phuket - xian - beijing - moscow

Question

Hello,I am a Russian passport holder and will be traveling with my wife. We are planning a layover trip with the following route: Phuket - Xian - Beijing - Moscow. During our layovers, we will have 4 hours in Xian and 22 hours in Beijing. Could you please clarify whether we need a visa for these layovers? Additionally, we would like to know if it’s possible to exit the airport in Beijing for an overnight stay at a hotel. In Xian, we do not plan to leave the airport.Thank you for your assistance!

Borut · Answer

Unfortunately, you will have to obtain a Chinese visa in advance for your itinerary. It is allowed to have two Chinese destination in a row only if your entire transit time in China is less than 24 hours long. Your entire transit time exceeds 24 hours, so a visa obtained in advance is a must. I'm sorry.

Maksim · Answer

Thank you for your response. I also inquired about the same question to the manager of China Travel Agency at Hong Kong airport (where I was flying to Phuket) and showed the tickets. He assured me that the transit stay time in China, in my case, is 72 hours. Perhaps I failed to mention in my inquiry that my route passed through Hong Kong, and that may have affected your response?

Rita · Answer

So your route will be HK - Phuket - Xian - Beijing - Moscow? I'm sorry it does not make any change and you still need a visa for the total of 26-hour transit in China.

Maksim · Answer

I can request 144-hour visa - free transit at the border due to exceeding 24 hours

Borut · Answer

No, unfortunately, you cannot do that because under 144 hour visa free transit you cannot have two or more mainland Chinese destinations in a row. Under 144 hour visa free transit it is strictly limited to just one transit area and your itinerary has two of them. Having more than one stop within mainland China is allowed only under 24 hour visa free transit, but unfortunately, your transit time within China is longer than 24 hours. If you retain your itinerary as it is, you will have to obtain a Chinese visa in advance.

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