Have you applied for one since the Olympics ended? If so, what were your application requirements? Which country are you a citizen of and which Chinese consulate did you apply at?
hi all, am going to china in november. keep getting conflicting information on getting a visa.
true or false?
we live in manchester so have been told we must apply direct to manchester consulate?
30 day single entry visas are valid for 30 days from issue or 30 days from entry into china?
do we need to show we've booked hotels for full duration of stay in china or just the first few nights?
cheers.
Reply to this Hello Mick 😊
There were a lot of difficulties with getting Chinese visas for during the Olympics. Hopefully things have gone back to normal. Getting Chinese visas is generally relatively easy.
Here is a thread about Chinese visas. You could ask on there if anybody has applied for a Chinese visa since the Olympics ended.
Chinese Visas.
Mel
Reply to this Hi, It's 30 days from entry, but I've heard there is a new rule who say you have to use your visa in a certain period after it has been issued, need to check this. If you have your visa a month before going, no problems. Normally they need sufficient proof for the first two nights.
The all new issue about hotel stay was due to the Olympics, as the authorities didn't want to have people without accomodation in Beijing and sleeping in the streets...turn out that due to these restrictions, many people couldn't have visas,...and a lot of rooms stay available...the all visa issue should go a lit easier now, but be aware that rule may change on nearly a weekly basis.
Reply to this I received my visa in Canada in mid-July, and my planned arrival was during the Olympics. I went to the Chinese Consulate, applied for the visa (you fill out a form asking you for basic personal information as well as general medical questions) then submitted it along with a passport-sized photograph. They turned it around in four days. The 30 day visa is the tourist, or "L" visa, and the clock starts ticking when you ENTER China, rather than the day you receive the visa. I recall on my visa it said I had to enter China by October, so you even have a few months to leave. I didn't need to show any proof of hotels booked or return flights. That said, China is an interesting place in that you ask the same question to 10 people and get nine different answers.
Hopefully, however, my experience is at least encouraging. Just go to your local Chinese Consulate and they'll be able to tell you what you need to do.
Reply to this I moved this to the Travel News and Discussion forum.
Mel
Reply to this Hi,
I am in the process of arranging this myself. Chinese tourist visas (type L) are valid 3 months from the time you recieve it, but you can only spend 30 days there. What you need is as follows:
2 passport photos
Confirmation of your flights (I'm flying to Shanghai and providing them with a copy of my e-ticket)
Confirmation of when you are leaving the country/ onward journey out of China (i'm booking a train from Hong Kong to Hanoi, Vietnam)
Confirmation of where you are staying...basically if you are visiting a relative they must write a letter, alternatively a hotel booking confirmation. I've booked my first 2 nights in a decent hotel, then i imagine i'll be in hostels etc afterwards, but they don't need to see evidence of this.
Payment details form, including a photocopy of your bank card, front and back!!
Obviously a completed application form but this is only 2 sides.
And your passport must be valid for 6 months.
It's taking me forever and it's a total nightmare! It makes applying for your Oz visa look so easy. All i need to do is find out the easiest and cheapest route to Vietnam, once i've done that i can send my forms off.
Go to this website - www.visaforchina.org.uk it's been a great help, you can print off your app forms from here. Only problem is you need to send off your passport but they say you must send it special delivery so at least you can track it. I've done loads of research, and although it sounds a lot, this is probably the easiest option, and aslong as you have everything it should be straightforward. I think the turnaround time is a week.
Hope this helps!!
Reply to this Hey Mick,
We are UK citizens who applied for Chinese Visas at the Chinese Consulate in Wellington during the Olympics. This is the third time we've applied for a Chinese Visa - once before from the Chinese consulate in Edinburgh and once from the consulate in Tokyo - both of these were a piece of cake compared to this last time round - they have clearly become stricter about requirements following the troubles in Tibet and the Olympic influx.
They have always asked for an itinerary, a flight schedule and accommodation details but have always been quite relaxed about it. This time around they were a little (only a little) more demanding...
The flight schedule was tricky as we're not flying in or out but using land borders both times. However if you explain this they don't seem to mind (they obviously get a lot of backpackers!) and all we were asked to provide was evidence of our flight to Asia which was a flight from NZ to Bangkok a month before we're even due to arrive in China!
