Do I need a VISA?
 

I am flying to Beijing in 10 days on a mileage run. I have 2 scheduled hours in PEK before I get on a return flight. I do not plan to leave the airport. Is it advisable to get a VISA or is this not really necessary?

Simple answer is yes you need a visa. The airline likely won't permit you to fly without one as you cannot take advantage of TWOV.

It is not a case of being advisable, you definitely need a visa for China if you are flying directly to and from PEK to the US. They won't let you board your flight from the US to PEK if you dont have a visa for China. The only way you can void getting a visa is if you are flying from country A into China, and onto country B. They have a concept of transit-without-visa (TWOV).

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chin...er-thread.html

Whats' your route?
If you flight is something like LAX-PEK-LAX, then you need a visa.
If it's something like LAX-PEK-ICN-LAX, then you may qualified for TWOV, but I am not sure about that since you probably won't leave ICN either.

It's YYZ-DTW-PEK-DTW-YYZ so yes it sounds like I'm going to need a visa. Since I'm new to all this, do I just follow the standard procedure on the China Embassy website?

Pretty much.

There are services that do the whole process for you fairly quickly but charge a hefty fee. Ended up around $250 for me.

The problem is, the Chinese Embassy/Consulates don't accept mail-in applications. If you can't manage to hand the application in yourself or pester a friend to do it, then you have to pay an agency to do the legwork.

Good thing PRC has a consulate in Toronto, and also operates a visa processing office. Make yourself two passport photos, print out your travel itinerary, and do this right away. There is still time.

added: Just looked at your profile -- If you are a U.S. passport holder living in Michigan, then your assigned consulate for visa processing is in Chicago. Either get there pronto for a day or two, or find a local China visa agent. You don't have much time.

You can also book a fully refundable PEK-SIN ticket (or any other 3rd location ticket outside China and not being DTW) and use that to get on the flight (using the TWOV). Use the ticket to get on the flight to PEK, clear customs, change your mind, etc.

:td: This is an absolutely irresponsible advise. Have you done this yourself? OP can certainly receive TWOV with the PEK-SIN ticket, but how do you suppose OP would be able to check into the return PEK-DTW flight when their TWOV is designated for continuation to SIN? Are you suggesting that OP should toy with Chinese bureaucracy can like you can in liberal democracies? "I change my mind" is not going to sway one single official in the interrogation room. Be prepared to use that PEK-SIN ticket, and be prepared to buy a oneway SIN-YYZ ticket to get back home.

"A foreign citizen who is transiting through China by air is exempted from a visa if he/she will stay only inside the airport (without entering the boder control) for no more than 24 hours and has a valid connecting ticket with confirmed seating on an international flight."

Visa-free Entry into Mainland China

Introduction to Chinese Visa ? Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America (here is the same info on the USA Chinese Embassy website with a list of countries)

So for the OP assuming he can get a boarding pass from a transit desk, mobile boarding pass or get one at the point of origin then no visa is required. Those details are from the Chineses embassy in Australia but I'd guess for most it would be the same. I'd suggest just double checking prior to travel (with your countries Chinese embassy) and having printed copies of the details stating no visa and also your airline tickets.

Henrus, that is not true. You have to be transiting China and that means you are en route to a third country. The OP is returning to the country from where s/he came. That is not transit for these purposes. A visa will be required.

Plus, there are special rules that carve out exceptions to the general TWOV rule, like the special rules for Guangzhou and Urumqi and the limits on Americans transiting at some airports and the ban on TWOV at Shenzhen and a few other places.

Ridiculous. He will not even be allowed to board the first flight.

I do live in Michigan with an American passport so I will start searching for visa agent today. Thanks everyone for the advice!

Yeah, China is one place where you don't wanna muck around with their rules. Just get that visa ASAP.

I found a local place that can do 3-4 day expedite. The one thing they say in their application instructions is for tourism you must supply your round trip air tickets and hotel reservation. My stop is only for 2 hours and thus I won't have a hotel reservation... hoping this won't be an isse.

Just search online for any Beijing hotel and copy down the address. The address info is just formality to have your visa processed, but you absolutely need to provide it in the application or it will be returned.

You will be asked again for your intended stay address on the landing card during your flight. On that one, you can omit.

Excellent, you guys are a lifesaver for this rookie.

Particularly if they have a look at your documentation. The first question after "I change my mind" explanation will be "So why do you have a return ticket issued weeks/months before you booked your oneway to Singapore?"

Don't play around with immigration officers. The best case scenario is being thrown out. Worst case scenarios include a) arrested ,b) paying fines, c) sitting off jail sentences, d) having issues in the future when travelling to other nations (chiefly those asking you in the VOA/visa application "Have you ever been deported?"/"Have you ever been found guilty in a criminal case", etc), and e) deportation. Assuming that they let you on the plane in the first place...

[MENTION=857303]mtu_flyer[/MENTION]: Good luck in getting that visa and enjoy your 2hrs in China :D

Technically you can buy a refundable PEK-SIN ticket and take advantage of TWOV, but it is risky and illegal. The Chinese police won't arrest you for doing that, but you may face trouble when applying Chinese visa in the future.

As a Chinese citizen I once traveled to Taiwan without the special permit, the immigration officers were really mad on that.

I'm not taking any chances here... I'll pay the money for the expedited visa and chalk it up to a learning lesson.

Since the visa cost will be the same, do ask for what you--as a US passport holder--are entitled to by treaty, which is a 10 year, multiple entry tourist visa good for 60 days each stay. On the application form section 2.2 for "intended number of entries" check the "Other" box and type in "Multiple entry valid for 10 years" and section 2.5 "Longest intended stay" put "60." Most reputable agents will try to get this for their clients anyway, but it helps to fill out the form in parallel. As long as your current passport has at least 12 months of validity, you should get this visa and it will carry over into renewal passports. Consider it an investment, in case you want to do future visit or transits or mileage runs to China, you're covered for the next 10 years.

Make sure the agent knows that you want a tourist L visa, even though the purpose of your first visit is Transit.

It is my 2 cents. PLEASE TAKE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISKS.

In my opinion, while OP should get a visa, the visa itself will not be used. The purpose of the visa is simply to satisfy the airline (DL in this case).

Of course he'll enter using the visa.

And he certainly should. If he misses the connecting flight for some reason -- illness, traffic problem, etc. -- he won't have to worry about dealing with immigration because of overstaying his TWOV period.

As others have said, you cannot do this.

You will almost certainly get caught at some stage, and there have been data points of passengers getting physically taken off flights - even after they have boarded - when they have tried this. You then get questioned and possibly fined.

You may not be 'arrested' but you will be detained.

Visa scheduled to arrive a day before my flight... cutting it close so keeping my fingers crossed it arrives on time and they don't reject it.

All completed visa applications are accepted. I never heard any rejection from my friends. Good luck.

Yeah, good learning lesson is China is not a great place to incorporate into mileage runs because of the complex visa issues. Can it be done? Of course. But it comes at high potential cost and some risks.

As is often posted elsewhere "friends don't let friends connect through China"