brisbane-tokyo-tokyo-shanghai-shanghai-tokyo-brisbane

Question

Hello,I have purchased a Brisbane (Australia) Tokyo return flight to travel to Japan in May.Can I use the 72 hr free visa if I were to  purchase a Tokyo to Sanghai Return flight, with the same airline and show proof that I have a booked flight  back to Brisbane on a separate booking, 2 days after getting back to Tokyo?

Borut · Answer

No, unfortunately, your itinerary is not eligible for any kind of visa free transit scheme because a segment:Tokyo - Shanghai - Tokyo Is not a transit, but a return trip. In other words, the very basic rule of 144/72 hour visa free transit requires that an eligible itinerary has to have the immediate points before and after mainland Chinese destination in two different countries or eligible territories (eligible territories: Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau). As you can see, your immediate points are in the same country - Japan. In order to be eligible, I suggest you to try to alter your itinerary to look, for example, like this:Tokyo - Seoul - Shanghai - TokyoIf you cannot alter your itinerary, you will have to obtain a Chinese visa in advance. I'm sorry.By the way, using separate tickets and unrelated airlines is fine as long as your itinerary is in accordance with visa free transit rule.

Gary · Answer

Thankyou Borut for taking the time to give this detailed reply,I will take your advice and see if I can go via Seoul,I will let you know if it comes to fruition,Cheers

Brisbane-Tokyo-Tokyo-Shanghai-Shanghai-Tokyo-Brisbane