potential Itinerary would be as follows:
Minneapolis > Seoul (10 days) ..... Seoul > Shanghai (2 days) ..... Shanghai > Seoul > Minneapolis

My concern is that because I will be arriving in Shanghai from Seoul then departing for the US from Shanghai, via Seoul (2hr layover), that this may not qualify as a "transit". Will officials be considerate of the final destination (USA) or more concerned with the immediate destination (Korea)?

I hope this provides some clarity.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Sep. 21, 2019 01:29

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Adam, is your itinerary:

US - Shanghai - Seoul?

Your question is, honestly speaking a bit unclear. Also, If I'm right, it is unclear where from will you depart to Shanghai because there are no direct flights between Minneapolis and Shanghai?

Could you just offer some additional clarification in order that we can offer you a correct and reliable answer. Thanks.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Sep. 23, 2019 13:01

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Adam, this is definitely clear and I was a bit afraid that I will receive this type of clarification :(

The rule for visa free transit in China says that, beside the citizenship, the only detail that matters is itinerary where the immediate points to your Chinese destination have to be in two different countries or eligible territories. As you can see, your both immediate points are in South Korea.

I would suggest you to try to make a triangle using one of Japanese airport, so this crucial portion could look like this:

Seoul - Shanghai - Osaka (or Fukuoka) - Seoul

If you just take a look at the flight schedules and the prices, you will find quite affordable options for this "triangle" and the reward will be your 144 hour visa free transit in Shanghai area.

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