Visa on Arrival at Xiamen

You should definitely not rely on Xiamen visa on arrival. There are so many people denied boarding in their origin countries when they have declared that they will rely on Xiamen VOA and it seems that both, airport staff and Chinese authorities are trying to downplay its very existence. In reality, it seems that lately this visa is issued almost exclusively to those arriving by ship from Taiwan.

Unfortunately, your itinerary is also not eligible for any kind of visa free transit scheme because you will arrive and depart from Xiamen from/to Hong Kong.

In my opinion, you best option would be to book a ferry both ways, before your departure from Japan, from Xiamen to Kinmen, an island just in front of Xiamen that belongs to Taiwan.

Like this, you could create an itinerary:

Hong Kong - Xiamen - Taiwan (in reality just a short journey by boat to Kinmen)
Taiwan - Xiamen - Hong Kong

Like this, you become eligible for 24 or 144 hour visa free transit in Xiamen and you will also travel with complete peace of mind. Trust me, Xiamen VOA is not the way you should use to reach Xiamen. It would be really awful to be denied boarding and consequently losing your money, plans and health.

Thanks for your reply,
Its a bit confusing because the whole article above makes it seem very easy to get a visa on arrival, but you are clearly warning against it.
Is there any reference to it on an official china/Xiamen immigration website that I could use if I am challenged at the airport? (I've done a search but not found much other than travel websites).

Is your suggestion to book the ferry both ways to Kinmen to show I have onward travel, does it matter if I then do not use that onward travel? Is there an immigration check when I fly out of Xiamen that would check that I actually did do the onward travel to Kinmen and then back again?

Part one:

It is easy to get a Xiamen VOA, but only when you cross the immigration and board the plane for Xiamen in your origin country. When you arrive in Xiamen, of course you will be granted one. Anyway, the problem is the immigration in your origin country because the authorities are reluctant to allow you boarding when you state that you will rely on Xiamen VOA. This reluctance is happening, you would not believe, but also in Hong Kong where the staff is the best informed about all aspects of mainland rules regarding this subject. Just recently we had an example of Italian citizen who was denied boarding because he has stated that he will travel to Xaimen where he will apply for a VOA. He had a return direct ticket from Hong Kong to Xiamen. He was denied boarding.

Essentially, all I want to tell you is that a try to rely on Xiamen VOA is like a playing roulette and again, not because you would not be granted a Xiamen VOA upon your arrival, but because you will find so small number of airport ground staff in any country that are confident enough to allow you to board the plane. I hope that you understand me more clearly. Also, to be honest, it really appears that Chinese authorities are quite satisfied with this type of development because they are trying to downplay the significance of this type of visa for Xiamen. They have introduces quite a complex system of visa free transit schemes and they are trying to enforce this option on the expense of VOAs, especially for Xiamen and Hainan.

Part two:

To be allowed to travel to Xiamen, you advance booking of ferry tickets to and from Kinmen will be essential because like this you immediately become eligible for 24/144 hour visa free transit in Xiamen. Keep in mind that you need your tickets or e-confirmations that you will receive to your email, printed out and you should have them in your hand before your arrival in Hong Kong. Also, you will absolutely have to use the ferries or in other words, you will really have to perform a physical travel to Kinmem and back by exactly that ferry that you have bought your ticket for.

You should also not rely on any, including official source regarding Xiamen VOA simply because the nature of any visa, including Xiamen VOA is by definiteion that you could be granted one, but in the same time, you could be denied one, as is the case with any other visa of any other country. This is exactly the source and the main reason why the airport staff in the origin country are so reluctant to allow boarding to people that state that they will rely on Xiamen VOA. Again, Chinese authorities grant those visa practically automatically and they do not make problems, but you should be aware that you are entering the roulette game as soon as you approach the check-in counter in your origin country. Again, will you find a confident official from the other side of the counter? Who knows?

Part three:

Trust me, I do not write this to make you book a ferry to and from Kinmen, but quite contrary to save you from a possible disappointment, loss of your time and money. At least, you know this before you have reached the airport, so you can choose whether you will rely on Xiamen VOA or on visa free transit scheme.

In reality, my suggestion is that you book a ferry to/from Kinmen and have those e-confirmation printed and with you. You will approach the check-in counter and at first you will tell your original intention and that is that you will rely on Xiamen VOA. If you receive a boarding pass, then fine, you will be exactly on the line with your original intentions and you will will forget about Kinmen ferry tickets. In case of rejection, you will tell that you have misunderstood the process and that you, in reality, want to use visa free transit and, magically, your ferry tickets will appear in your hand. This is probably the best solution and I really do not have anything better than this.

By the way, if you are a Japanese citizen, then you do not need any of this options because you can travel to China absolutely visa free for a stay of up to 15 days.