Question

Asked by Jochen Mosthaf from deutschland | Oct. 17, 2019 21:26

About:China Visa on Arrival

VOA for Shenzhen stay

Can I fly from Germany to Shenzhen, get a VOA, spend 5 nights in Shenzhen and then fly back to Germany?

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Answers (5)

Answered by Jochen Mosthaf | Oct. 20, 2019 22:33

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Hi, thank you, dear Zupan
May i dare to say this was not the answer to my question?
I know VOA for transit passengers only: Coming from A, staying for 144hrs, then leaving for B.

My question was: Can I fly in from A, get at VOA for 144 hours, then leave for A again (which makes it not a transit). I am asking, because this website doesn't mention transit in connection with the VOA visa. At least I have not found it. So the question remains...

Kind regards

Jochen

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Answered by Jochen | Oct. 21, 2019 20:04

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Dear Zupan,

the question was simply: can I fly from A to Shenzen, apply for a VOA, spend 144 hours in Shenzen, fly back to A.

As, as you say, they won't let me board in A without a connecting flight, I understand your answer is: no, you cannot. And as I have to take a connecting flight to B, I cannot go straight back to A either.

Thank you very much

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Answered by John Doe | Oct. 22, 2019 13:49

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There is an easier solution: book a roundtrip ticket to HK and get a VOA at the land border. Keep in mind that the VOA is only valid for 5 days (120 hours).

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Answered by ZUPAN | Oct. 18, 2019 09:23

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Jochen, you are advised against even a thinking about applying for a Shenzhen VOA upon arrival by plane. The truth is that we have not received a reliable testimony that anybody has successfully obtained a Shenzhen VOA at the airport for six months or even more. To be entirely open, I can tell you that you can take as granted that the airport office for this particular visa will be slowly phased out. The main reasons are a reluctance of airport airline staff to allow boarding to those who declare that they will apply for a Shenzhen VOA upon arrival and also an introduction of 144 hour visa free transit where you can use this option with a combination of Hong Kong or Macau. Trust me, I'm just trying to save your money, your time and your health from the shock when you realize that you are denied boarding because you have declared that you will apply for a Shenzhen VOA upon your arrival in Shenzhen. Please, just use 144 hour visa free transit in combination with a short trip to Hong Kong or Macau and forget about Shenzhen VOA when traveling to Shenzhen by plane.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Oct. 21, 2019 10:04

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OK, I think I have understood you. Your idea would be to declare at check-in in Germany or any other origin country that you will travel to, let's say Hong Kong via Shenzhen using 144 hour visa free transit to secure the boarding and after your arrival in Shenzhen to apply for a 5 day Shenzhen VOA. In your opinion, this would allow you to return back to your origin country (A country - Shenzhen - A country) without having to accomplish real transit as you have declared at check-in in your origin country. Am I right?

If I'm right, you are not allowed to do this because China belongs to the group of APIS countries. This means that your statement at check-in is introduced in the system and you are expected to continue with your visa free transit travel and not to try to obtain a Shenzhen VOA. In other words, you will be in obligation to approach 144 hour visa free transit upon your landing in Shenzhen. There you receive a sticker in your passport and after that you simply cannot get a Shenzhen VOA because you will simply have to leave the country in direction of Hong Kong or Macau or some other C country that you have declared at check-in in your origin country.

To conclude, you cannot enjoy both at the same time. I will again reiterate that your best options is 144 hour visa free transit:

Your origin country - Shenzhen - Hong Kong (or Macau)

After that, you can return to Shenzhen by applying for a Shenzhen VOA and by taking a flight back to your origin country.

I hope, I have properly understood you and if this is not the case, I sincerely apologize and ask you to clarify your query a bit more in detail.

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