4sallypat

So looking at taking the family to Japan next month, via Xiamen Airlines, there is a Chinese Transit Visa Exemption of up to 72 hours which we fall under.

I see Xiamen as one Chinese exempt transit point but we are also stopping over at Qingdao (TAO).
I do NOT see Qingdao as one of the transit points on the list.
What do I do ?
Who do I contact ?
Chinese embassy in the US ?


Xiamen airlines has this posted on transit exemption. Nothing about Qingdao (TAO).....

coolfish1103

Transit visa exemption arrangements for mainland China

2. 72-hour Visa-Free Transit

Passport holders of the following 51 countries and regions can be granted a visa-free stay up to 72 hours while transiting via Beijing Capital Airport, Shanghai Pudong Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, and airports of Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenyang, Dalian, Harbin, Xian, Guilin, Kunming, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Tianjin, Qingdao, Nanjing, Changsha, and Xiamen:

24 Schengen Agreement Countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

13 Other European Countries: Russia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia (FYROM), Albania

6 American Countries: the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile

2 Oceania Countries: Australia, New Zealand

6 Asian Countries: Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Qatar

lolstebbo

You're better off consulting the TWOV thread: China 24, 72, and 144 hour Transit Without Visa ("TWOV") rules master thread

But if you're route takes you through multiple consecutive airports in China (i.e. ??? --> XMN --> TAO --> ###), then your itinerary requires you to have a Chinese visa.

4sallypat

Thank you for the link.

Will do some more checking around....

Guyin

lolstebbo is right.

If your route takes you through multiple consecutive airports in China, then your itinerary requires you to have a Chinese visa.

They have a really good deal RT price from LAX to SIN but I ended up with China Eastern since I can have a 144-hour TMOV in PVG.

gringohappy

Hi, taking Xiamen Airlines from LAX to Taipei, with layovers in Qingdao and Xiamen....

Did you finally get a visa (assuming tourist visa "G)... Also, did you take advantage of Xiamen's "transit privileges" (free tour, free hotel)?? Thanks!

moondog

G visas are transit visas, and aren't especially common these days.

gringohappy

thanks a lot moondog!

Do I need to apply for an L visa since I'm stopping over in 2 cities (Qingdao & Xiamen)?

As an American, is an L visa ($140 fee) valid for 10 years??

moondog

Yes. With the two stops, you need a visa if your total time in China is greater than 24 hours.

exwannabe

Is TAO really a stop, or simply a tech stop?

I have just booked a flight LAX->(TAO)->ZMN->BKK that clearly states TAO is simply a tech stop. As such, I would certainly not expect to get off the plane.

Might get a visa anyway, as I spend enough time in that neck of the woods. But still curious about this as I recalled another thread a while back about this not actually being a tech stop.

m.y

There is no such thing as a tech stop for Chinese airline international flights with domestic stops, everyone on the plane go through immigration at the first Chinese city.

plunet

I agree, based upon an EU - two stop itenary in China flight.

Usually everyone will get off the plane at your first stop in China. You will clear immigration and customs for hand luggage only. You get back on the plane as a domestic passenger and fly the internal sector. You will likely have additional passengers joining the flight as an internal sector.

At the second stop you get off, and although you are now domestic having already cleared immigration at your first stop, you will probably have to go a different route for your luggage as it will be treated as an international arrival and it needs to clear customs.

Customs is typically a process of loading and unloading your luggage into/from an xray scanner whilst customs officials pretend to watch the screen of their computers rather than a Chinese Soap opera on their mobile phone.

Hope that helps.

4sallypat

Yes this is exactly what happened on my flight: LAX-TAO-XMN-ICN and reverse on our return leg.

We had a half full flight from LAX to TAO where we had our first stop called a technical stop. The customs/immigration was hellish at TAO. After 2 hours, we got back onboard, same seats but noticed the flight was packed full picking up passengers for XMN.
Upon arriving at XMN, we did not have to pick up our bags as it was checked thru to ICN with a 6 hour layover.
As the domestic lounges looked unappealing, luckily, we found a PP First class Lounge at gate 17 and got to recharge with a shower, nice nap and dine on house made noodle soup!

On our return leg ICN-XMN was a long layover (22 hours) and had to collect our luggage at XMN where we then found a luggage hold service for about $6 per bag for the day.
Then we went to the transit counter and picked up the hotel voucher and took a cab there.

Thanks to everyone on this forum that said to pick up cash before arriving to China because ATMs don't work with US cards. The cab only take mobile payments or cash so your US cards would not work...

The morning after, Chinese breakfast was a bit too strange for us and we ended up walking to the nearest Starbucks and McDonalds for breakfast.
Arriving back to XMN, we then used the tour bus tickets we had received on our way from LAX and took a nice tour around the island.

The only issue we had was that the transit from XMN-TAO was a tight one because of a flight delay.
I thought we may have overstayed the 24 hours transit time but the airline reps advised that since we got thru TAO customs/immigration early (on time) our wait in the secured area would be fine.

Overall, a very nice NON Visa experience. TWOV does work well and the airline reps were very supportive so I will fly with Xiamen Airlines again!

4sallypat

Yes, Xiamen Airlines offers a free bus tour or hotel stay.
We took both.

As long as the total time in both layovers don't exceed 24 hours, you do not need a visa!

Karlafariass

So, in the need do you need it a visa or do you ask on the airpot for the TWOV

Thanks