Question

Asked by Lasse from denmark | Jan. 08, 2020 01:06

About:240-hour Visa-free Transit in Xiamen

Stopping over in Beijing

I have just been studying in Xiamen for half a year, with only a single entry Visa. Now i will travel a bit at the end of the semester and use the Xiamen transit visa to get back into Xiamen to catch my flight back to Denmark.
I am coming from Thailand to Xiamen for one day and then my flight is from Xiamen to Denmark but not with a direct route. It is with a connection in Beijing for around 2 hours between Xiamen and Denmark.

Am i not allowed to enter Xiamen after coming from Thailand, just because of my connection flight in Beijing? If it was a direct route from Xiamen to Copenhagen I was eligible, but not when having a connection flight in Beijing. Is that correctly understood? Or does connection flights not count, becuase i do not leave the airport in Beijing?

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Answers (9)

Answered by Lasse | Jan. 09, 2020 10:39

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Thank you! I will be in China for less than 24 hours between arriving in Xiamen and leaving from Beijing.
My concern is that i have gotten information today elsewhere saying I am not allowed to go to fly to Beijing even if i am within 24 hours. For this I would need visa. Can you confirm or deny this for sure? I will not even need to enter Xiamen anyway anymore, i will only stay in the airports to simplify matters.

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Answered by Liz | Jan. 09, 2020 18:41

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If so, you might as well confirm with your airline.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Jan. 08, 2020 14:37

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Lasse, your itinerary:

Thailand - Xiamen - Beijing - Denmark

Is eligible for 24 hour visa free transit and you should calculate your entire transit time, from your first scheduled landing, in your case in Xiamen, until your final scheduled departure, in your case from Beijing. So, you can stay in China for exactly 24 hours and not a minute more than that. Otherwise, you will need a visa to travel on this itinerary.

When traveling on 24 hour visa free transit, you never know whether you will be allowed to exit the airport or to be precise whether you will be granted a temporary entry permit to be allowed to exit the airport. In reality, you can almost count as certain that you will be granted a temporary entry permit upon your landing in Xiamen because your next flight segment is formally a domestic one. So, you will approach 24 hour visa free transit upon your landing in Xiamen where you will apply for a temporary entry permit. After you have been granted a permit, you will exit the airport and after a short stay in Xiamen, you will continue with a flight to Beijing and then to Copenhagen.

So, the main detail you have to take care about is that your itinerary is not longer than 24 hours even just for a minute. By the way, visa free transit rules take into consideration every single stop regardless of its nature. Also, two stops always limit you to 24 hours.

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Answered by Lasse | Jan. 09, 2020 20:29

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I have emailed Air China as well now, thank you

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Answered by Lasse | Jan. 12, 2020 00:44

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Thank you very much Zupan! I have just one last point, I am not sure if I made that clear enough:

So this will work if i booked the full itinerary Bangkok - Xiamen - Beijing - Copenhagen.

Does it change anything that i don't have the travel on the same initerary? Bangkok to Xiamen is a ticket for itself, and then i have to 'join' my original initerary once i arrive in Xiamen.

I cannot address how thankful I am for you providing this service! I found it so confusing everywhere else.

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Answered by Lasse | Jan. 12, 2020 20:35

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I am much more calm now, Thank you! I left Xiamen yesterday through the airport and also asked an immigration officer. He confirmed everything you say, so that is amazing!

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Answered by ZUPAN | Jan. 10, 2020 14:37

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I seriously doubt you will get any useful information from an airline because they simply refuse to take any responsibility and beside that, they are mostly clueless about this details. In reality, you are definitely allowed to travel on this route and the information you have received is definitely wrong. You should consult Timatic that you can find at Air New Zealand website and you will see that you are eligible for 24 hour visa free transit.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Jan. 12, 2020 09:16

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This situation is perfectly allowed. Since the very introduction of visa free transit policy, separate tickets and a travel on unrelated airlines were allowed. So, you can travel on this route, but it is true that all your tickets have to be bought at the time of your check-in in Bangkok. You are supposed to have all of them in the form of the printout. Again, you should just take care that your entire transit time in China is less than 24 hours and this is calculated from your first scheduled landing, in your case in Xiamen, until your final scheduled departure, in your case from Beijing.

You are advised to arrive at the airport a bit before than you would be usually done it. The reason is simple. You never know what quality and how well trained will the airport staff be in Bangkok, although they have proved to be quite efficient regarding visa free transit in China. So, if you encounter less trained person at the counter, it will take you some time until everything is resolved. You should be just patient and just kindly point them to Timatic where they will realize that you are perfectly allowed to perform your journey. This is valid for both, Thai Airways and XiamenAir.

Just be relaxed and again, arrive at the airport an hour before your original plan. You will be grateful. In reality, I would be the happiest if you will write here, after your successful travel, that this hour could have been spent better than at the airport :) Everything will be just fine.

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Answered by ZUPAN | Jan. 13, 2020 13:59

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Lasse, as I have told you, everything will be fine and it really was :)

Nice to read your feedback!

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