Chinese Visas

wow speedy, such great information!!! if only you'd posted a few days ago ... we now have plane tickets (non refundable again) to malaysia for wednesday. i am sure others will find your info very helpful though! thanks! :D Reply to this

For those too lazy to look then:

If you are a traveler and wanting to get a Chinese tourist visa in Hanoi then:

Wear long pants and respectable t-shirts (They will kick you out if not)
The opening times are 8.30am to 11.00am
There are 3 queues – 1 Foreigners / 2 Locals & Agents / 3 Chinese Nationals (Chinese get in first)­
Inside there are 3 counters – 1 – Foreigners / 2 – Foreigners & locals its seems / 3 – Collections
The fee is $30.00 (They only take USD)
Have extra passport pics
Have a photocopy of your Vietnam visa and entry stamp
Have entry plane ticket or Train ticket (can only be bought with valid chinese visa at Counter10 in Hanoi train station- Catch22 huh?)
Have return plane ticket
Have hotel booked with confirmations and stamps (for all your time in China it seems!)
Have bank statement
Have a list of places you want to see
Download the form online and fill it in before you get there (If not you waste time doing so)
The guard will provided double back tape for your passport pic, but don't count on it!
Have the address and phone number of the hotel you are staying at in Hanoi
Have photocopies of EVERYTHING just incase
Arrive at 7.00am to be first in line!
Be carefull of people queue jumping
DO NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER! stand your ground and demand to know why if they say "no"

I got told "apply at home" and "no hotel stamp" and "need hanoi hotel address" before they finally accepted it

Best of luck all Reply to this

Yes the visa is valid for only 30 days. You could possible try and get a visa extension at the local PSB while in China, which i hope to do. This works by you getting another 30 days on your visa, only after you have used at least 15 days and it takes 4 days to process. Ie: you spend 15 days in China, you get an visa extension for 30 days, so then you have total 45 days in China. (But i heard this will be hard to get and have no personal experience yet)

It is also only valid for 30 days since the date of issue (ie - you must enter China with in 30 days of getting it off them!)

Dont listen to the 'apply at home' part. Im a British citizen and i was able to apply, as was other people from the EU. The counter staff can just be very rude and say that to get rid of you.

My bank statement was just printed off the net as a standard 'print screen job' 2 days ago (Halifax account) and i just highlighted the availble funds. I even brought my travellor cheques ($2050) with me just to show them if asked, but wasnt. The statement was not stamped or anything.



I would bring EVERYTHING possibly needed and listed above by me.

Seriously, they are very mean and will just shun you away and say "read the sign outside" etc

Luckliy my gf speaks Chinese so we argued with him until we got what was asked and them came back the next day and said "We have now got what you asked for yesterday" so he couldnt argue.

I hope to collect my visa on Thursday and ive listed my blog site, so if you want to know how i get on check there.

PS: It seems to be all about the hotel bookings and stamps. I would email tons of hotels and said you cant stay visit china (hence their hotel) unless you have a confirmation booking with stamp from them. They, wanting your business (sorry $$) will reply back by fax or email attachment

Any more questions please feel free to ask, When i was looking ALL info was out of date =/



Reply to this

Got the visa in Singapore!! Had to provide hotel bookings (no stamps needed) and a flight booking to prove that we were leaving China. All went pretty smoothly. Hope everyone else is as lucky. Reply to this

I moved this to the travel news and discussion forum. Reply to this

Hi, this is all very frustrating. China was going to be the centre of my post uni gap year plans and now they've been thrown into serious disarray. As I intend to travel through East Asia before I venture into China (probably pushing past 6 months from the date I'd get a visa issued in the UK), it looks like I'm going to have to get a visa from the dreaded Hanoi embassy.

Much like the two Canadians I prefer to go with the flow and not book every location in advance (which is often infeasible anyway) so like blonk I have been thinking about booking a cheap tour as the only easy (or more likely easier) way of getting a L visa. I'm heading to Thailand at the end of October and should be at the end of my stay in Vietnam by the end of March.

I still want to do some solo real travelling across China and hopefully travel overland first, however. Hopefully via train up from Vietnam into China. Does anyone therefore know if:

a) there is any certainty as to whether the ban of the sale of train tickets to foreigners will be lifted after the olympics

b) whether it is likely that a visa would be granted in Vietnam if I had a tour booked but still wanted to travel overland to get to it, or is flights the only way to guarantee a visa without hostel bookings even in this case? Reply to this

The Chinese Embassy in Brunei have given me to believe that it is possible to try in HCMC. Reply to this

Thanks. I just got to HCMC today so I will hot foot it down to the consulate first thing tomorrow morning! Fingers crossed! Reply to this

what are all these lists ?? Reply to this

Better luck for me today in Brunei. I think I may have cracked it. I have the advantage of being resident here: at least until July 31 (that it is about to expire is a point they didn't miss!). And another advantage in that my travelling companion (a Brit) has PR in Hong Kong and a three year multiple-entry visa for China. He wrote me "a letter."

They originally told me that I must submit evidence of residence in Brunei plus a detailed itinerary. Then they interviewed me yesterday and told me the itinerary was marginally OK, but I should show hotel vouchers. So I sent my travelling companion scuttling around HK booking hotels that would fit in with the train itinerary from Hanoi to HK and he got them together and got them scanned in and sent them to me last night. I still can't believe that a HK travel agent has neither fax nor scanner!

Anyway I submitted a revised itinerary today with the hotel vouchers and receipts. The major train journeys stipulated times and dates, the minor ones and the bus trips we just wrote "local train/bus". They accepted my application and told me to come back on Saturday with B$55.00 visa fee plus B$40.00 fast processing fee (cos my Brunei visa is running out). Thus I assume I will get it OK.

That means I can get my Brunei visas cancelled etc on Saturday arvo. Looks like I can now book a flight out of here on Mon or Tues. VONDERBAR. I have to go on Thurs, visa or no visa.

The Embassy staff were charming (as they have been in previous years) and quite delightful in what they said, which included the following: "Looks like an interesting trip! ... No worries. ... You are always welcome in China. ... Only we have to follow the regulations."

... and we still haven't actually booked any transport. I'll report on Saturday afternoon. Reply to this