Question

Asked by Steven from canada | Nov. 01, 2019 06:25

About:240-Hour Visa-Free Transit in Guangdong

Is my itinerar valid for the 144 hr visa exemption and do I have to obtain it in one of three ports?

Vietnam to Hong Kong to Zhongshan, Guangdong to Toronto. Would this be valid for the 144 hr exemption as a Canadian passport holder? Also since my family and I were originally planning to visit Zhongshan via ferry in Hong Kong, do we need to change our port of entry to one of three ports to obtain visa exemption? Thanks.

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Answers (6)

Answered by Steven | Nov. 02, 2019 13:16

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Okay, so can I take a ferry into Shenzhen instead to obtain Visa exemption? I'd prefer not to rebook flights.

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Answered by Saul | Nov. 02, 2019 14:44

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You must arrive by air at one of Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao'an or Jieyang Chaoshan airports to benefit from 144 hours transit without visa. If you don't want to change your flights then you must get a visa.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Nov. 01, 2019 09:00

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I can see that you have some doubts.

OK, you can use Hong Kong, but only as an airport from where you will have to fly directly to Guangzhou in order to be eligible for 144 hour visa free transit. After that, you can freely travel within the entire Guangdong province and you are also allowed to take a direct (nonstop) flight from Guangzhou to Toronto.

In my opinion, especially if you don't have special interest for Hong Kong and you will know best this detail, you can take a direct flight from your Vietnamese city to both Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Like this, you would be probably save some money compared to flying to Hong Kong and then from Hong Kong to Guangzhou.

Basically, you cannot reach Zhongshan by ferry from Hong Kong if you are traveling on 144 hour visa free transit because the only way to be eligible for this visa free transit option when traveling from both Hong Kong and Macau to Guangdong province is exclusively by air.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Nov. 02, 2019 15:32

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Steven, now I'm confused because you were talking about Zhongshan and now your are mentioning Shenzhen... What exactly is the city you would like to visit? They are separated by The Pearl River and the huge difference is that you can visit Zhongshan only by using 144 hour visa free transit or a Chinese visa obtained in advance as Saul has mentioned and Shenzhen has its specific visa that can be obtained upon arrival. Anyway, Shenzhen visa is geographically limited visa and allows only the visits within Shenzhen Special Economic Zone that in reality coincides with the boundaries of Shenzhen city.

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Answered by Steven | Nov. 02, 2019 15:55

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I read online about how one can get to Bao'an airport via ferry through the Fuyong Ferry Terminal. My family and I are trying to reach Zhongshan, but we of course need to get the visa exemption through one of three ports, correct? Thus we decided that we could take a ferry into Shenzhen rather than by air through the Fuyong Ferry Terminal, then travel out to Zhongshan. Sorry for the confusion.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Nov. 02, 2019 17:24

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Steven, but you really cannot do that. You are, of course, allowed to obtain a Shenzhen visa on arrival, but the office for issuing of this visa is inexistent at Fuyong Ferry Terminal. It used to be there, but not any more. You can obtain this visa on three places only: Lo Wu / Luohu, Huanggang and Shekou ferry terminal. These are the places, in reality border crossings where a Shenzhen VOA is available. Anyway, when you obtain one, as I have previously mentioned, you are allowed to move just within Shenzhen city boundaries. Even if there was still Fuyong visa on arrival office functional, you would not be allowed to use this option to travel to Zhongshan. Simply speaking, there is no other way how could you reach Zhongshan from Hong Kong using visa free transit, but by flying. You simply have to fly from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, visit Zhongshan and after that travel to Canada by direct (nonstop) flight out of Guangzhou.

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