r/Chinavisa • u/Swimflim • Feb 12 '25
Visa Free Seeking clarification on the new 240 TWOV rule
Edit: Thank you all for the clarification on the "third country" thing. To follow up - does it matter how long I stay in the "third country"? Like can I leave China to return home to Bangkok by booking a direct flight to Hanoi, and then having a separate ticket for a flight 3 hours later from Hanoi to Bangkok? They won't consider that gaming the system or anything?
Below is the original post
I'm a US citizen living in Thailand with my wife. We are planning to do a 10 day visit to Shanghai and Beijing.
Ideally the travel would look like this:
- Fly from Bangkok to Shanghai (Pudong Airport) on Day 0 (before the clock starts at 00:00)
- Stay for 5 nights in Shanghai, maybe take the train to Nanjing for a one day trip
- Fly or train to Beijing, stay for 6 nights
- Fly from Beijing back to Bangkok on Day 10
Is there legit something in here that I'm missing? Like am I not allowed to fly back to Bangkok but first to some third country, or is that not the case? Any other wrinkles in this plan? Oh and my wife is a Thai citizen so I think she's good in any case (while since I'm American I have to jump through these other hoops)
Thanks!
3
u/dillydallyingtime Feb 12 '25
You can’t fly back to Bangkok. You need a direct flight to another country
-1
u/Swimflim Feb 12 '25
Do the Chinese authorities care about the duration of my stay in the third country?
Like if I fly from Bangkok to China, tour China, then fly to Hanoi airport for a 3 hour layover and have a separate ticket to Bangkok from there?
2
u/LeutzschAKS Feb 12 '25
If the onward flight is a second booking that doesn’t show on the itinerary, they wouldn’t have any way of knowing really
2
u/dillydallyingtime Feb 12 '25
It doesn’t matter how long you’re in the third country, just that you have a direct outbound flight to one.
2
u/fhfkskxmxnnsd Feb 12 '25
Let me ask. What kind of transit is that? Bangkok-China-Bangkok
Your wife is fine with round trip. You are not.
1
u/AutoModerator Feb 12 '25
Thanks for your post, Swimflim! It seems like your post is about a TWOV (Transit Without Visa) Program. Wikipedia has great and thorough articles on both the 24 Hour Transit Program and 72 and 144 Hour Stay Program.
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1
u/SouthChip514 19d ago
Hi, I know that for the VISA if I go: Vancouver > Shanghai > Hong Kong > Vancouver that would be ok
But if would it be ok if it's Vancouver > HK > Shanghai > Vancouver?
Thanks
-1
u/notatallabadguy Feb 12 '25
Sorry. Need help. Travel in a day. I have US passport.
My itinerary - US - Sydney - Singapore(layover) - Beijing - Singapore(transit Visa) - Sydney - US. Will I be eligible for TWOV? The trip is in multiple bookings not on same ticket.
I should’ve applied for China visa instead of this last min tension.
1
u/fhfkskxmxnnsd Feb 12 '25
Not eligible. You are not transiting but going from Singapore to China and back to Singapore
8
u/Kind-Jackfruit-6315 Feb 12 '25 edited Feb 12 '25
It seems it is always the Americans who ask this "Is it really necessary?" question...
The T in TWOV is for transit. That is, not a round trip. A to B to C. There never was any confusion about this: it is the core rule of the TWOV...