visas to china

[fredfoxy]

we are going from heathrow to shanghai staying one night and boarding next day on celeb millennium to seoul then Tianjin then jeju then kobe and last Tokyo, so can someone please confirm that visas are not needed, we cant get a straight answer, from anyone ,please help.

[davidk800]

As I understand it, you are making multiple entries into China,ie flying into Shanghai, leaving for South Korea, then back to China. You can visit China for limited hours if you are in transit through to another country.

We are on the same cruise and we have obtained a visa.

 

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[Miaminice]

Shanghai only would be OK, but Tianjin makes it complicated. We did a similar cruise and had to get a visa. I will look into your itinerary though...

Edited October 6, 2018 by Miaminice

[Miaminice]

PS: I have just read that since December 2017 Tianjin also has a 144 h transit rule - so if you are staying within the allowed region it should work because the itinerary is in compliance with the „three country rule“.

 

More here: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/144hours-visa-free.htm

[davidk800]

We decided to get the visa because to risk a quite expensive holiday for the sake of the cost of the visas was a bit of a no no ,we are also spending two nights in Beijing.

 

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[woodyren]

You will not be able to use the 144 hour visa free entre for Tianjin.

 

One of the conditions are that you must arrive from and leave to a different country.

 

You arrive from Seoul (Sth Korea) and leave for Jeju (sth Korea) so you do not qualify for the exemption.

[woodyren]

PS: I have just read that since December 2017 Tianjin also has a 144 h transit rule - so if you are staying within the allowed region it should work because the itinerary is in compliance with the „three country rule“.

 

More here: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/144hours-visa-free.htm

 

If the itinerary posted is correct they are not within the 3 country rule.

[emmas gran]

You will get lots of conflicting and confusing information here. Please get the correct info as we did a cruise and a family were not allowed off the ship in Shanghai as didn't have correct visa but this was maybe 8-9 years ago.

Contact Celebrity UK or get your travel agent to contact them--they may refer you to the Visa service they use but it is better to be safe than sorry

 

Liz

[Miaminice]

If the itinerary posted is correct they are not within the 3 country rule.

 

I stand corrected!!!

 

Of course you are correct! Korea - China - Korea does not work...

How could I overlook this :eek:

Need more coffee :)

[woodyren]

Visa conditions have changed a lot in the last few years. We have cruised into and out of China 3 times in the last 12 months and are in China now. We leave on Ovation tomorrow.

 

While I have a multi entry as I regularly visit I have met many who have used the 144 visa free exemption and providing you meet the conditions

 

Stay less than 144 hours.

 

Arrive from another country and leave for a different country than the one you arrived from.

 

Remain within the restricted localities which vary according to your point of entry.

 

 

The OP clearly does not qualify because in Tianjin they arrive from Sth Korea and depart to Sth Korea.

 

I can also assure you that many, many people on our recent April Ovation cruise were given conflicting advice by the cruise line AND their local Chinese visa centres which caused many of them to unnecessarily pay considerable money for visas they did not need.

 

The 144 hour exemption is fantastic and over 700 people used it without issue on Ovation.

 

In this case I'm afraid it does not apply.

[sippican]

Please do not rely on the opinions of others unless you are wlling to put your trip in jeopardy.

Check with a Chinese Embassy http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/

The above site is for US but may be a similar website for you in the UK.

Or go directly to the visa resource recommended by Celebrity

 

www.cibt.com/CelebrityCruises

1-800-579-2406

[Miaminice]

Please do not rely on the opinions of others unless you are wlling to put your trip in jeopardy.

 

??? The message is: they need a visa! How would this put their trip in jeopardy?

[sippican]

??? The message is: they need a visa! How would this put their trip in jeopardy?

 

The message is simple, use reliable resources do not rely on others for their interpretation or opinions when making a decision that could indeed put travel plans in jeopardy. As evidenced above, anyone can make a mistake!

[bigbenboys]

??? The message is: they need a visa! How would this put their trip in jeopardy?

 

If you dont have the right type of visa they might not even let you on the ship. We did Hong Kong to Shanghai in Jan 2017. I played it safe and got the 10 year multi entry. Many people on our cruise did use the 144 hours for Shanghai as Shanghai was our only stop in China. We did Hong Kong to Shanghai in March 2018 with 3 night in Beijing. I did not hear of anyone using the 144 hour visa on that cruise. We had fog issues in Inchon, Beijing and Shanghai. We lost one day of nights in Beijing and docked 8 hours late in Shanghai. We met one couple that left the cruise in Beijing. He tried to rebook his flight with Air Canada. The wanted $5000 pp to changed the date.

[Miaminice]

If you dont have the right type of visa they might not even let you on the ship. We did Hong Kong to Shanghai in Jan 2017. I played it safe and got the 10 year multi entry. Many people on our cruise did use the 144 hours for Shanghai as Shanghai was our only stop in China. We did Hong Kong to Shanghai in March 2018 with 3 night in Beijing. I did not hear of anyone using the 144 hour visa on that cruise. We had fog issues in Inchon, Beijing and Shanghai. We lost one day of nights in Beijing and docked 8 hours late in Shanghai. We met one couple that left the cruise in Beijing. He tried to rebook his flight with Air Canada. The wanted $5000 pp to changed the date.

