Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wings]

I just booked a last minute trip to China and I am going to apply for a single entry visa on Monday. I was just checking out lonely planet and there are a few posts about people having trouble getting visas.

I have flight and accomodations booked for a few nights, and I just want a single entry visa (I"m not from the USA)

Should I be worried? Has anyone had a problem in the last month or so?

Thanks!

[ambienteye]

Make sure you have your original airline tickets and hotel voucher on hand. I was planning on staying with a friend in China during the first week of May and found the (new and improved!) visa process not worth the bother (I would have had to use a fake hotel voucher). I don't live in Seoul so it the process is a bit more complicated for me, though.

[lowpo]

[pugwall]

Think things change with the wind. If all this nonsense dies down and there is no evidence of any major dreadlocked protests then hopefully the government will see sense and see that they are going to ruin their own party.

[CPT]

I keep hearing that its better to get your visa from Hong Kong. I'm going there and then to China in less than a month.

Would that be my best option? I'm only staying in HK for a few days (about 5, but with a 2 day trip to Macau).

[davai!]

Concern Rises Over China Visas
By JONATHAN CHENG in Hong Kong and LORETTA CHAO in Beijing
April 26, 2008; Page A10

Pressure is mounting on Chinese officials to ease visa restrictions introduced ahead of the Olympic Games, as the new rules fuel frustration among foreign businesspeople who travel frequently to China.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China Friday added its voice to the chorus of complaints against the restrictions, citing members' reports of refused applications for multiple-entry business visas and rush services, and for shortened validity periods on approved visas. Some members were being told to return to their home countries in order to apply for business visa renewals.
TRAVEL HEADACHES

� What's New: China's tighter visa restrictions ahead of August's Olympic Games are drawing increasing criticism from foreigners.
� Who's Affected: Business travelers who take frequent trips to China are finding it harder to get multiple-entry visas.
� The Response: Chambers of commerce in China, Hong Kong and countries with close ties to the mainland are petitioning Beijing to ease the restrictions.

"This benefits no one," said Joerg Wuttke, president of the European chamber in China. "These new practices make the possibility of traveling to China for business uncertain and increase travel costs by limiting the number of entries per visa."

On April 18, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong sent a sharply worded letter to Beijing's representative in Hong Kong about what it called "clearly a significant change in business and tourism visa policies." The letter, written by AmCham President Richard Vuylsteke and addressed to Foreign Ministry commissioner Lu Xinhua, included a summary of replies from a snap survey the chamber conducted among its members, detailing the headaches business travelers are facing.

"These recent changes and, even more so, the way in which they have been implemented is a significant step backwards," Mr. Vuylsteke wrote in the letter.

Dale Kreisher, a spokesman for the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong, said the U.S. government had expressed its concerns to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong. "We've heard from American businessmen and the chambers that they're getting fewer entries and shorter validity periods," he said.

Chinese officials have been reluctant to acknowledge any difficulty brought about by changes to its visa policy. China's arrangements for visas have been made "according to the practice of other host countries for the Olympics and large-scale sports events and legal regulations in China," China's Foreign Ministry in Beijing said in a statement, adding that applicants may be required to submit documents such as an invitation letter, hotel reservations and return tickets. "Compared to visas of most countries in this world, it is convenient for most foreigners to get visas," the statement said.

The Web site for China's embassy in Singapore, for instance, says that only single- or double-entry business visas, valid for one month, are available. The Singapore embassy in Beijing warns its citizens that multiple-entry visas would be approved on a "case-by-case basis with strong justifications." Many visa applications now require a return air ticket and hotel booking, according to the Singapore Web site and anecdotal evidence from business travelers from other countries. The site also notes that a visa-waiver program for Singaporean passport holders traveling to China for 15 days or less will be temporarily suspended, effective July 1. It would resume "at an appropriate date after the Beijing Olympics," the notice read.

The restrictions don't seem to apply to people with existing visas. However, the new measures are making life more difficult for businesses across the region, particularly for those in Hong Kong that rely on frequent trips to southern China.

Mahesh, a Hong Kong-based Indian national who asked that his full name not be used, says he traveled at least twice a week to southern China to visit factories and negotiate deals with customers. That was until about two weeks ago, when his three-year multiple-entry visa expired.

Now, Mahesh can get only a double-entry visa valid for three months. "I've already used one entry, and I'm going up again tomorrow, so after that I'll have to stand in the queue and apply again," he said. "It's more time and more money." Because of huge lines, applying for a China visa in Hong Kong can sometimes take a full workday.

The policy tightening comes after an enforcement crackdown last year aimed at foreigners who applied through visa agents, or companies that handle the processing of visa applications, and at those living in China under improper accreditation.

In Beijing, where tensions have been running high since protests against Western media and French retail chain Carrefour broke out this month, foreign residents have reported a fresh round of documentation checks by Beijing police.

[KYC]

went to 3 different travel agencies before finally able to get a visa.

I am American.
I had my eticket at all 3 agencies
I had hotel voucher at all 3 agencies

Yet I was told they couldn't process it at the first 2 agencies. Very frustrating & not worth the price I paid for it. I probably will never go to China again.

[D.D.]

Its friday night and I arrived in Hk. If I want to get a tourist visa for China it will be Tuesday at the earliest. I remember getting a one year business visa for China in 2 hours before. So flying into Hk for China visas try to arrive on Monday morning, as they need to use the proper customs office now which is closed on weekends. Connections mean shit now. I have friends in Shenzhen who say that lots of people have been turned down for tourist visas recently. I even have a fake hotel reservation in an expensive hotel my friend manages in China. China is becoming a difficult place to get into. Also the fee is like 1000 hk dollars. ouch.

[bucheon bum]

A classmate of mine got turned down for a tourist visa by the consulate in LA. No reason was given. Another classmate got a business visa, flew into HKG last month, tried to cross the border, but got denied entry even though he already had the visa. He re-applied for a visa in HKG, but they told him he was SOL due to the first denial.

[Poemer]

I just got my tourist visa last week, no problem. Paying 140,000 won for a tourist visa is a total rip-off, but wtf, China was the only place I could find a cheap airplane ticket for, probably because a lot fewer people are going there as a result of the extra hoops they are requiring tourists to jump through.