Job Discussion Forums

[blakely]

Hi guys -
i'm a british citizen traveling around Asia right now. I'm wondering how to get a Chinese visa so I can visit my friend in Shanghai for two weeks this July? Anyone know how to start this process?

thanks so much for your help : )

I'm currently in Taiwan on a 90 day landing visa.

[JZer]

If you did not previously apply for a visa to China you can only get a visa from China in England.

If you previously applied for a visa to China you can apply for a visa to China in Hong Kong.

If you have enough time go to Interlink Travel asap and pay them to have your passport sent to England to apply for a visa to Mainland China.

[JZer]

A little outdated but this is what one website says.

http://gohongkong.about.com/od/traveltochina/a/Ch_visa_updates.htm

Last December Interlink told me that my passport would have to be sent back to the US. They said that if one had a previous visa to China you can apply for a second visa in Hong Kong.

[JZer]

This is the posting from the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong:

Visa applicants are increasing in a large number and need longer waiting

time in the visa office recently. If you don't reside or work in Hong Kong

permanently, you are required to apply Chinese visa from the Embassy

or Consulate-General of Peoples' Republic of China in your resident

country. You are welcome to China for tourism, business and visit .

[yamahuh]

Wow - I didn't know that.
Talk about convoluted.

[JZer]

It gets even better. I actually had several visas to China prior to 2011 but they were in my old passport so I still had to pay Interlink Travel 8000NT to send my passport to Los Angeles for my visa to China.

[yamahuh]

Yeah my used Chinese visa is in my old passport too...
That's a drag.

[JZer]

If you have the old passport you can apply in Hong Kong. Unfortunately my old passport was in the US.

[yamahuh]

No idea where mine might be - buried in my storage locker probably

[sinophoto]

i've done this several times. I just go to the China Travel office on Nathan Road across from the Chung King Mansion. I filled out the forms Then I was interviewed by their staff as they went over my application. Then my passport and the visa came back in a couple of days unless you pay extra for express processing. I've done this time and time again. I would assume that the process is the same British residents esp. since HK was British. I didn't bring my passport with all of those China visas including one multiple entry visa while i was studying. That would have raised more questions than have helped. They might have asked, "Why have you been to China so many times?

[yamahuh]

So you got yours processed in H.K even without having a previous visitor visa / work visa in your passport?

[sinophoto]

Yeah, that's the way that I've always done it. Landing in HK with the intention of going on to China without a visa was a little unnerving at first. But works. That said. Policies change without notice on the mainland. You used to be able to get a 7 day visa at the border with Shenzhen but it ceased to be granted before the Olympics when they tightened up the visa requirements, raised the fees, and shortened the duration. They can tighten things up without notice. So, it's worth the trouble to call the Tsim Sha Tsui branch (Nathan Road) of China Travel and find out. They are the ones who handle the visa applications from HK.

I remember calling the Chinese Consulate in Houston and asking about teaching English in China. This scary dude who sounded like some sort of MSS officer (Chinese CIA) pointedly asked me "Why do you want to go to China to teach English?" So ever since then I don't go anywhere near the Chinese consulate over here and take my chances in HK. That said. I've got ALLOT of Chinese visas in my old passport. So, like I said before, they see me coming. lol. But lots of ppl do it that way.

[JZer]

Anyways for what it is worth my travel agent sent my passport to Los Angeles to get my China visa instead of Hong Kong. I received my one year visa in November of 2010.