China Transit...?????

[trooper]

Looking at some fares that have me transiting China... in the sense of <24hrs on the ground there...

I have looked at the QF website.. but find the language in the Visa/Health section confusing... "next available flight" etc

DOES an Aussie need any form of visa to transit China?

 

[Evan]

Conflicting
If you read the letter of the law then no, but the general advise here has been its better to have one just in case. I do not know anybody who has actually done it.

Also note at the moment they are more strict due to some special 60 years this or that celebration.

 

[shaddy]

Looking at some fares that have me transiting China... in the sense of <24hrs on the ground there...

I have looked at the QF website.. but find the language in the Visa/Health section confusing... "next available flight" etc

DOES an Aussie need any form of visa to transit China?

Yep, certainly do. I am doing similar next month, arriving Shanghai on QF 129 1805, departing BA next morning 1100.! I am only staying at a airport hotel. You can download visa application which you then send off to Melb. with a copy of your itinary/e-ticket together with a fee I think was $60 all up! Enjoy!

 

[trooper]

Thankyou both!!!!

I am far too cautious to be the one to "try it out"...

If I book one of those fares I'll be gettin' a Visa!!

Thanks again.....

 

[stryker]

I was considering transiting Shenzhen (SZX) recently, but when I discovered all the hoops I would have to jump through, plus the expense and hassle of obtaining a visa, I changed my itinerary to fly direct ICN-SIN.

Personally, I won't ever look at transiting China again (or Russia for that matter). Too much hassle and expense IMHO.

I have been to both countries in the past, however, so I know I'm not missing a great deal.

 

[dajop]

If you are transitting Shanghai, it may be worth checking with the consulate. It used to be the case that you coould transit Shanghai for <48hours without the need for a visa.

In fact the US embassy website indicates the following:

[FONT=&#23435]★[/FONT]Visa-free transit
1. Visas are not required of aliens who hold air tickets to the final destination and have booked seats on international airliners flying directly through China, and will stay in a transit city for less than 24 hours without leaving the airport.
2. Visas are not required of passport holders of the following countries, who transit through Pudong Airport or Hongqiao Airport of Shanghai, provided they hold valid passports, visas for the onward countries, final destination tickets and have booked seats, and stay in Shanghai for less than 48 hours : Republic of Korea, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland

Some references ...
Visa-free entry & Transit (G) Visa

China G Visa, Applying for Transit Visa to China

 

[Evan]

This is what i was refering to as being 'possible' but just never heard of anybody doing it and all the time people saying be careful you should get a visa just in case.

 

[dajop]

This is what i was refering to as being 'possible' but just never heard of anybody doing it and all the time people saying be careful you should get a visa just in case.

Yes with China it's better to be safe than sorry. I'd be checking and double checking with consulate, and even then with the slightest doubt I'd be getting a Visa. Aaah, the joys of having an APEC card!

 

[N860CR]

The visa process atm isn't as hard as I've seen it before. I was in there on Monday, just dropped the form and passports off. They didn't even look at my tickets or hotel vouchers and didn't take any copies (like they have the last few times). All in all only set me back $40.

 

[shaddy]

Sorry guys, I gave you the wrong info! After re-reading instructions on China Embassy Australia, the rules as quoted by 'Dajop' are correct! I could have saved myself some money!
The only reason I am going thru Shanghai is this was the only route I could get to London using what I had left with FF points!
Apologies to all!

Regards & Happy Flying!

 

[MrHyde]

I have flown through China a number of times in 2006. At the time, a transit did not require a visa per se. They issued one at the airport for free. It does take a long time though. We were flying DEL - PEK - MEL. The DEL - PEK involved a stopover and change in Shanghai, which we did not know about. That required exiting the airport and checking back in and we were given a visa for 24 hours.

In the other scenarios, we had planned a stopover in Shanghai and Beijing and hence had visas before going there.

 

[auriga]

Recently flew from Canada to Shanghai, transit overnight (<24h), before flying to Singapore.

Aussie passport, did not have a visa, as I understood that none was needed. The immigration officer asked to see the ticket/print out. She then had to ask for someone else, who took the passport away, and came back stamped with a different sort of entry stamp. The really bad thing about this, is having to wait--- something like 20 minutes (which of course feels like an eternity since you do not know exactly what was happening). ... and everyone can see you are having "problems" as there is no special waiting area.

Not too sure if I am keen to repeat the exercise!

 

[Evan]

Good to know it can be done auriga
Pity about the issues in doing it, i would not be too worried about people seeing you have problems, just forget about them, there is way too many reasons why you may be held up a short while at immigration.

Anyway i would choose just about anywhere other than CN to transit unless there was a good reason to transit there, just like i would avoid Russia for a MR due to the costly and difficult visa's.

Some of my favorite transfer airports are... SIN, HKG, ICN, and KIX, NRT, KUL are also fine, BKK is ok but i just don't like the airport.