Question

Asked by Moses Lee from usa | Apr. 22, 2025 17:41

About:240-Hour Visa-Free Transit

I plan to stay travel to visit 2 cities in China and 1 territory

I had plan to fly to HK and stay 3 days before going to Hainan stay 5 days and Shanghai 7 days and fly back to HK. That would be over 240 hours. Would this itineray work with Visa Free - Hainan 5 days, HK 3 days and Shanghai 7 days.

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Answers (3)

Answered by Borut | Apr. 22, 2025 23:17

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No, unfortunately, that is not possible. There are two reasons. You would have been able to travel to Hainan and to a second or even third destination within mainland China, but in that case you cannot combine Hainan 30 day visa free access with 240 hour visa free transit. Hainan 30 days visa free access strictly requires that you arrive to Hainan form a country/territory other than mainland China and to leave it to a country/territory other than mainland China. In other words, you can travel Hong Kong - Hainan - Hong Kong under 30 day visa free access, but you cannot proceed after than toward any other area of mainland China. The second reason is that when you travel on 240 hour visa free transit you are not allowed to return to the same country/territory, but the immediate points before and after mainland China have to be in two different countries or eligible territories. This a difference between 240 hour visa free transit and Hainan 30 days visa free access that allows such a possibility.

If you permit, I would suggest you that you use 240 hour visa free transit in the way to take a ferry from Hong Kong to Macau and to fly by a direct flight from Macau to Hainan (the flight Macau - Haikou is operated by Hainan Airlines 4 times a week). Upon arrival you will apply for 240 hour visa free transit and after that you can share your time between Hainan and Shanghai and fly from Shanghai to Hong Kong. As you can see this is eligible. To maximize the time you are allowed to spend in mainland China, you should understand that 240 hours starts ticking on the day after the day of your entry. In other words, if you have arrived in Hainan on May 7, 240 hours starts ticking on May 8 at 00:00, so you are allowed to exit Shanghai on May 17 until 24:00. I hope this helps and I wish you a nice visit to China.

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Answered by Moses | Apr. 23, 2025 04:07

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Thank you. I was not aware of the 30 day Visa free in Hainan.

This is too complicated and not fliexible. I saw the flights from Macau to Sanya its 15 hrs total travel time due to a layover. I will apply for a 10 yr Visa. I had already submitted my online application. Can you advise what the next steps are? Do I need make an appt with the New York Consulate for final approval? By the way I am Chinese-American and want to visit my homeland I have not been back since 1995. I wish there was an easier way. Thank you!

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Answered by Borut | Apr. 23, 2025 23:31

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I understand you because having a 10 years valid visa will make your travels very convenient and also totally flexible. As far as your questions regarding the specific procedure of the Chinese consulate in New York are concerned, I am afraid that this is out of our reach since it is related to a specific consulate and its way of performing the procedure of visa issuing. At some moment, we can only tell you with high level of confidence, that you will be required to appoint your arrival in the consulate in order to complete the procedure. Hopefully, you will be offered a clear guidance from the consulate.

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