International Transfer at PEK / Beijing
 

Hi fellow FT's

Hope someone is able to help me or tell me that I have nothing to worry about.

I have been traveling between Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo for the past 2 weeks and now this weekend will be on my way back to London.

Here is my itinerary

22.11.15 JL21 HND - PEK (Terminal 3) arriving 12:20

22.11.15 KA993 PEK (Terminal 3) - HKG leaving 18:30 (and then onto a BA flight to London)

On its surface I have plenty of time to transfer. The issue is that my Chinese visa just expried, so won't be able to leave the airside to pick up my luggage from JL21 flight. How should I manage it? The suitcase is not large, but over the legal size for me to take as carry-on.

Please note that JL flight was booked separately, so I won't able to check-in from HND to LHR.

Any suggestions will be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
tenn_ace

There are options to get a 72 hour transit visa for China. If you are continuing to a third country. If Hong Kong does count as a third country I do not know, but is the next stop that counts. Not the final destination UK that counts.

You have the option of Transiting With Out Visa (TWOV) to claim your bag and get it transfer as long as you are flying to a different country from the one you are arriving from. It is not getting a transit visa.
HND PEK and then PEK HKG qualifies. Hong Kong is no longer part of Japan since 1945.

Hong Kong counts as a third country like Maccao.

The connection is less than 24 hours, so he would get 24 hour visa free transit.

You're OK, you have nothing to worry about. This falls under the 24-hour TWOV (transit WITHOUT visa) regulations. As said above, HK counts as a third country, so the part of your journey that is relevant to China and their regulations, is compliant.

When you check in at HND, get there a bit early and let them know you will be using TWOV privileges at PEK. Japanese staff don't necessarily see a lot of visitors using this status (most passengers on this route are Japanese or Chinese who don't need visas, or foreigners who have them). You may get your situation bumped to a supervisor but tell them to check their TIMATIC database and it will be in there. Make sure to tell them to mark TWOV status on the passenger manifest which gets conveyed to the Chinese on the inbound, sometimes in Japan this falls through the cracks.

I would also show JL the onward flight sequence on the other ticket on KA (PEK-HKG-LHR). While HND staff are not required to interline across separate tickets, since you have a PEK layover well beyond the minimum connection time, they just might do it. This would save you some annoyance at PEK, not having to deal with bag claim. PEK policy is to autoroute international transit passenger bags to the next flight, as long as they are tagged through.

If they refuse to do so and you have to pick up your checked bag at PEK then recheck, not a big deal, you have plenty of time. Use one of the Foreigner desks at Immigration, tell them you are using TWOV, and show your boarding pass from the incoming flight and printout of your onward itinerary to HKG (with your name and ticket number on it), then get stamped in so you can head for the Bag Claim and nonsecure side of terminal. You'll then recheck and get your onward boarding pass (if you weren't able to get this online in advance). While you're on the nonsecure side, get something to eat since the choices are better than once you're back on the intl airside. If your incoming plane is on time, you actually have enough time to go into town via the light rail express, to get some eats. Leaving the airport on TWOV status is completely acceptable, and particularly if you don't have lounge access at PEK, is even advisable.

I was thinking they might consider Hong Kong an exception as it is sort of still China :)

Please cease this line of thinking when it comes to TWOV, as it is incorrect. Macau and Taiwan are in the same category as HK when it comes to China and TWOV regulations--treat as separate country, international flight.

I posted this in the master twov posting so you should be fine

Just for anybody who smokes and transiting beijing, the smoking rooms are now closed permanently. Was granted 24 hour twov to go outside the terminal to smoke, immigration officer was fluent in english and said they grant it with more than four hours between flights. Unfortunately it was 28 and snowing outside, but had enough time to go into beijing and get something to eat in Wangfujing Snack Street as i had an 8 hr conex.