BinSabai

China has a 72 hours "transit without visa" rule for some major cities (TWOV)

Has anybody of the fellow board members arrived on TG into China and used TWOV?
Did you inform TG in advance? Do you need apply somewhere for this TWOV? any problems or traps?
obviously I would have to use another airline for departure as you can not fly back to same country and use TWOV

TPJ

I did SYD-BKK-PEK (stopover)-LAX with TG/CA last year (my last US Airways redemption). No issues - I had a TIMATIC printout but Menzies check-in agent in SYD knew about the rules, so i didn't even had to show it to her.

BinSabai

thanks!
so BKK PEK was on TG?
you just checked in as usual and in Beijing walked through normal immigration?
I guess whole itinerary on one ticket?

THD

I have done Transit Without Visa at both Shanghai and Beijing. A printout stating the rules in case you get an inexperienced checkin agent is a good idea, although probably will not be needed.

Upon arrival at PEK or PVG, the process generally goes smoothly, even if it does take time. It is China afterall.

Travel does not have to be on one ticket, but it will save a lot of hassle if it is on one ticket. I have even done three such transits on separate tickets, latest a few years ago. Basically all such transits are placed on a list and my name obviously did not appear on the list as it was booked on separate tickets. The border control officers need to call the departing airline to add my name to the list or a senior supervisor needs to approve entry. This can take time, hours even. This may have changed as I have not tried recently.

MSPeconomist

There's lots of good up to date information on TWOV in the China destination forum. OP should read about procedures there to get answers to these questions.

BinSabai

I have read start page and last couple of pages but I did not go through the 60+ pages of the monster thread
my question was specific about experience with TG flights into China and TWOV

MSPeconomist

Perhaps, but the questions you're asking suggest that you're not familiar with the general rules and procedures that are applicable independent of the airline you're using. Good luck.

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

The wiki in the TWOV thread is up to date, however I have added a line to clarify the issues you have raised here.

BinSabai

It seems also TG is not so familiar with this; even the usual very good, fast and helpful Platinum desk had to investigate and came back after a while with the answer of the check in supervisor that TG will let me on board and no special application is required

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

TG as a whole may not be familiar with TWOV in China. This includes reservation staff, customer service staff, frequent flyer call centre staff. The same applies not only to TG, but most other airlines around the world.

However, check-in staff are aware of it: they are the front line and handle passengers on TWOV daily, not just to China, but to dozens of countries. This was proved by the platinum line calling check-in. They know how to use TIMATIC to find the right information (ie that China is a transit, not the destination).

BinSabai

that's a good point! unfortunately you can't write a e-mail to or call check in

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

TIMATIC is the key, and passengers can access TIMATIC through a number of sources to confirm their visa (or visa free) eligibility.

TIMATIC is the same for all airlines, and here is one access point provided by KLM that you can use yourself: https://www.klm.com/travel/au_en/pre...c/visaform.htm

BinSabai

just to report back about my first experience with TG and TWOV for 72 hours in China:
Checked in at BKK with destination PEK. Staff at check in searched for Visa in my passport and I said TWOV. She was well aware about the conditions; she said she could not find my outbound flight from PEK; I showed her and she keyed it into her system. As I fully used the 72 hours and flew out the 3. day after arrival she started to doubt whether I would not stay too long and started to count with her fingers. Simple math did not seem to be her strength and after 5 minutes she gave up and relied fully on my math skills.
In PEK there was a very long queue for the TWOV lane with just one booth and two staff handling passengers at the same time. The arrival form you need to fill out as usual but you can leave the departure form empty as it is not used. Keep electronic ticket for outbound flight ready, which is carefully checked. hotel reservation not necessary. The officer used also his fingers to check the conformity of my 72 hours "transit" but he trusted only his own math skills...

brunos

When you say that there was a very long queue at PEK, how long did it take you?

BinSabai

50 minutes