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Asked by WendyM from usa | Oct. 26, 2019 10:36

About:72-Hour Visa-Free Transit

Is China visa needed if we have roundtrip tickets to Shanghai but decide not to stay in China?

We were going to visit China originally but our plans changed. We already had roundtrip tickets from USA to Shanghai booked and don't want to pay the airline change fee. We want to go to Australia instead. So we want to buy roundtrip tickets from Shanghai to Australia. Can we stay overnight in a hotel (or up to 72 hours) in Shanghai without needing a China visa so that we can get the best flight deal to Australia? Thanks!

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Answers (1)

Answered by ZUPAN | Oct. 26, 2019 11:37

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Of course, you are allowed to do that. In reality, you will have two round trip tickets:

US - Shanghai - US
Shanghai - Australia - Shanghai

Anyway, your itinerary, as far as Chinese immigration is concerned is:

US - Shanghai - Australia
Australia - Shanghai - US

Now, it's up to you to decide for how long do you choose to stay in Shanghai. You are allowed to stay for up to 144 hours both ways. So, if you decide to stay in Shanghai for less than 24 hours, you will be eligible for 24 hour visa free transit and if you make your layover just a minute longer than 24 hours, you will be eligible for 144 hour visa free transit. Also you will be perfectly allowed to break your journey in Shanghai and to stay for a night or more if you want in the hotel. In any case, you will not need a visa.

You should just print out your flight tickets and have them in hard copy. One more detail... 72 hour visa free transit has been replaced in Shanghai by 144 hour visa free transit a couple of years ago.

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