Passport troubles

July 29, 2009 8:03 PM

Possible passport problem while catching a connecting flight in Shanghai

I am a Canadian citizen currently residing in Japan. Time to go home! My passport is set to expire August 6th, so I booked a flight back to Canada on August 4th. Unfortunately, that flight connects through Shanghai --- and I just realized last night that it may be a problem to connect through China using a passport set to expire in two days.

The Canadian embassy has not been helpful, except to tell me that there is no way they can issue a temporary extension.

So, I have two questions:

1) Can I connect through Shanghai on a passport set to expire in two days? I will be in the airport for less than 24 hours.

2) I am a dual citizen and currently hold an Italian passport. Could I possibly leave Japan on my Canadian passport (I need to, for visa reasons) and then enter China on my Italian passport, which is valid for another few years?

Any information you have will be helpful, because I am utterly, utterly freaking out right now.

posted by Tiresias to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

I don't know about China, but most in most countries, if you are connecting and don't leave the airport, you never actually pass through a passport check so no, it wouldn't be an issue in that case.

As for your Italian passport, unless there is some visa requirement or security check that you can't meet in time, it's no problem to leave a country under one passport and enter the next country on a different one. Just make sure you keep track of which one you're using since if you actually enter China on the Italian one, you need to leave on it (and of course then enter Canada on the Canadian one). People do this all the time.
posted by scrute at 9:18 PM on July 29

You're fine, according to this page on the Chinese Embassy's website -

★Visa-free transit

1. Visas are not required of aliens who hold air tickets to the final destination and have booked seats on international airliners flying directly through China, and will stay in a transit city for less than 24 hours without leaving the airport.

2. Visas are not required of passport holders of the following countries, who transit through Pudong Airport or Hongqiao Airport of Shanghai, provided they hold valid passports, visas for the onward countries, final destination tickets and have booked seats, and stay in Shanghai for less than 48 hours : Republic of Korea, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland.

So it looks like you could use either passport, as both are still valid, and as long as you have an onward ticket, you're fine. You meet the conditions they state here.
posted by mdonley at 3:31 AM on July 30

Hmm. One of the general rules of passports is that your passport has to be valid for the entire term of your visa. So, if you visit the UK under visa-wavier (which really means you apply for the visa *at* the C&I line, btw), you need to have at least six months validity, because the standard tourist visa in the UK allows six months entry.

So, the question is "how long is the implicit transit visa valid." Implication is 48 hours, which means your passport is just barely valid. But, since your Italian Passport is good, use that, but have your Canadian Passport handy. If they question you handing them the wrong one, cite travel fatigue and hand them the Canadian one.

Yes, you can change midway -- the rule is you need to exit with the one you entered with. I would use the Italian passport while transiting China, and save your Canadian Passport for reentry to Canada -- then, of course, I'd apply for a new one post-haste.

The one kicker is, ideally, you'd check into your flight with the Italian Passport, then show the Canadian Passport to exit immigration to close the visa. However, I don't know if Japan has such.

In the future, the safest measure is to pretend your passport is valid for x-1 years, (9 years in the case of US Adult passports) and renew then.
posted by eriko at 4:37 AM on July 30

As for your Italian passport, unless there is some visa requirement or security check that you can't meet in time, it's no problem to leave a country under one passport and enter the next country on a different one. Just make sure you keep track of which one you're using since if you actually enter China on the Italian one, you need to leave on it (and of course then enter Canada on the Canadian one). People do this all the time.

Seconding this, my wife is about a year away from getting a UK passport (she's American, but lives in the UK with me), so I've been doing a heap of research on entering and exiting different countries with different passports. Basically, it boils down to always entering countries you are a citizen of with that country's passport, and using whichever is most convenient elsewhere.

So, for your flight home, exit Japan on your Canadian passport, and they'll exit stamp your Japanese visa.

Enter Shanghai on your Italian passport. As said above, you probably won't even go through passport control if you don't leave the airport. If you do want/need to leave the airport, use your Italian passport. As noted above, you're in Shanghai for less than 48hrs, so you won't need a visa.

Exit Shanghai on your Italian passport, if you've left the airport. Otherwise, just get on the plane.

Enter Canada on your Canadian passport. Most countries will also let you, in extremis prove your identity as a citizen at the border with other forms of ID like a driver's license or birth certificate, but be prepared to be questioned if you have to do that.
posted by Happy Dave at 4:48 AM on July 30 [1 favorite]