 

It might come as a surprise to you... however, we were on exactly the same cruise ;)

 

Just as you we did a cruise the year before where we did not require a visa. For the Beijing cruise we also got one. The 144 h visa did not work on this cruise just as it won’t work on the OP‘s cruise. But there was not even a doubt...

 

The OP is from the UK. In Europe there is one official source for visa - visaforchina.org (established by the Chinese Embassy). When you apply for a visa there you are obligated to submit your travel itinerary. They make sure you get the right visa.

 

Unfortunately in Germany (where we live) a 10 year visa isn’t/wasn’t available. So next time we have to go through the same hassle again.

[Seadog & Sea Hag]

Why would you ask on here knowing that that you will receive conflicting advice?

 

 

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[lucy239]

We are leaving for Shanghai at the end of January for three days before a cruise on Celebrity Constellation, and staying in a hotel booked through Celebrity.  We thought it would be best to get visas.  We do not have the Celebrity reservation confirmation yet and therefore, cannot complete the paperwork for the visas.  We are in a "time crunch" now.  Any suggestions?

[jomf]

On 1/6/2019 at 8:44 PM, lucy239 said:

We are leaving for Shanghai at the end of January for three days before a cruise on Celebrity Constellation, and staying in a hotel booked through Celebrity.  We thought it would be best to get visas.  We do not have the Celebrity reservation confirmation yet and therefore, cannot complete the paperwork for the visas.  We are in a "time crunch" now.  Any suggestions?

Which is the first port after Shanghai? You might qualify for the 144 hour visa exemption.

so if you fly in from the UK, stay three days in Shanghai and then leave for a different country ( which can be Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) then you should qualify.

 

[lucy239]

1 hour ago, jomf said:

Which is the first port after Shanghai? You might qualify for the 144 hour visa exemption.

so if you fly in from the UK, stay three days in Shanghai and then leave for a different country ( which can be Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) then you should qualify.

 

Leaving from US.  We have been told about 144 hour rule and  told by others that we needed visas.  Everyone we spoke with had a different opinion. We were also told by our airline we wouldn't be able to board the plane without a visa.  It took the agent a long time to find the 144 hour rule.  We finally received our documents from Celebrity yesterday and put a rush on our visas.  Thank you for responding.

[sippican]

Regarless of the regulations, if the airline or cruiseline is requiring the visa, it seems a moot point.

 

We recently received communication from Celebrity stating that we must obtain a visa in prder to sail.

[Ken the cruiser]

Interesting thread. We are on a cruise and arrive by ship from Vietnam to Nansha, China on May 7. Then cruise to Hong Kong and arrive May 8 and leave May 10 cruising to 2 ports in Taipei. We then cruise to 2 ports in Japan, then to Shanghi, China for 2 days. From there it's on to South Korea then back to Japan?

 

With that scenario are you folks saying we could have used the 3 country 144 hour rule and not have spent a ton of money to get the Chinese visas that the cruise line required us to get?

Edited January 9, 2019 by Ken the cruiser

[jomf]

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Interesting thread. We are on a cruise and arrive by ship from Vietnam to Nansha, China on May 7. Then cruise to Hong Kong and arrive May 8 and leave May 10 cruising to 2 ports in Taipei. We then cruise to 2 ports in Japan, then to Shanghi, China for 2 days. From there it's on to South Korea then back to Japan?

 

With that scenario are you folks saying we could have used the 3 country 144 hour rule and not have spent a ton of money to get the Chinese visas that the cruise line required us to get?

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/tour/visa/free-transit-144-hours.htm 

 

[diesel1973]

If you look under ports of call, Asia you will find a lengthy discussion on this subject. Seems like there is no clear answer as the rules are a little confusing. If it were me I would contact a Chinese Consulate and possibly get something in writing. I believe you can e-mail them with questions.Have been to China twice and have found that they are very strict with their customs rules. Try not to miss Shangai as it is a very interesting city. Happy travels.

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 10/6/2018 at 1:13 PM, sippican said:

 

The message is simple, use reliable resources do not rely on others for their interpretation or opinions when making a decision that could indeed put travel plans in jeopardy. As evidenced above, anyone can make a mistake!

I generally agree with your thoughts on using reliable resources; however, when researching the 144-hour transit visa waivers in 2016, I found that the Chinese Embassy in the US (i.e. your link) had absolutely zero information regarding 144-hour transit visa waivers. Thus they were less reliable than CC members! I believe that is still the case.

[sippican]

10 hours ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

I generally agree with your thoughts on using reliable resources; however, when researching the 144-hour transit visa waivers in 2016, I found that the Chinese Embassy in the US (i.e. your link) had absolutely zero information regarding 144-hour transit visa waivers. Thus they were less reliable than CC members! I believe that is still the case.

 

 Thank you for pointing out that error. Of course, there are many brilliant members on here who have been invaluable in guiding our travels over the year. For those who might still prefer to get something a bit more concrete than an opinion, here are some other resources I quickly found - that do indeed address the 144 hour free transit.  

 

http://www.sh-immigration.gov.cn/listPageEn.aspx?lx=40

https://www.china-briefing.com/news/transit-visa-exemptions-china-24-hour-72-hour-144-hour-options/

http://cy.china-embassy.org/eng/lsqw/t1567073.htm