Transit Visa

Question

I think I may have messed up slightly on my flights and need advice.

I’m travelling to the Philippines but I wanted to have a couple of days in Beijing.

I booked a flight to Beijing with a layover in Shanghai where I won’t be leaving the airport.

I initially thought that this would be fine and I could get the 144 hour free transit visa in Beijing, but I’m finding conflicting information online. Someone has said that I will have to get the visa in Shanghai pudong as it’s the first entry point (meaning that I then can’t travel to Beijing on this visa) or that I will have to purchase a tourist visa. If I have to buy the tourist visa then it’s fine, my mistake for misunderstanding but I don’t want to buy it if I don’t need to.

Answer

For your situation, it’s important to understand how China’s 144-hour visa-free transit (TWOV) works, as it depends on your point of entry and travel plans within China.

Key points about the 144-hour visa-free transit:

The 144-hour visa-free transit applies only if you enter China through certain designated ports and stay within the approved region. Beijing is part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region eligible for 144-hour TWOV.
Shanghai is also part of a different 144-hour TWOV region (Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang), meaning the free transit visa is valid only within that region.
Critically, the 144-hour TWOV is granted based on your first entry port. If you enter China via Shanghai Pudong, the 144-hour TWOV allows you to travel within the Shanghai region, but you cannot travel to Beijing or other regions on this visa.

In your case:

Your flight itinerary shows first entry in Shanghai (even if you are only transiting). Because of this, the 144-hour TWOV would only allow travel in the Shanghai region.
Since you want to spend a couple of days in Beijing, you cannot rely on TWOV issued at Shanghai Pudong. Beijing is outside the Shanghai region for this program.
Therefore, to legally visit Beijing, you would need to apply for a standard tourist visa (L visa) before your trip.

Recommendations:

Obtain a tourist visa for China in advance. This will cover Beijing and any other destinations you plan to visit within the country.
Do not rely on TWOV in Shanghai if your intention is to travel to Beijing, as border authorities will not allow this under the transit rules.
Ensure your flights are aligned with the visa rules: even a long transit at Shanghai does not automatically allow travel outside that region.

In summary, for your planned trip to Beijing from Shanghai, the safest and legally compliant approach is to obtain a tourist visa before travel. The 144-hour visa-free transit is not applicable in this scenario because your first entry is Shanghai, which restricts you to the Shanghai region only.

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