living in tokyo, visiting shanghai

Question

Hello! I’m from the U.S. and staying in Tokyo for an extended period of time (it’s been 1 month). Can I fly to Shanghai for a weekend under this policy? (i.e. I’m from New York and have been in Tokyo for a month, then will fly to Shanghai for a weekend, then back to Tokyo. I will go back to New York in November. Does this qualify if I stay in Shanghai for only 72 hours?)

Borut · Answer

No, something like this is impossible because the very basic rule of any visa free transit scheme requires that the immediate points before and after your mainland Chinese stop have to be in two different countries or eligible territories (eligible territories are Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau).So, an itinerary:Tokyo - Shanghai - TokyoIs not eligible because both immediate points are located in the same country - Japan. In order to become eligible you could try to alter your itinerary to look like:Tokyo - Seoul - Shanghai - TokyoLike this the immediate points would be in two different countries - South Korea and Japan and you would be able to enjoy 144 hour visa free transit in wider Shanghai area. By the way, it is not 72, but 144 hour visa free transit that is valid for Shanghai.

Living in Tokyo, Visiting Shanghai

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