144 Hour Visa Free: 2 Roundtrips, involving Shanghai Stop (USA > Shanghai > Kazakhstan > Shanghai > USA); Am I eligible here??? (Urgent Trip: MAY 2024)

Hi All,

Am I eligible to enter Shanghai (1x) for 144 hours if I present them with 2 roundtrip tickets with the following plan:

  • Roundtrip 1: USA > Shanghai (5/16/24 - 6/1/24) \*direct flight or layovers in USA/Japan/Canada*
  • Roundtrip 2: Shanghai > Astana (5/23/24 - 6/1/24) \*layovers in Xian/Urumqi cities*

In Roundtrip 1, my flight will enter Shanghai 5/17...since it seems like the 144 Hours starts the next day at 0:00, I see myself staying until 5/23. I have a business trip to attend in Astana, Kazakhstan, so this is where Roundtrip 2 comes into action. Just as my 144 Hour time in Shanghai is close to expiring, I will take a flight on 5/23 to Astana and return 6/1 to Shanghai so I can make it for my return flight back to USA. I do not plan to enter Shanghai again in the second leg of the trip (will not leave airport).

One important note: my Roundtrip 2 flights to Astana all seem to have 2-3 hour layovers in Xian/Urumqi (Mainland China). Since I don't plan on exiting the airport at all, I think this will be fine and keep my eligibility for the 144 Hour Visa-free policy but I want to make sure. Seems risky to do this, but I'm unable to find affordable options that allow me to fly from Shanghai to Astana non-stop.

I have an urgent trip coming end of MAY, so appreciate if I can get any feedback/answers on the above plan within the next 2-3 days. I have used this site to help guide me more on what the 144 Hour policy is about, but I'm concerned if my plan may have any flaws that stop me from entering or leaving Shanghai: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/tour/visa/free-transit-144-hours.htm

Thank you!

UPDATE (5/6/24): Understand now that my Roundtrip 2 flight above would not make me eligible for 144 HR TWOV simply because it contains a layover in a city/province in Mainland China that isn't covered. I have decided to buy tickets to Japan/Korea that exit Shanghai on 5/23 (before stroke of midnight). Seems like re-entering China again for layovers (5/23 - 5/24) from Japan/Korea does not penalize me here. Also depending on length of layovers, I may be eligible for 24 HR TWOV in Beijing/Xian.

Things I learned (to help others in similar situations):

  • Flight to third country cannot have any layovers in Mainland China that are outside of 144 HR TWOV cities/provinces.
  • Flight to third country must exit the same way you came in (Shanghai enter, Shanghai leave; this would be Pudong Airport for me)
  • Flight to third country must leave China before the 144 HR time limit is up. If you overstay you will be fined/required to apply for other visas.

I wish more details on the flight out of China could be written clearly by China's Visa/Immigration office, but the community here has been very helpful which I appreciate! Looks like I will be doing a lot of flying here.