Intl to Intl transit at PVG - visa required?
 

Do you need a visa for intl to intl transits? Do you have to go through immigration? Is a 1.5 hr connection enough time?

When my parents flew from Europe to Seoul via PVG, they had to exit to landside and do the whole sequence ( health form, check-in, security and passport control ) to get to their MU gate. Dad as an old China hand had fixed multiple entry visas for both and as far as I understood this did at least make things a lot easier.

They were travelling with hand luggage only and according to what mom told me might not have made the cut otherwise. Of course the MU flight was an hour late after all, but that's a different story...

-shanghai offers visa free transit now and is likely to continue doing so; the fact that mu, its largest tenant has been increasing active in the europe-oz market, has helped. that said, at various times over the past 7-8 years, the shanghai transit visa program has been suspended without explanation. so, it's worth checking (the uk mu site is a good source) the current scene before you go.

-you have to clear immigration

-1.5 hours seems a little tight to me, but i would probably go for it... if the inbound flight: 1) had a reliable performance record; and 2) was not a peak hour arrival. keep in mind that check-in for your next flight could close as early as 60 mins out so that really only gives you 30 mins to run through the maze (but, then again, lots of airlines use a 45 minute cutoff).

Thanks for all the answers.

Is the immigration in a specific transit area or do you go through arrivals/departures? What if you already had your onward boarding pass?

the latter. it makes no difference whether you have onward boarding passes