The itinerary was more tricky. We put together a Word document with a list of the places we were planning on visiting worked out rough dates and took hostel addresses from guide books and internet sites. This was fine, however, we struck problems as we are planning to go to Tibet this time around and thought we'd opt for honesty and declare this on our itinerary. This was a mistake. Thankfully when we handed over our itinerary the guy at the counter handed the whole lot back to us and told us we wouldn't get a visa if we mentioned Tibet. I say thankfully because he could quite easily have processed and rejected us which wouldn't look good on future applications. He suggested we come back the next day with an itinerary that didn't mention Tibet at all. In effect he told us to lie.
We adjusted the "Occasionally Bob China Tour 2008" itinerary to be something entirely fictitious, stating that we would be entering and leaving China via the same land border crossing to/from Laos. This isn't true as we're entering from Vietnam and leaving through Nepal, but Laos is the only bordering country that Visa's are issued for at the border so if they did ask for evidence of where we were coming from/going too we could explain that we had none as there is no requirement to apply for a visa in advance for Laos.
The hotel booking was easy. We made a reservation with a hostel by email printed out the response from them which confirmed our booking and included it with our itinerary. No proof of payment required.
I guess sometimes honesty is not the best policy.
Robbie.
PS. Any Chinese officials reading this should note that we're lovely people intent on enjoying touring your country and point out that we were asked to lie by one of your officials... please don't turn us away at the border!
Reply to this I have just been in Kyrgyzstan. There were a lot of people there hoping to cross overland to China but couldnt get their visas. One Swiss couple have a Chinese contact in Beijing. The contact told them that there is no chance of getting the visas right now.
The para Olympics are on at the moment so maybe things will change after that visawise.
Mel
Reply to this Hi,
How long does it take for a Visa to be processed?
Reply to this If you show up in person at the NY consulate by 11 or so, you can have your visa by 2 that afternoon. This costs an extra $30, for a total of $160 US. This is the rate for US passport holders.
Reply to this I applied for a visa at home in the UK during the olympics hoping to go to Shanghai for 65 days on an internship. I only managed to get a 20 day visa with the assurance that I could extend it once I was out here. Not true! I have only been able to extend it once so I can either cut my losses and go home after 40 days or spend a small fortune on getting to Hong Kong and applying for another one there. Anyone had a similar problem?? It seems I am the only one in China with such a random visa!
Reply to this What kind of support is your employer providing you to help you with your visa? I'm in Shanghai on a six month work assignment (from Canada) and they set me up with a relocation agency that helped me navigate this process. I had to go to the entry/exit bureau in Pudong and show them a letter from my employer, passport, business licence of my employer and my current temporary resident permit (the pink form you get when you register at the police station or your hotel's front desk). I also had a work permit but since you're only here on a 65 day internship you probably wouldn't need one. You may also need to get your employer to fill out an application form for an extended residence permit to 65 days. Definitely get them to help you out as I'm sure you've already noticed the challenges that the language barrier here presents.
Another possible strategy is to consult with the British consulate in Shanghai as they might have some good advice.
Hope this helps.
Reply to this Heads up! Seems that chinese governement is reviewing the visa policy after Oct 17th!
Will post any updates once news rules come out!
Reply to this hi all, thanks for all your input on this thread, I got our visas yesterday, had no problem at all, got them direct from the consulate in manchester. China here we come, can't wait!!!!!!
Reply to this F visa extension- 6months and 1 year multi entry are available.
And even can do the changing from L visa to an 6 months F visa for the developed countries expat!
Reply to this I would like to recommend a good visa company for you.
Reply to this May I advise you inquiring from China Embassy UK to get the exactly information you wanted?
China Embassy UK
Name: Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Address：49 Portland Place , London W1B 1JL ,UK
Website: http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk
E-mail:
June 17th 1954, the government of People's Republic of China and the government of the United of Kingdom of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland published a United Post and established official diplomatic relations. It is more important today for peoples from different countries to learn about each other and to enhance mutual understanding and friendship.
Especially in the last twenty years or so, China has made tremendous progress in its economy and all aspects of social life.
As a window for the British people to learn about China, this website is designed to provide basic information about China and to explain the great changes in China today. This website also provides practical information and services that could be of help for people who wish to travel in China.
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