Question

Asked by tina from united kingsdom | Jun. 16, 2025 03:09

About:Chinese Embassy in U.K.

DO I NEED A VISA TO ENTER CHINA FOR 1st STAY LESS THAN 24 HOURS & 2nd STAY 8 HOURS?

Hello
We are on a cruise from Shanghai to Japan in July. We arrive the night before the cruise just to be sure we dont miss the cruise and stay less that 24 hours and we come back from the cruise and leave 8 hours after arriving in Shanghai again. DO WE NEED A VISA? I have sent an application over a week ago and still not heard anything from the Embassy!!!!!

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Answers (13)

Answered by Rita | Jun. 16, 2025 19:39

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Where will you come to Shanghai from, Tina? And what’s the first stop of your cruise trip, or it’s a direct trip? Where are you going from Shanghai after the trip? These stops are important for route judgment. If you will travel along UK – Shanghai – Japan – Shanghai – UK, you don’t need a visa.

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Answered by Tina | Jun. 17, 2025 12:59

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We are flying in on cathay Pacific from Sri Lanka, Colombo.
We arriving on Friday afternoon and go on the cruise on Saturday morning. We return the following Saturday morning and fly out within 8 hours of arriving back in shanghai.
Thanks for answering my question. I have applied for a visa in London but there has been no response from the Embassy to say they got the application and whats next nor are any of the phone numbers working to check on the visa. It will be 2 weeks on Sunday since we applied.

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Answered by Tina | Jun. 17, 2025 13:02

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Sorry we are on a cruise China-Shanghai to Japan for 1 week on Royal Caribbean.
We are going from London to Sri Lanka and then leaving there to China and on the cruise

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Answered by Viola | Jun. 17, 2025 18:05

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So you will fly out from Shanghai to London after the cruise within 8 hours? Then your route will be like Sri Lanka - Shanghai - cruise to Japan - Shanghai - flight out to London. I'm happy to tell that you do not need a visa under the 24h visa-free transit as long as you won't transit in Japan when flying out from Shanghai to London and I guess you won't.

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Answered by Tina | Jun. 23, 2025 04:09

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Hi thanks for your reply..... just to confirm.....we UK citizens with UK passports, going on this itinerary:-


London to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka on Cathay pacific to Shanghai arriving in the afternoon - we stay 1 night (less than 12 hours) in Shanghai
Next day we board cruise ship by noon to Japan.
We return to Shanghai the following Saturday and fly out of shanghai the same day about 8 hours after docking on the ship.

DO WE NEED A VISA TO ENTER CHINA?

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Answered by Zoe | Jun. 25, 2025 00:03

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No, you don't need a visa benefiting from the 24h/240h visa-free transit policy.

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Answered by Tina | Jun. 25, 2025 07:31

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Hi No my Itinery is:-

London / Sri Lanka / Shanghai (stay 1 night) / Cruise to Japan / Return from Cruise / Depart Shanghai 8 hours after exiting the cruise / then fly to Sri Lanka

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Answered by Zoe | Jun. 25, 2025 18:34

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Your two entries:
London - Sri Lanka - Shanghai (stay 1 night) - Japan and
Japan - Shanghai 8 hours - Sri Lanka
are both eligible for visa-free transit. Don't worry.

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Answered by Tina | Jun. 27, 2025 08:04

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Thanks so much Zoe - You are 100% sure? We got an email from Royal Caribbean, and they mentioned its better to get a visa...."Quote - A Chinese visa is strongly recommended, even though you may qualify for Chinese Visa Waivers, Having a Chinese Visa will always provide you with the quickest and smoothest experience when arriving into China"
The UK London Embassy will not answer the phone or reply with any answers to my questions. We have applied for a Visa 3 weeks ago and its still in process with no email from them to say that they got our onlilne application or that it will be processed within a time period. We have had nothing and all phone numbers given to me there isn't a human to talk to!!! If I knew all this I would never have booked a cruise from CHINA!!! I would go anywhere else in the world!

Any more advice is really appreciated

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Answered by Zoe | Jun. 30, 2025 18:55

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I totally understand how you feel. I'm pretty sure you are eligible for the 240 twice, just make sure you have the ticket to Sri Lanka before you board the cruise from Japan. To get a visa, you can check online if there is a notice for any additional document needed from the official application site. Normally, there will be a notice if the Embassy require more materials.

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Answered by Tina | Jul. 02, 2025 01:44

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Thanks again for your reply. We have a return ticket to Shanghai from Sri Lanka. we have been approved for a visa but with each one being £160 we were double checking to ensure we can enter into Shanghai twice, once to board the cruise and one to return from the cruise before our departure flight to Sri Lanka on the same day. My worry is that the check-in staff in Sri lanka at cathay pacific desk wont board us on the flight to Shanghai without a visa. I have called cathay pacific and they will not give you advice on Chinese Visa's!

So you really think we can get into Shanghai twice withing 8 days of our first arrival with this 240 hour visa?

I tried the Chinese Embassy London on email and got nowhere fast! They do not answer my questions they just send me the link to read the 240 visa information. My other plan is to go up to get my visa and ask them before I pay £160.

Any information or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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Answered by Zoe | Jul. 02, 2025 20:44

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Yes, I'm pretty sure you are eligible for the 240 twice. And Cathay pacific knows the 240h policy well, just show your ticket for the next trip after China. Many citizens from the UK and US utilize the 240 to travel to China without a visa and I'm sure all your ports are eligible port for the 240.
Even though you are rejected (it won't happen), the more generous and flexible 24h visa-free transit covers you as your stops in Shanghai are no longer than 24h as you said (one night and 8 hours).
You can see the 24h visa-free transit details on this page: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/free-transit-24hour.htm

China now is generous on foreigners' entries, you will be welcomed.

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Answered by Tina | Jul. 05, 2025 02:34

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Hello
I went to the Chinese Visa Office yesterday in London. Here's what I was told by a HUMAN not AI or online searches:-

If you are an UK citizen with a British Passport you do not need a visa if travelling to China from the UK on a direct fight you will qualify for the 240 hour on arrival visa.

If you are stopping over in another country including HONG KONG you DO need a visa.

We had to get ours yesterday and it will be ready on Wednesday.

The whole process from doing the application on-line and getting into the Visa office for finger printing and photos to collecting your passport with your visa takes 1 MONTH and £130 per person!

Anyone travelling to China please ensure you leave plenty of time to get through this process.

It was hard work!

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