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Asked by Jing from canada | Aug. 07, 2025 14:54

About:240-Hour Visa-Free Transit

Route eligible for 240 visa free?

Cathay airline does not have direct flight from Toronto to Shanghai, and has a stop over in Hong Kong. Will these routes qualify for visa free entry to Shanghai:
- Toronto -> Shanghai (1 stop in HK for transfer), stay few days in Shanghai, and fly to HongKong, stay for few days, and back to Toronto.
- Toronto -> Hong Kong, stay few days, -> Shanghai , stay few days -> fly back to Toronto (1 stop in HK for transfer)

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Answers (1)

Answered by Borut | Aug. 07, 2025 23:25

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No, unfortunately, both of your itineraries are ineligible for 240 hour visa free transit. The basic rule of 240 hour visa free transit clearly requires that the immediate points before and after mainland China have to be in two different countries or eligible territories (eligible territories are Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau). As you can see, in both cases your both immediate points are in just one territory - Hong Kong. This is considered as a round trip and not a transit regardless of the nature and length of your stay in Hong Kong. So, only the immediate points matter. My suggestion for you would be to make your itinerary eligible by introducing nearby Macau into equation. For example, you can do the following: Toronto -> Hong Kong (just a stop) -> Shanghai -> Macau (direct flight) - Hong Kong (by ferry or bus, stay few days) - Toronto or Toronto -> Hong Kong (stay few days) -> Macau (by ferry or bus as a short stop) -> Shanghai (direct flight) -> Hong Kong (just a stop) -> Toronto. Another good alternative would be to take a China Eastern direct flight from Toronto to Shanghai. For example: Toronto -> Shanghai (just a stop) -> Hong Kong (stay few days) -> Shanghai (stay few days) -> Toronto. As you can see, there are several options how to make your itinerary eligible for 240 hour visa free transit. Now it will be up to you to decide because without a change and by retaining your original itineraries you would have to obtain a Chinese visa in advance. Whatever you decide I wish you a wonderful journey.

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