Job Discussion Forums

[JZer]

Has anyone ever gotten a tourist visa to China for 60 days? Is it difficult to get a visa for 60 days? Any help would be appreciated.

[Basilm87]

Yeah, I was given the 60 days tourist visa to China (destination Shanghai) last spring (2008). It was no problem at all for me (and Im not native speaker of english, nor born/living in any of the english speaking countries). Been told native-speakers (no matter what they are supposed to do in China) are favoried than non-native english speakers, how or why, I dunno.

However, I used a service here in Sweden, or rather an organisation, which specialize in helping/speeding visa application (to any country, in this case giving the app to the Chinese embassy in swe). They charged me 13-15 us dollars for that 'service' + visa costs, and I was given 60 days on my tourist visa (you need to write down WHY you need at least XX days on you in the country, at least here in Sweden :p ). I just wrote I was going to travel around at different cities, and then start to work in Shanghai. Here in Sweden you get 30,60,90 or maximum 180days on your tourist visa.

If I were you I would consult with the bureau/embassy that might help you and ask :p And be prepared to explain why such a 'long' stay.

[JZer]

[bearcanada]

JZer, I think your visa terms depend on the location from which you apply. Right now if you apply from HK, you can get a 6-month L visa, but it's not a multiple-entry visa. You can enter only two times, and then they give you only a 30-day maximum stay. So if you want to remain in China, your visa effectively expires after 60 days because you've used up your two entries.

But if you apply from your home country, things should be different. I am Canadian, and we have no trouble getting a one-year, multiple-entry visa with a maximum stay of 120 days. It may be similar for other Western countries.

The visa office in HK will grant one-year visas, but only to people who have an HK ID card, so that sounds like its the same as getting better results if you apply from your home country.

[eddy-cool]

Try to find the China Visa Office in Hong Kong website!

As far as I know, they are empowered to grant you one-month visas only though in some cases you might get a two-entry, two-month visa.

This will mean you have to exit the Mainland within 30 days exact; failing to do so will mean that every day you spend beyond the first 30 day period is regarded as overstaying - which will cost you 500 yuan a day.

You can, of course, get a regular one-month visa and apply for an extension on the Mainland. However, I doubt you will get a second extension.

[JZer]

I am not even sure that the agent will be sending my visa to Hong Kong. She said that Americans are give a one year multiple entry tourist visa. You can stay for a maximum of 60 days each time.

[bearcanada]

Eddy-cool, that's not quite correct. HK can, will, and does give 6-month visas. I have seen them; a friend of mine in Shanghai got one only a month ago. But HK will NOT grant a multiple-entry visa to anyone other than someone with an HK ID card. And that means a maximum of two entries. And HK will NOT (at the moment) give you a maximum stay of longer than 30 days - so in effect it is really a 2-month visa if you are living here.

And as to the problem of overstaying a visa, there are two parts to this. If your visa actually EXPIRES on a particular date and you stay beyond that date, you should be prepared for trouble - at least a fine.

But if you overstay the maximum stay period while your visa is still valid, that isn't usually a big deal. I once accidentally overstayed my maximum stay by two months and the authorities said nothing when I left. I once overstayed by 5 days and the customs official said, "You shouldn't do that."