Transition through China

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Clermont
Posted
Posted
A few months back a question was asked, do I need a visa to transit through China ? A few post suggested no, but this sort of conferms you don't. All though there is no dated information I believe it still stands.
 
Do I need a visa to get a connecting flight in China?
Foreigners who have confirmed onward tickets and seats on international flights and directly transit through China and stay for no more than 24 hours within the airport boundaries do not need to apply for a transit visa.
 
I did not put the link in because my computer said it was prone to security risks.
 
Here is another with the latest on travel in 2018 

Smartraveller.gov.au - China

smartraveller.gov.au/Countries/asia/north/pages/china.aspx
 
This link is safe.
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Jollygoodfellow
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Posted

Generally in most countries if you dont leave the airport you wont need one but there are exceptions and it might depend where you are comming from , thats my understanding.

Quote

Transit arrangements
Arrangements exist for Australian passport holders to transit designated international airports or ports in mainland China without a visa. Strict conditions apply, including the need to remain within a specified area and to provide evidence of onward travel to a third destination within the time limit applying to your arrival location. The designated airports/ports and requirements are subject to change. Transit periods vary by location. Check with the nearest Embassy or Consulate of China for the latest information. If you're transiting an airport in China for less than 24 hours and don't leave the airport, you won't need a visa.

 

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Jollygoodfellow
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11 hours ago, Clermont said:

I did not put the link in because my computer said it was prone to security risks.

Porn sites are known for that :whistling:

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intrepid
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Posted (edited)

I am going to start by saying I will try hard to never book a flight through China again.  I would like to visit China some day but due to our recent experience, I would advise everyone to try their hardest not to book a flight through China.
We left Manila on April 10th on China Eastern.  First stop was in Shanghai.  We had a 2 hour 40 minute layover.  Before arriving at the airport we were advised we would need to collect our luggage and then check in with our connecting flight which was United. Even though our luggage had been booked through already to final destination, we were told we needed to collect it.  This should not be a problem.  Now this is where the problem began.  Arriving at the airport you first need to go through immigration.  There are no restrooms before Immigration.  The lines were not too long, maybe 25-30 per line.  We were in queue just under 3 hours!  All the staff anywhere around was either rude or unhelpful.  They averaged almost 10 minutes a person through immigration.  In our line was 12 other filipinos who were also connecting to the same flight as ours and of course we all missed our connecting flight.  Next there are longer walks than most other airports I have been through.  Then were no less than 4 security check points after clearing immigration and transversing the airport.  After confirming we missed our connecting flight we had to go rebook at the United counter.  They found us seats on another flight within 3 more hours but demanded we pay a change fee of $161. Per person.  Thats $485 for my party of three.  Talking with the United supervisor behind the counter was fruitless and a waste of time.  He claimed it was not their fault and I should take it up with immigration for the delay.  He actually laughed at us several times.  He was a Chinese national named Thomas.  So not wanting to miss the next flight and spend any more time I paid.  It has now been more than five hours and have yet to use a restroom or even set down to rest!  I asked Thomas if he could at least give us a drink of water and received another laugh.  Two more security checkpoints and then again through immigration to exit.  Still another security check before arriving at our gate.  Now by this point I was so angry I was glad I did not have a gun.  By the time we got to our gate we had less than 30 minutes before boarding.  As we were finally resting and thinking this was almost over, I remembered our return flight will bring us back here again.   Well, on our return, we had a 5 hour 15 minute layover.  The experience was just about as bad.  Although we made our connecting flight, we arrived at our boarding gate with just under an hour to spare.  Please don’t ever ask me to make a connecting flight in China again.
PS: I guess you would think I would have learned from a similar experience six years ago in Beijing.  But I thought that was just a fluke.  Wrong!

EDIT:  After requesting a refund through United for the change fee in Shanghai, I did receive a full refund but not without a lot of forms and explaining.

Edited by intrepid
additional info
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Jollygoodfellow
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Posted
5 hours ago, intrepid said:

Please don’t ever ask me to make a connecting flight in China again.

OK we wont ask.

I always connect through North Korea but the downside is a bit of a delay but they always let me enter the country and visit the nuclear weapons sites and take lots of tourist type pictures.  :crack-up:

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TimL
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Posted

I always fry JFK to Shanghai and besides the fact that there seem to be no actual gate ramps for China Eastern, you have to be bussed to the terminal. I generally get through customs pretty quickly. Having to go through their security is always a pain in behind. Takes forever and they want to try and make things as miserable as possible it seems. 

