American visiting Shanghai

[disneylover102]

I’m figuring out how much a trip to every Disney park in the world would be but I’ve heard of people going to Shanghai and having issues getting through customs because of something wrong with their plane ticket. What do I need to do to make sure I don’t have issues there? Also can you get a 144 hour visitor pass to Shanghai twice? It’s really complicated but we would probably be doing a roundtrip LAX-PVG and doing other foreign Disney parks during that time (Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc) and so we’d be in Shanghai twice (arrival in Shanghai, going to various Disney parks and returning to Shanghai to return to the US) and from the first day there to the last day there would be more than 144 hours. Does that make sense? Also is there a problem having a flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai?

 

[bkmanhole]

If you're flying LAX - PVG - HKG or NRT - PVG - LAX. You should have no issues. Assuming you are in Shanghai less than 144 hours and have accommodations arranged beforehand. You should be able to get a transit visa both stops in Shanghai. You will just need to show tickets when you are leaving and to which country...

The only time 144 hour visa doesn't work is if you are returning to the same country you started in. Shanghai needs to be the middle stop between two different countries. So not LAX - PVG - LAX.

If your time in Shanghai (going through customs) exceeds 144 hours (they calculate this based on midnight after you arrive, so if you arrived at 6pm, you get an extra 6 hours...) you will need a tourist visa, where in that case, it doesn't matter your routing. So you'll need to factor the cost and time to apply for one.

If you are just on a layover in the airport on your way back to the US, you don't need to calculate time.

Lots more info on this site.
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/tour/visa/free-transit-144-hours.htm

 

[Lesley Wake]

I’m figuring out how much a trip to every Disney park in the world would be but I’ve heard of people going to Shanghai and having issues getting through customs because of something wrong with their plane ticket. What do I need to do to make sure I don’t have issues there? Also can you get a 144 hour visitor pass to Shanghai twice? It’s really complicated but we would probably be doing a roundtrip LAX-PVG and doing other foreign Disney parks during that time (Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc) and so we’d be in Shanghai twice (arrival in Shanghai, going to various Disney parks and returning to Shanghai to return to the US) and from the first day there to the last day there would be more than 144 hours. Does that make sense? Also is there a problem having a flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai?

I have also heard some issues arise if the flights aren't on the same booking. So if you did one booking LAX - PVG roundtrip, and then have other bookings to go PVG - HKG, HKG - NRT, NRT-PVG, you could get refused entry or boarding a flight (https://www.elliott.org/case-dismissed-2/chinas-72-hour-visa-free-transit/). If you are worried, I would consider getting the tourist visa (it's good for 10 years, or the length of your current passport), to eliminate any confusion. Or adjust travel so you don't return to Shanghai before going back to LA. For me, I'm flying LAX - PVG (with a 5-hr layover in Seoul), then PVG - HKG (layover in Taipei), HKG - NRT, NRT - LAX, all on one booking.

 

[Duck In Blue]

I have also heard some issues arise if the flights aren't on the same booking. So if you did one booking LAX - PVG roundtrip, and then have other bookings to go PVG - HKG, HKG - NRT, NRT-PVG, you could get refused entry or boarding a flight (https://www.elliott.org/case-dismissed-2/chinas-72-hour-visa-free-transit/). If you are worried, I would consider getting the tourist visa (it's good for 10 years, or the length of your current passport), to eliminate any confusion. Or adjust travel so you don't return to Shanghai before going back to LA. For me, I'm flying LAX - PVG (with a 5-hr layover in Seoul), then PVG - HKG (layover in Taipei), HKG - NRT, NRT - LAX, all on one booking.

Hmm, I'm not sure where this article is getting it's information from as I used the 144 hour Transit Without Visa on two different itineraries earlier this year without any issue and people in the comments on the article also state that this is possible. I arrived on a ticket issued by Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong and departed using a separate British Airways ticket to London.

I think a lot of this depends on what airline you are using and the city that you are boarding going to Shanghai i.e. how experienced the agents are with using the 144 hour TWOV. Cathay Dragon in Hong Kong didn't raise any concerns, when I checked in and said I was using the TWOV she asked to see my onward ticket from Shanghai. I gave her that, she tapped away for ages and we were good to go!

There is a good thread on TripAdvisor which talks about things such as this and answers a lot of queries. A Visa would be worth it if you are looking for a longer stay or intending to return, but for us it would have been an unnecessary extra expense.

 

[1IJACK]

As Duck In Blue said it sometimes depends on the airline you're booked with. Usually any of the Chinese airlines it doesn't seem to be much of a problem but when it's non Chinese airlines you occasionally have problems and how knowledgeable they are about visas. I fortunately have a visa for China that is good for 10 years and had no problems bouncing from place to place while I was there even with flights and such. As well I had no problems going back and forth to Macau and Hong Kong. I loved the parks there and can't wait to go back and see some of the expansions they are doing.