Tips on using the 144hr TWOV in China

[tassie6]

Hey team, looking for some ticket tips going to China so can utilise the 144hr TWOV, landing/leaving from Beijing

• We need to visit Shijiazhuang, is in same region as Beijing so will be covered with the TWOV out of Beijing
• 2 x Adults 1 x Infant
• Travel from HBA but happy to book out of MEL/SYD, often easier with J tickets and can fly up on Y
• Date is somewhat flexible, ideally sometime in November,

I can find decent J fares on SQ around $4.5k return out of MEL, but wouldn't satisfy requirements for TWOV as in and out of SIN, does anyone have some creative ticket tips that would get us a good value ticket in J that could satisfy TWOV rules? No loyalty to any airlines. I have tried to play around with some multi-city but gets too expensive and I haven't thought of anything creative to satisfy the rules but keep efficient return ticket pricing

Obstacles from other means of access:

• APEC Card: Partner and I run a business which does import goods from China, hence the visit, so could likely get an APEC card each, but need to travel with infant, which rules it out I think
• Just go and get a visa: We are in Hobart, would need to travel to Melbourne to apply as postal applications not currently being accepted, not ideal especially with infant, but certainly possible if no other efficient option
  • Side question, if go through this process, would all 3 of us have to go back to Melbourne to pickup passports from visa office? Or could one of us just go? I couldn't find an answer to this

Cheers to anyone that has any ideas

 

[mel-world]

TWOV?

 

[glasszon]

TWOV?

Transit without visa (I think).

 

[Matt_01]

Side question, if go through this process, would all 3 of us have to go back to Melbourne to pickup passports from visa office? Or could one of us just go? I couldn't find an answer to this

I can not answer some of your other questions but from experience only one needs to go. I got the visa's for all 3 of us without an issue.

 

[tassie6]

Transit without visa (I think).

Yep, can transit through China from one country to another, for up 144hrs without a visa before arriving, but can't travel back to the same country you arrived from. There are rules about where land/travel to/hours allowed/leave from depending on circumstances

 

[dajop]

One way is to have the ticket into a non Chinese city (say Seoul) and out of PEK or vice versa and then purchase or redeem a separate ticket in between . (This is called an open jaw ticket).

 

[tassie6]

Cheers, I knew about open jaw but couldn't quite get it straight in my head! SQ fares with open jaw of Seoul and Beijing are approx the same price, thanks! Will toy around with a few other options to see if anything works out better

 

[tassie6]

Ended up finding J rewards on QF for HBA-SYD-ICN at the right time and a one way J cash fare on SQ for PEK-SIN-MEL.

Will buy a cash fare for the cheap ICN-PEK and MEL-HBA to fill in the gaps

All means eligible for the 144hr TWOV with a couple days in Seoul to check it out

Cheers for your help!