Just the nature of the beast I guess. I always seem to have a major layover 8-10 hours there so I’m generally not in a big rush.

i could see it being an issue for those that have a short connecting flight.

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Clermont
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Why I posted that link, we are looking at flight from Oz to PI's through China at Chrissy and the price of the flight through PI airlines and Qantas are about $400+ per head dearer. :shock_40_anim_gif:

8 hours ago, intrepid said:

There are no restrooms before Immigration. 

Thanks Interprid for the heads up on their procedures, by the way did you notice any Gum trees so a bloke could duck behind to have a pee at the airport. :hystery: Also thanks for forewarning me about the delays, I was looking at short delays, but I might have to loosen the purse strings and use another airline going through another country. :thumbsup:

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intrepid
Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Clermont said:

Why I posted that link, we are looking at flight from Oz to PI's through China at Chrissy and the price of the flight through PI airlines and Qantas are about $400+ per head dearer. :shock_40_anim_gif:

Thanks Interprid for the heads up on their procedures, by the way did you notice any Gum trees so a bloke could duck behind to have a pee at the airport. :hystery: Also thanks for forewarning me about the delays, I was looking at short delays, but I might have to loosen the purse strings and use another airline going through another country. :thumbsup:

Gum trees no.  However, the walls were starting to look inviting.:whistling:  The low cost is also what drew me to that flight.  Looking back, my wife and I decided the cost savings were no way worth the hassle.  Please do yourself a favor and look around for other options.:tiphat:

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Gary D
Posted
Posted

The problem is not China it's because you changed airlines. So you are checking in, checking out and checking back in again. Regarding transit visas the worst one is the USA, you need a visa just to enter their airspace. Filipinos have been caught out using a flight that transits in the USA and are refused boarding because they don't have a visa and can't get one, even if they are not visiting the USA. Even as a Brit with a visa waiver  I need an ESTA just to transit Miami on the way to Lima Peru. ESTA is not supposed to be a visa but I still have to pay for it and can't enter the US without it.

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earthdome
Posted
Posted
On 5/25/2018 at 8:22 AM, intrepid said:

I am going to start by saying I will try hard to never book a flight through China again.  I would like to visit China some day but due to our recent experience, I would advise everyone to try their hardest not to book a flight through China.
We left Manila on April 10th on China Eastern.  First stop was in Shanghai.  We had a 2 hour 40 minute layover.  Before arriving at the airport we were advised we would need to collect our luggage and then check in with our connecting flight which was United. Even though our luggage had been booked through already to final destination, we were told we needed to collect it.  This should not be a problem.  Now this is where the problem began.  Arriving at the airport you first need to go through immigration.  There are no restrooms before Immigration.  The lines were not too long, maybe 25-30 per line.  We were in queue just under 3 hours!  All the staff anywhere around was either rude or unhelpful.  They averaged almost 10 minutes a person through immigration.  In our line was 12 other filipinos who were also connecting to the same flight as ours and of course we all missed our connecting flight.  Next there are longer walks than most other airports I have been through.  Then were no less than 4 security check points after clearing immigration and transversing the airport.  After confirming we missed our connecting flight we had to go rebook at the United counter.  They found us seats on another flight within 3 more hours but demanded we pay a change fee of $161. Per person.  Thats $485 for my party of three.  Talking with the United supervisor behind the counter was fruitless and a waste of time.  He claimed it was not their fault and I should take it up with immigration for the delay.  He actually laughed at us several times.  He was a Chinese national named Thomas.  So not wanting to miss the next flight and spend any more time I paid.  It has now been more than five hours and have yet to use a restroom or even set down to rest!  I asked Thomas if he could at least give us a drink of water and received another laugh.  Two more security checkpoints and then again through immigration to exit.  Still another security check before arriving at our gate.  Now by this point I was so angry I was glad I did not have a gun.  By the time we got to our gate we had less than 30 minutes before boarding.  As we were finally resting and thinking this was almost over, I remembered our return flight will bring us back here again.   Well, on our return, we had a 5 hour 15 minute layover.  The experience was just about as bad.  Although we made our connecting flight, we arrived at our boarding gate with just under an hour to spare.  Please don’t ever ask me to make a connecting flight in China again.
PS: I guess you would think I would have learned from a similar experience six years ago in Beijing.  But I thought that was just a fluke.  Wrong!

EDIT:  After requesting a refund through United for the change fee in Shanghai, I did receive a full refund but not without a lot of forms and explaining.

I had to do this once, I only had 2 hours between flights. Made it but it is a bit nerve racking having to go through all that just to change planes. I also vowed I would never transit through china again.

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