stopoversflight itinerary.

Question

I'm a British citizen and am planning to travel to Hong Kong and Shanghai later this year. The route would be:London ---- Hong Kong (direct flight; stay in HK for 6 days)Hong Kong ----- Shanghai (direct flight; stay in Shanghai for 5 days)Shanghai ------- London (with a short transit via Hong Kong; not leaving the airport).Would you be able to confirm if this route would still be elligible for the 144 hour visa. It’s seems not?And, another question; if I book flights separately (rather than one one flight itinerary) is this okay? So if I book a single direct flight from London to Shanghai and then a single flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong is this okay, as long as I can provide evidence of the departing flight on arrival in China?

Borut · Answer

Sophia, this itinerary is not eligible for 144 hour visa free transit. The basic rule of this transit clearly requires that immediate points before and after your mainland Chinese destination have to be in two different countries or eligible territories. As you can see by yourself, your both immediate points are located in Hong Kong. To conclude, you will have to obtain a Chinese visa in advance or alter your flight itinerary to comply with the basic rules of 144 hour visa free transit.As far as your second question is concerned, I assure you that separate tickets are fine and they always were as long as they assure that your itinerary will be:Country A - Country B (mainland China) - Country CIn other words, your itinerary:London - Shanghai - Hong KongIs definitely eligible for 144 hour visa free transit in Shanghai regardless of the fact that you will fly on separate tickets. When you land in Shanghai, you will present your flight tickets and you will be allowed to exit the airport and to enjoy your time on your own. Please, have in mind that you will have to present your flight tickets even in London at the time of check-in because they will want to confirm that your flight itinerary is eligible for Chinese 144 hour visa free transit scheme. Have a nice journey.

Stopovers and Flight Itinerary.

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