Question

Asked by Stephen Buckberry from au | Dec. 07, 2019 22:19

About:240-hour Visa-free Transit in Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu

Visa exemption for 14 day return cruise from Shanghai plus 1 night in hotel and leave on 15th day

We will fly in to Shanghai from Perth via Hong Kong in mid February 2020 and join a 14 day cruise the same day. The ship returns to Shanghai and we then have one night's accommodation in Shanghai before flying home again the next day. Do we qualify for a 24 hour visa when disembarking in Shanghai or is there another option available?

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Answers (5)

Answered by Stephen Buckberry | Dec. 08, 2019 04:34

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Thank you Zupan and you are correct as to the cruise we are taking. After the cruise has completed, we will be in Shanghai at The Bund Riverside hotel until the next day when we will travel to the PVG airport for a 1645 flight to Hong Kong and on to Perth. Our stay in Shanghai will be approx. 31 hours. Do we apply for the 144 hour visa from the cruise terminal as we depart the cruise?
We first arrive in Shanghai PVG on Feb 15 at 1140 and we have a Holland America transfer booked to take us direct from the airport to the cruise ship - does the visa you refer to mean we need a visa for this trip? If so, is this visa one that we need to apply through our local China embassy?

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Answered by stephen Buckberry | Dec. 09, 2019 00:02

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Thank you so much Zupan for your valuable advice. I am now very clear on what I have to do prior to my visit to China.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Dec. 08, 2019 02:35

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Stephen, you are not eligible for Shanghai 15-day visa free policy for cruise tour groups, if you were thinking about this option because to be eligible for this option you have to arrive in Shanghai by ship on a scheduled cruise.

I made an insight into your cruise itinerary and have realized that after Shanghai, you have two additional Chinese ports of call in a row. Of course, I hope that I have guessed properly that you will board on China South Korea & Japan cruise provided by Holland America Line. So, if I'm right your cruise itinerary is:

Shanghai - Tianjin (Beijing) - Dalian - Japan - South Korea - Japan - Shanghai

To conclude, only your last stop in Shanghai is eligible for 24 or 144 hour visa free (in relation to the length of your stay in Shanghai) transit because this one is within the rules of visa free transit that clearly says: Immediate points before and after a Chinese destination have to be in different countries. Just to add that the territories of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau are considered as countries for visa free transit purposes, so your last stop in Shanghai is eligible for this option.

You have enough time to apply for a Chinese visa until February and you should definitely do that, so that you can travel to your cruise with absolute peace of mind.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Dec. 08, 2019 06:55

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Part one:

Like this:

- As far as your question regarding the visa, that you will have to obtain through one of CVASC (Chinese Visa Application Service Center) located nearest to your place of living is concerned, this visa is the one that you will use immediately upon your first landing in Shanghai. In other words, when you will be inspected in Australia and in Hong Kong, you will present the visa that you will have in your passport. When they see this visa, they will not ask you anything because a visa obtained in advance is the ultimate proof that you are eligible to travel and to stay in China.

Also, during your flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai, there will be dispensed arrival cards (yellow color) that you will fill out. Upon your landing in Shanghai, you will just clear the immigration and customs and after that you will proceed to your transfer for your cruise. This visa will be valid for the whole portion of your cruise and will expire at the moment of your departure from China, in Dalian. This is simple because your portion:

Shanghai - Tianjin (Beijing) - Dalian

Is essentially a domestic (Chinese) portion of your cruise.

After your departure from Dalian, your visa will expire and from that moment on it will be just a souvenir. After Dalian, you have Japanese and South Korean destinations and then follows Shanghai as your final destination. Here, as I have already mentioned in my first answer, you will be eligible for, now I can say that precisely, 144 hour visa free transit because your itinerary will be:

Japan - Shanghai - Hong Kong

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Answered by ZUPAN | Dec. 08, 2019 06:56

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Part two:

This is perfectly eligible for 144 hour visa free transit. You will be probably asked by the Japanese authorities about your documentation and you will just tell them that you will travel to Hong Kong and after that to Australia via Shanghai using 144 hour visa free transit. For this reason, you will print out your flight ticket from Shanghai to Hong Kong or even for all the way to Australia and have that printout with you. After the Japanese authorities see your flight tickets that brings you out of China within 144 hours, you will be allowed to normally proceed your travel to Shanghai.

During your approach to Shanghai, there will be again dispensed yellow arrival cards that you will fill out in the same or very similar way as you have done on board the plane on your flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai. It is also possible, although not so probable that even blue forms (intended for those traveling on 144 hour visa free transit) will be dispensed on board the ship, so that you are prepared for the formalities upon your docking in Shanghai. In case if those blue forms are not dispensed on board the ship, you will find one at 144 hour visa free transit counter at the cruise terminal in Shanghai. So, you will fill out it there. Here you will present your flight ticket to Hong Kong/Australia and shortly after that you will get a sticker and be allowed to exit the cruise terminal.

Basically, this is it. Now it could appear to be complicated, but in reality it isn't.

By the way, CVASC offices are located in: Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.

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