Question

Asked by Mark from hungary | Dec. 21, 2019 02:32

About:24-Hour Visa-Free Transit

Visa

Hi!
Sorry for my english.
From Vienna we fly to Urumqi where we stop for a technical break (3 hours) and then continue to Canton (Guangzhou same?) Where we wait 5 hours and continue to Bangkok. We are back on the Bangkok-Urumqi-Vienna route, waiting for 6 hours in Urumqi. Do I need a pre-triggered transit visa or is there a 24-hour free visa at the airport?

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Answers (7)

Answered by CDKing | Dec. 21, 2019 04:01

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You will need to apply for tourist (L) visa in advance of trip. Urumqi has different rules. Over 2 hours requires visa there

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Answered by CDKing | Dec. 21, 2019 04:02

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Or transit (G) visa

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Answered by Mark | Dec. 21, 2019 04:20

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If transiting in Guangzhou for less than 24 hours, you are able to apply for the 24-hour TWOV from Guangzhou Baiyun airport instead of its railway stations or other ports of entry. That is, only entering Guangzhou by air, you would be issued the 24h visa-free transit under qualified travel itinerary. Does this not apply to me?

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Answered by ZUPAN | Dec. 21, 2019 04:21

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Part one:

I will offer an alaternative view on the subject.

Recent developments regarding China Southern flights via Urumqi indicate that longer layovers are tolarated because the airport staff that performs check-in for China Southern flights is well aware of ad hoc void of 2 hour rule in Urumqi for China Southern passengers.

Actually recent practice of the Chinese immigration strongly indicates that having more than 2 hours of layover in Urumqi is allowed and if you click on the link at the bottom of this website titled: "More Questions & Answers", you will find a thread started by your compatriot and that deals with exactly this subject when travelers use China Southern flights traveling via Urumqi and Guangzhou. There you will read several good first hand personal experiences where the travelers have used this route via Urumqi and Guangzhou without a need to obtain a Chinese visa in advance.

So, your itinerary is eligible for 24 hour visa free transit, but you should carefully count the entire transit time in China, calculating your hours from your first landing in China, in your case in Urumqi, until your final scheduled departure from China, in your case from Guangzhou. If your entire transit time (Urumqi - Guangzhou) is less than 24 hours, you are eligible for 24 hour visa free transit and you don't need any kind of visa. Quite the contrary, if your entire transit time is longer than 24 hours for just a minute, you will have to obtain a Chinese visa in advance. As I can see, you have definitely less than 24 hours of transit in China on your Vienna to Bangkok route and if you are flying back from Bangkok to Urumqi on CZ8442, you are eligible for this visa free transit option too.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Dec. 21, 2019 04:22

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Part two:

One more detail, your flight itinerary has to be done on a single (through) ticket issued by China Southern Airlines.

Guangzhou and Canton are the names of the same city in the south of China, but it is preferred to use Guangzhou because Canton bears colonial connotations.

Regardless of all the details that I have mentioned, you will find different opinions that are based in the rules published in Timatic. Exactly for this case, CDKing has suggested you to apply and obtain a Chinese transit or tourist two entry visa and he is not wrong at all when you take a look at strict interpretations of the rules published in Timatic that is the most authoritative source for visa rules. Also, I don't want to encourage you to try to travel visa free, although I'm more than certain that your itinerary is eligible for 24 hour visa free transit.

To conclude, if you want to travel absolutely with peace of mind, you will obtain a Chinese double entry visa in advance and if you want to save on visas and have several nervous days, you will choose to travel visa free.

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Answered by Thomas | Dec. 21, 2019 05:56

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@ Zupan

I can confirm that it works to travel on the 24h twov in Urumqi even if it's longer as 2 hours.
It seems that China Southern has a special agreement or anything else.
A friend did this trip and his layover was over 2 hours in Urumqi (total transit incl. Guangzhou under 24h) and it was no problem at all.
He was guided by an China Southern official in Urumqi.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Dec. 21, 2019 06:07

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Yes, that's true. China Southern obviously has some kind of agreement and also it is a Chinese strategy to make Urumqi an important hub for Central Asia and some Eastern European connections in the near future. Among all the Chinese airlines China Southern was chosen to lead that strategy and they couldn't do it without a void of only 2 hour layover rule in Urumqi, at least for China Southern passengers.

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