geneva to taiwan to beijing to geneva (via a stopover)

Question

Hello, I am looking to travel to Beijing as a second destination when my partner (UK passport) and I (US passport) travel to Taipei for him to attend a conference. We would be flying to Taiwan from Switzerland, then from Taiwan to Beijing, then back to Switzerland. Looking at flights, there are no direct flights from Taiwan to Switzerland anyway which is why we are interested in stopping in Beijing on our way back. I am trying to figure out if layovers count as a third country for the 240 hour transit visa waiver program. Would an itinerary such as the one below qualify:Geneva --> Beijing (stopover) --> Taipei (stay one week) --> Beijing (stay for one week) --> Frankfurt/Munich/Dubai (stopover) --> GenevaMy understanding is that because there are two different destinations on either side of the Beijing stay, that would theoretically qualify. However, I'm unclear on whether stopovers count as a third destination! Either way we will essentially be required to transit through China to get back to Switzerland from Taiwan. Thank you for your help!

Borut · Answer

Sabrina, you have created an itinerary, both ways, that is definitely and undoubtedly eligible for 240 hour visa free transit twice. Also, it is important to emphasize that having two 240 hour visa free transits within a short time frame is allowed. Your entire itinerary is in line with the golden rule that clearly and without any doubt says that only the immediate points before and after mainland China matter and they have to be in two different countries or eligible territories (eligible territories are Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau). In other words, Chinese authorities care only about the immediate points before and after mainland China and they do not have interest beyond them. Just to conclude, this is eligible itinerary and your team can enjoy its stay in mainland China absolutely visa free based on 240 hour visa free transit. You should also know that during your layovers in Beijing, you are allowed to travel across the province borders or in other words, you can visit places like Shanghai, Xi'an, Chengdu if you wish. Have a nice journey. By the way, if you are a French citizen, you travel to China absolutely visa free and you are also free from this 240 hour visa free transit stuff because you can enter China visa free for up to 30 days.

Sabrina · Answer

Hi, thank you so much for your reply and clarification! As we're looking at flights, may I ask if the itinerary would still be eligible if we travelled straight from Beijing to Geneva on a direct flight home? Some days have direct flights on Air China. So the itinerary would look like Geneva --> Beijing (stopover) --> Taiwan (stay for one week) --> Beijing (stay for one week) --> Geneva. Does this still count as there are still two different places on either side of the Beijing stops?

Geneva to Taiwan to Beijing to Geneva (via a stopover)

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