144 hour China transit visa?

Just so I'm not horribly misunderstanding anything (planning a trip for June 2020) - there are no forms we need to submit/apply for in advance (though there may be an online form if the QR machine is working correctly). We just need to ensure we have all our correct flight/hotel details lined up to provide? Our planned route is USA > Shanghai > Osaka > USA
 
Just so I'm not horribly misunderstanding anything (planning a trip for June 2020) - there are no forms we need to submit/apply for in advance (though there may be an online form if the QR machine is working correctly). We just need to ensure we have all our correct flight/hotel details lined up to provide? Our planned route is USA > Shanghai > Osaka > USA
Nothing to complete in advance, there is a form in the arrivals hall at the airport. Your route is fine, so as long as you are not in Shanghai for more than 144 hours you should be good to go.

We did the advance form and got the QR code, but the machine wasn't working when we arrived so we ended up completing the form in the terminal anyway!
 
Nothing to complete in advance, there is a form in the arrivals hall at the airport. Your route is fine, so as long as you are not in Shanghai for more than 144 hours you should be good to go.

We did the advance form and got the QR code, but the machine wasn't working when we arrived so we ended up completing the form in the terminal anyway!

Awesome, thanks! We just booked the hotel for the first leg of our trip (staying at Toy Story Hotel). It's 10 months away, but I can't wait to get everything in place!

I'm going to call this week and add my two friends to the hotel reservation, just to make sure we have everything lined up.
 


You can also email using the contact form on the website. Include your reservation details. It might be easier that way. Usually takes a couple days to get the reply though.
This is what I did too, they came back pretty quickly.
 
You can also email using the contact form on the website. Include your reservation details. It might be easier that way. Usually takes a couple days to get the reply though.

This is what I did too, they came back pretty quickly.

I emailed them last Monday via the contact form with our reservation details & confirmation number. It's been a week - I might try the other email listed above?

Also concerned because both my work email and my personal email are Google-based. So is it possible I may never receive emails from them?
 
I emailed them last Monday via the contact form with our reservation details & confirmation number. It's been a week - I might try the other email listed above?

Also concerned because both my work email and my personal email are Google-based. So is it possible I may never receive emails from them?
It may be worth a go if you haven't had any luck using the form. I think I had a response within a couple of days like the other poster. My reservation was about three months away though so maybe they organise it by check in date?

I'm not an expert on the way the Chinese internet works, but I think you are only blocked from accessing Google over there - I don't think they block Google emails.

Hope you hear back from them soon, I know how frustrating it is playing the waiting game.
 


Also concerned because both my work email and my personal email are Google-based. So is it possible I may never receive emails from them?

Absolutely possible. You have 2 options:
1. rely on internet from a foreign SIM card that will roam, thus directing traffic around the firewall.
2. use a VPN or some type of remote service. Your work may already have one but it is possible that the hotel may block this going out.

I recommend going with option 1 for your phone so that you'll at least have something to use when you're out and about. I also recommend learning how to do option 2 if you plan to work in the hotel.
 
Just tried emailing them via the contact form again - keep getting the 7 Dwarfs "We're working on it" error message. Probably best to do a Skype call at this point. I'll try that later in the week
 
Also concerned because both my work email and my personal email are Google-based. So is it possible I may never receive emails from them?

I put in my gmail address in the contact form and didn't have any trouble. I contacted multiple times for different questions. The only thing I would add is I only had success using the online form - when I had a follow up question and replied to their response, I didn't hear back.

All the responses came from "SHDR.yuding@disney.com". If you want to whitelist it in case the responses are going to junk.

This was over a year ago so things may have changed.
 
Yes, unless your flight from Shanghai to Tokyo is via Hong Kong.

What makes the via Hong Kong problematic?

We were looking at a route Manchester - Hong Kong where we'd spend a few days, then an internal flight to Shanghai.
After our nights in Shanghai we'd fly back to Manchester, however there isn't a direct flight, so was looking at changing in Hong Kong - does that not work for the transit visa?

Any advice much appreciated!
 
What makes the via Hong Kong problematic?

We were looking at a route Manchester - Hong Kong where we'd spend a few days, then an internal flight to Shanghai.
After our nights in Shanghai we'd fly back to Manchester, however there isn't a direct flight, so was looking at changing in Hong Kong - does that not work for the transit visa?

Any advice much appreciated!
I don't think that does work as the 144 hour TWOV requires that Shanghai to be a transit, i.e. you arrive from a different city to where you are departing on to. Even though you are going onwards to Manchester, I don't think that counts for TWOV as your departing flight from Shanghai would be back to Hong Kong. It would work if you arrived in Shanghai from another country.
 
What makes the via Hong Kong problematic?

We were looking at a route Manchester - Hong Kong where we'd spend a few days, then an internal flight to Shanghai.
After our nights in Shanghai we'd fly back to Manchester, however there isn't a direct flight, so was looking at changing in Hong Kong - does that not work for the transit visa?

Any advice much appreciated!

just as PP said, it will not work if you arrive via Hong Kong and then leave via it. It’s quite easy. Look at where the last plane you take to Shanghai leaves from. Then your flight from Shanghai cannot go to that city.

So, Manchester-Hong Kong-Shanghai means that on the way back you need to connect through a different place than Hong Kong.
 
I see now - thanks for explaining.
I think I can get a direct to London flight as an alternative, so no need to go back to Hong Kong...

yes, that should work. However, recently there were a lot of reports with people having issues with the 144 hour visas. So, maybe going the safe route of getting a real visa might be better.
 
yes, that should work. However, recently there were a lot of reports with people having issues with the 144 hour visas. So, maybe going the safe route of getting a real visa might be better.
What’s been the cause of the issues, do you know?
It’s not easy for us to get to our nearest visa centre, so I was hoping we wouldn’t need to do this...
 
What’s been the cause of the issues, do you know?
It’s not easy for us to get to our nearest visa centre, so I was hoping we wouldn’t need to do this...
When I was researching this last year I found a thread on TripAdvisor which was really helpful. The main reason then of people being denied the TWOV was they weren't eligible, they were too long or their travel arrangements didn't match. Have a good read of the official website to make sure you are eligible and maybe the TripAdvisor thread to see people's recent experiences.

I was particularly nervous as we were staying in two hotels during our visit, one at Disney and the other in the city, and there seemed to be no mention of this - there is only one space on the form to enter a hotel. When we arrived it wasn't a problem, they didn't look at our hotel reservation at all, but they were all over the flight paperwork. It all worked well and saved us the cost of the visa which as it is unlikely we will return to China anytime soon, was quite a saving.
 
So my current thinking is...
  • Heathrow to Hong Kong direct flight (probably with Virgin Atlantic)
  • 3 hotel nights at Disney, then 2-3 in the city
  • Ferry to Macau for one night hotel stay there
  • Macau to Shanghai flight (will be booked separately with a different airline)
  • 3-4 hotel nights in Shanghai Disney
  • Shanghai to Heathrow direct flight (probably with Virgin Atlantic)
Does that all sound fine for the transit visa?
 
So my current thinking is...
  • Heathrow to Hong Kong direct flight (probably with Virgin Atlantic)
  • 3 hotel nights at Disney, then 2-3 in the city
  • Ferry to Macau for one night hotel stay there
  • Macau to Shanghai flight (will be booked separately with a different airline)
  • 3-4 hotel nights in Shanghai Disney
  • Shanghai to Heathrow direct flight (probably with Virgin Atlantic)
Does that all sound fine for the transit visa?
Yes, for the purpose of the 144 hour TWOV your routing is Macau-Shanghai-London and that is allowed. Hope you enjoy your trip!
 

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