Kiwi_rua

Confusing isn't it?

The independent couples travelled from their home countries to Japan en route to the Shanghai cruise to Singapore. They were prevented leaving Tokyo, Japan, by Air China. However, the travel industry agrees that from Shanghai, their next "destination" was Singapore because they did not intend to disembark at the cruise's first port of call, Okinawa, Japan. On the contrary, Chinese authorities deemed the cuise day stopover in Okinawa as "destination", even for those who didn't plan to go ashore there.

When denied boarding, one couple thought of flying to Shanghai via Seoul which would have conformed to the "three-country rule" for transit without visa. However, Air China lost their luggage and they had to wait several days in Tokyo for it to be returned.

China “transit without visa” fiasco for Shanghai cruises

A caution to all travelers boarding cruises in Shanghai, China.

In 2016, Shanghai Immigration extended its airline “transit without visa” scheme to cruise passengers. There are some disarmingly simple rules to follow. Passengers must have an onward ticket for a country other than the one form which they travelled to Shanghai. This is the so-called “third country rule, and it’s designed to stop the scheme being used by business travelers. Thus, for example, one can fly from Singapore to Shanghai and then cruise (or fly) to the USA as the destination.

Visas are good for 144 hours (six days) and permit tourists to visit other cities around Shanghai. The terms and conditions are well-documented online by the Shanghai authorities. Tourists avoid the hassle and the cost of having to obtain a visa in advance, and China travel industry and local economy get a boost by the tourism dollars. Given the number of cruises now making Shanghai their embarkation point, this is a win-win situation of everyone.

However, beware of how the Chinese authorities interpret the term “destination”.

In late August, 2017, three couples (USA, Canada & New Zealand) bound for cruises on the “Mariner of the Seas” (Royal Caribbean) were holidaying first in Japan and flying onto Shanghai from Tokyo. They were refused boarding on the grounds that the Mariner’s first port of call was an 8 hour visit to Okinawa. The cruise line allowed them to board at Okinawa two days later. All the couples had airline tickets from Singapore, therefore, under the rules, their destinations were Singapore. Insurance companies agreed that the Chinese were wrong not to allow a transit-without-visa in these cases and paid out.

This was a lose-lose situation. It diminished the couples’ holidays and caused them a great deal of unnecessary stress. It made the Chinese authorities look stupid and Shanghai tourism lost the dollars those couples would have spent on accommodations and sightseeing. Be aware!