I was denied entry into China. Here’s how to avoid the same mistake.

I’m a San Francisco-based flight attendant working on-call shifts to anywhere in the world. I was assigned a trip to Beijing off standby in April this year.

Standby is an on-call shift where you sit at the airport in case you’re required to work a last-minute flight.

This happens when flight attendants call out late, their previous flight is delayed, or unforeseen circumstances arise. If they need me on the spot, I’m ready to work.

Getting assigned the flight to China & getting my documents together

Scheduling called me to be an extra crew member on a completely full flight to PEK (Beijing). They needed another flight attendant to make the service more manageable for the 15-hour flight. And, as my mom always says, many hands make light work.

Many countries require tourist visas. Some of these include additional requirements like vaccinations and health check-ups. It’s imperative to know exactly what is required to enter the country no matter where you travel.

China offers 15 different visas and the country is actually making it easier for tourists to enter (which Sarah explains in her piece about why Americans should visit China). Still, be very cautious when applying. China is very strict about obtaining the correct visa for your visit. I knew this before the flight, but I had no worries about the validity of my visa.

I acquired a Chinese visa for a study abroad visit in 2018 valid until 2028 before becoming a flight attendant. I asked my supervisor if that visa qualified for work, and he gave me the ‘okay.’ Classic miscommunication caused my downfall in this story.

The flight to China

The flight to China wasn’t all that bad. I hadn’t expected such a long assignment, so I didn’t sleep much before my shift. Though I was tired, the crowd kept me busy. Before I knew it, we were touching down in Beijing.

I was eager for a nap after the long flight. With heavy eyelids and a sluggish gait, I walked with my crew to the exit for our awaiting layover. 

👉 Read next: I visited the Rainbow Mountains of China. Here’s how it went.

The wrong visa

However, when I met the customs agent, I was promptly told that I was not allowed to enter the country. I had a tourist visa, not a work visa.

I didn’t know there was a difference thanks to the approval from my supervisor. I hadn’t confirmed the country’s requirements before taking off, which is my fault. I should not have put my full trust in another person’s instruction before traveling to a foreign country. But I did, and there was nothing else I could do at that moment.

Another agent separated me from my crew and brought me to an isolated part of the PEK airport. My coworkers were visibly distraught, and they fumbled to figure out how to go about the situation. Some of them had been flight attendants for 25+ years, and they had never encountered this problem before. We were all confused and shocked.

I was so stressed that I couldn’t stop crying. I put on sunglasses to hide my shame, looking like Neo from The Matrix in my formal black uniform and indoor sunnies. I looked ridiculous. I avoided eye contact with the passengers I had just flown across the Pacific and blindly followed the strange man through the crowd.

Nobody around me spoke English. I lost track of the man who had taken me from my crew, and now I was bewildered and terrified that I was going to be jailed for trying to enter the country with the wrong visa. The tears continued to flow.

Finally, a man with a badge and a worried look approached me and asked in broken English what I was doing. I tried to communicate my problem to him. He didn’t understand, but he took off on a wild goose chase for someone who spoke English with me in tow. We eventually came upon another airport employee who could translate my predicament.

The woman was very kind, a trait I couldn’t have been more grateful for in my distress. She contacted my company and rushed to get me on the next flight back to San Francisco. It was leaving in about 40 minutes, and it was the last one out for the day. I would spend the night in a quarantine facility if I didn’t make it.

This godsend of a woman offered to take me back through security and hand-deliver me to the gate agents for my flight. I was so embarrassed being led around in my official uniform, aimlessly wandering and sniveling like a toddler who lost her mom in the grocery store.

Back to San Francisco

I didn’t have time to mourn my ego. I needed to get on the flight home and figure out the repercussions of my denied entry later. I graciously followed the employee’s orders and raced through security to my gate.

13 hours later, I was back in California. The exhaustion was more extreme than I’d ever known. I flew a total of 28 hours in the span of 30 hours. I don’t recall being so depleted in my life.

It turns out that, even if I had flown to China for leisure that day, I still would have been denied entry. My visa only allowed entry by water, as I had originally visited with my study abroad program via ship. I had no idea any of these specifications existed.

Lessons learned

If you come away from this article with any bit of advice, it’s this: Do your research!

Don’t rely on anyone else to ensure safe passage to wherever you go. Double-check you have all the requirements before booking a flight. Had I not put all my faith in my supervisor’s word, I would have known that my tourist visa would not allow me into China for work.

This experience is kind of funny when I think about it now. But at the time, I was really terrified. I had no idea what was going on, what the consequences would be, or how I would get home. I seriously thought I would get locked up for my mistake.

Luckily I only suffered for a couple hours on the ground in Beijing, but the stress of the situation would have gladly been evaded with prior knowledge of my visitation status. It was one of the worst experiences of my life.

I implore you to research all requirements for the countries you visit and ensure you have all your information in order well before departure.

Don’t have a panic attack like I did in China. Sure, I have an interesting addition to my next game of “two truths and a lie,” but I’d much rather not be able to say I’ve pretty much been deported from China.

Get your visas right and be prepared for a stress-free, wonderful trip! And read Sarah’s list of cultural surprises in China! Check out the USA.gov Travel site to confirm the requirements for your next trip. Make a checklist before you go.

🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: I talk more about this story on Episode 5 of the Travel Lemming Podcast on YouTube (the segment starts at 14:45). You can also listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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If you want to hear more about my travel troubles, read about my solo trip through Europe or my collarbone break in Italy. Stay safe out there and prepare, prepare, prepare for wherever you roam.