Getting to China without a Visa.

Are you considering traveling to Mainland China?

Not many people really consider traveling to China for reasons which include a lack of familiarity (China is not really a country we think of, in terms of travel and exploration). Travel restrictions can be another potential deterrent.

For anyone who’s considering going to Mainland China, specifically without a visa, this blog is for you.

It includes a small checklist to ensure qualifying. I’ll also share my experience from preparing then how I was permitted to board my flight to China, all without a Visa.

In prepping for China we first determined how long we wanted to stay.

Applying for a visa requires first going in person to a Chinese Embassy (currently located in Chicago, NY, or California) with your passports, to apply for a visa ($140 for US citizens). Going through a private agency might be an easier route.

A multiple entry visa may be grant, which would then per access to China for 10 years (a strong advantage). So this headache, might be practical for you. However be warned, going to the embassy still does not guarantee you’ll receive a visa, as there only a only so many visas China will actually grant each year.

So rather than enduring the potential headache, additional expenses, and unknown uncertainties, we opted to travel to China a simpler way (or so we thought). By using a Transit Visa!

Currently a Transit Visa allows you to visit Mainland China for no more than 240 hours or 10 days (it was once 144hrs, now its 240hrs), without needing to get a visa at all. Instead a visa is created and granted IN Mainland China.

Not a lot of people know about it, but it actually exist!

So here is how our experience went. I traveled with my sister and father. We first agreed that we really didn’t want to go through any stress of getting regular visas beforehand. So we were satisfied with journeying to Mainland China for a maximum of 10 days (240hours).

First we booked our ticket, & picked Hong Kong as our transitioning country. Although Hong Kong is in China, it is under a different government/providence, so it qualifies.

Although we got this part right, where we went wrong was in the layover. We picked an outbound flight that had a layover in Hong Kong. So to Mainland China, this meant we be stopping (connecting) in Hong Kong only to ultimately end up in (transitioning to), Hong Kong. This made no sense to them, so we would not be permitted, to enter Mainland China or even fly there, this way. We first needed to find another place of transit to. So we picked Macao/Macau (spelling varies).

Please believe me about the layover. We even checked with airline and the Chinese embassy before purchasing the ticket, and received wrong information!!! If there is a layover, then the country has to be totally different from the country you plan on transitioning to.

It didn’t matter that our layover was less than 2 hours. We learned the hard way….at the Airport!! .

For this, I strongly recommend showing up to the airport at least 4.5 hours early, just in case there are any hiccups or mishaps. China is a pretty strict country, so you will need the extra time to work out potential kinks.

To rectify this issue, we purchased a Ferry ticket to and from Machau before going back to Hong Kong for our final stop ….I know, crazy right!! Thank goodness one of the agents was very knowledgeable with China travel. Her idea saved our trip.

In the end we boarded our flight with just an hour left before departure, but a time was had!!!

Here are 6 simple rules to qualify.

1. You departure and arrival airport needs to be from the same place of origin. (e.g. if you fly out of Florida, you need to fly back to Florida.

2. When you go China, you then need to have another country you’re TRANSITIONING to after (also visiting). This place must be outside of Mainland China (Hong Kong or Macao can apply – both can be reached by ferry ;-).

4. All proof/tickets & hotel stays during your visits must be in hand. China will want to see all of your paid hotel stays & flight arrangements (Entering & Exiting). They want proof you actually plan on leaving them, lol. So you’ll need to have the actual flight/ferry/train tickets, showing you transitioning out of mainland China (and yes they will be tracking you!)

5. If you a have a connecting or layover flight, wherever this connection is, it cannot be the same as to where your planning on transitioning to (Ultimately visiting). e.i if your layover is in Hong Kong, then you cannot use Hong Kong as the country transition. You will then need another country to transition to. So ideally stay away from connections/layovers, if you can.

6. Lastly you can only stop over in Mainland China for no more than 240 hours or 10 days. So, no time to waste!!!

Hope this helps with determining or planning out your next trip to China! In my next blog ill tell you of my experience China and give my opinion of pros and cons when visiting the country 🙂

Check out another one of my written blogs Experience Luxury: A Business Class Flight to Asia with Air Canada