China - Flying into Shenzhen, Going to HK

I haven't been able to find a recent thread about this issue. If I fly to Shenzhen, do I need a Chinese visa if I am going straight from the Shenzhen airport to the HK ferry? I suspect I do, but I'm hopeful there is an exception if you are not leaving transit centers.

Yes, if you are entering SZ, then you need a Chinese visa. My question is why this routing?

It is potentially far cheaper to fly to Shenzhen than HK at times. So this way, I could fly LA-Shenzhen and then just head to HK, saving some money in the process.

And I'm aware that you need a visa to go into SZ from HK, but I couldn't recall if you need to go through immigration at the SZ airport when transferring to the HK ferry.

First, there is no longer ferry service between SZX and Hong Kong. Just take direct coaches. And even when there were ferries, you still need a visa to go through Chinese immigration before taking the shuttle bus to the pier and then go through immigration aging in to exit China. No "airside" transfer and no visa-free transit.

First, there is no longer ferry service between SZX and Hong Kong. Just take direct coaches. And even when there were ferries, you still need a visa to go through Chinese immigration before taking the shuttle bus to the pier and then go through immigration aging in to exit China. No "airside" transfer and no visa-free transit.

I'm pretty sure TWOV would apply in this case; the OP would get a diamond shaped stamp at PVG, PEK, CAN, or even SZX itself if he ends up on one of the few international flights into SZX. But, he might need to book an onward airline ticket (e.g. PVG-MNL) in order to trick the system. But, frankly, I'd be surprised if e.g. LAX-PEK-SZX is cheaper then one of the dozens of LAX-HKG options (e.g. try the bucket shops in Korea Town). And, if the fare difference was less than $200, I'd go with the HKG option in a heartbeat.

Thank you all for the input. :)

Yes, transit-free visa applies if one has an onward international flight booked.

Yes, transit-free visa applies if one has an onward international flight booked.

Yes, and there's nothing stopping him from doing this:

1) buy refundable airplane ticket to destination X
2) cancel ticket
3) exit China via bus at Shekou

Since almost nobody does this, there is snag potential, but I believe he would be compliant with TWOV.

Yes, and there's nothing stopping him from doing this:

1) buy refundable airplane ticket to destination X
2) cancel ticket
3) exit China via bus at Shekou

Since almost nobody does this, there is snag potential, but I believe he would be compliant with TWOV.

Personally, I definitely won't chance this. TWOV is for onward international flights, not by surface transport out of China.

This is what's said on the Chinese Embassy in Washington website:

A foreign citizen who is transiting through China by air is exempted from a visa if he/she will stay only in the airport for no more than 24 hours and has a valid connecting ticket with confirmed seating on an international flight.

There won't be problem entering China. Leaving would be THE issue.

Add the hassle of going from HK back to SZX to catch a flight?

If you're not flying in and flying out, TWOV does not apply. Absolute and definite. Land and sea borders are not included. Even if you manage to do the book-and-cancel onward tickets strategy, then get the transit stamp in your passport on arrival at Shenzhen, you'll be caught out when you try to exit China at Shekou, LoWu, or wherever. You cannot get around passing a Chinese Exit Immigration desk. I would not want to hazard a guess as to what would happen at that point, but I strongly doubt they would give you a free pass through. Likely they'd send you back to the airport to fly out within 24 hours, or take the hardline and smack you with a big fine.

Do not do this. Either get a visa if you want to fly to Shenzhen and use a surface crossing to HK, or fly directly to HK and skip Shenzhen entirely.

I also do not believe that flying LAX-(XXX)-SZX is cheaper than LAX-HKG. Try harder on the latter, using different sources.

I also do not believe that flying LAX-(XXX)-SZX is cheaper than LAX-HKG. Try harder on the latter, using different sources.

The price just depends on your mode of booking. It is possible save a lot of money flying to SZX instead of HKG. But, it is clear that it's not worth the hassle! Thanks everyone.

And JieJie, your China input is always valuable and worthwhile. Thanks again.

Not that I am suggesting the OP should do this, but there is, as far as I recall, also a helicopter service from Shenzhen airport to Macao .... That I guess should count for TWOV if for whatever reason all the alternatives are unworkable.

The price just depends on your mode of booking. It is possible save a lot of money flying to SZX instead of HKG. But, it is clear that it's not worth the hassle! Thanks everyone.

And JieJie, your China input is always valuable and worthwhile. Thanks again.

When you have a chance, please provide some examples of cases in which LAX-SZX is cheaper than LAX-HKG.

Not that I am suggesting the OP should do this, but there is, as far as I recall, also a helicopter service from Shenzhen airport to Macao .... That I guess should count for TWOV if for whatever reason all the alternatives are unworkable.

Sounds like it should. The fares are even more eye-popping than from Sheung Wan.

Sounds like it should. The fares are even more eye-popping than from Sheung Wan.

I believe the helicopter service will meet TWOV regulations, for any of you Big Spenders out there that wish to hit the gaming tables as quickly as possible! Best to double-check in advance with the heliport though.

About 350usd one way in chopper.

http://www.macau-airport.com/en/v01/07_helicopter.php


A china visa is less than half the cost. Best to go with helicopter
so you don't waste any time getting to the baccarat tables.

:p

About 350usd one way in chopper.

http://www.macau-airport.com/en/v01/07_helicopter.php


A china visa is less than half the cost. Best to go with helicopter
so you don't waste any time getting to the baccarat tables.

:p

It's a lot more than $350. From Sheung Wan is HK$3700, SZX HK$4800. Over US$600.

About 350usd one way in chopper.

....


Better make that 350USD plus another 350USD for every 25kg of luggage .... (just noticed that on the website).

I almost regret mentioning this option now - but wanted to throw it out there in case any compulsive gamblers planning trips to Macau via SZX stumbled across these web-pages.

Of course in that case they might also wish to gamble on the transit stamp/refundable onward flight + land border exit option (though then the idea that the "house always wins" would certainly apply...).

It's a lot more than $350. From Sheung Wan is HK$3700, SZX HK$4800. Over US$600.

Probably correct on those numbers.
I would imagine most passengers shenzhen to macau are comp, as the
mainland whales dump the most money.

Probably correct on those numbers.
I would imagine most passengers shenzhen to macau are comp, as the
mainland whales dump the most money.

I used to have a Korean friend in SH who worked for one of the casinos in Jeju (very hush-hush job) recruiting Chinese gamblers, and she told me that Chinese customers were so much more profitable than their Japanese counterparts that she was authorized to comp everything under the sun for anyone who earned more than y10k per month (people in this income bracket can't really be described as whales).

Hmmm... I'm assuming such a job is illegal in the mainland?

Hmmm... I'm assuming such a job is illegal in the mainland?

Your assumption is correct.

Promotion of gambling and pornography ( obscenity)
violates Chinese law.

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; CPU OS 5_1_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B206 Safari/7534.48.3)

Well technically you just promote people to go there (which is a casino resort) and no word of gambling is included.....