Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sqrlnutz123]

I am planning a trip to China for summer vacation. I was looking at the embassy sight and it said that I have to have 6 months left on my Korean Alien Registration Card. My ARC expires in October so I only have four months.

I called a travel agency because there is a list that we're supposed to apply our visas through and they said it SHOULD be ok as long as I have 3 months left.

Has anyone had any experience with this?? Were you able to get your tourist fisa with less than 6 months on your ARC?

[ttompatz]

[prideofidaho]

Seconding what the above poster said. The Chinese embassy seems to like to say that you need 6 months left on your arc, but I was able to get one last year.

Maybe someone else can be clearer, specifically, do they give the 6 month limit to protect against people entering china with no onward ticket?

[sugarloaf82]

Related to this, does anyone recommend any travel agents in Seoul that don't charge a lot of extra money to process the Chinese visas? A lot of them charge an extra fee (from 10,000-30,000) if you didn't buy your ticket through them (which I didn't).

I'm American so the visa is initially 120,000 (the Embassy's fee) but Soho travel charges 155,000 for the visa, plus another 10,000 fee because I didn't buy my ticket through them, so 165,000 total..... (I've checked Xanadu, and a couple others as well and they're all about the same, if not more)

Anyone ever used the travel agents near the Chinese consulate in Myeong-dong?

[barneygumbell]

wait..why do you need to have an arc to go to china? i was planning to go to china after my card expired..will there be a problem with that?

[DeMayonnaise]

Why the hell does China care about your Korean ARC? I'm guessing the person just misspoke, and meant to say you have to have 6 months left on your passport, which is SOP for all countries.

You think all those millions of tourists that have been to China had an ARC? No...

Hell, my dad got his Chinese visa here in Korea. He sure as hell didn't have an ARC.

[prideofidaho]

The embassy changes their requirements from time to time, at least that is what my travel agent told me. Last year I had to submit my ARC while applying for a Chinese visa, but this year I did not.

The ARC requirement is clearly only for visa holders, and not for tourists.

[barneygumbell]

so what will it mean for me? i will probably want to apply for the visa on august 8 or something and then my arc expires on august 10. do i need to extend for a week or 2 with immigration?

another problem i have is that i am going away on vacation to philippines on july 20 and coming back on august 6..but i have just realised my re-entry permit expires on august 5. can i sort this easily with immigration?

i've heard that it takes about a week to process the chinese visa, and i guess they need your passport..which means i will have to wait until after i return from the philippines to apply for it which also means i will end up staying beyond august 10 when my visa expires. any advice or information would be greatly appreciated!

i am trying to sort out so many things at the moment and i am getting pretty stressed..

[prideofidaho]

-As of two weeks ago, you did NOT need your ARC to get a visa, but that's not a permanent rule (as far as I know.)

-My ARC was required when I got my visa last year, but there was less than 6 months remaining on its validitiy, and I was granted the visa no problem.

-I think you should try and get your Chinese visa before you leave for the Philippines.

-You can get a re-entry permit sorted at the airport, but you'll have to pay for it, and they don't grant multiple re-entry as far as I know.

-I had something else written, but then I re-read your post. Call #1345 and ask immigration yourself. They'll have the most reliable info.

[barneygumbell]

wow thanks for all the information..i appreciate your help!

i have been considering applying for the visa but is there a time limit you have to get the visa in? like if i got my visa now would i need to go to china within a month or something? i don't know whether to sort out immigration first or the visa first. i just don't wanna be stuck in some airport somewhere without the right documents or whatever.

i am in touch with immigration about it so i hope i can figure something out!

[prideofidaho]

You can absolutely get the visa in advance. Maximum 3 months, but it sounds like you've got less than 3 months anyway so you're good to go.

I'm glad to be of help, but it's wise to double check this and anything anyone else says.

[Jessie41]

Yes, that's true. You have 3 months to enter China after they issue the visa. I just got mine, and I'm going the middle of August.

I also expected that the travel agent would want my ARC, but they did not. In the past, China would only issue a visa in your country of citizenship, unless you could prove you are a resident of the country where you are applying for the visa. I don't know if this has changed, but they didn't want the ARC two weeks ago.

[barneygumbell]

okay great..that makes me feel better. i will go to seoul on saturday and find a travel agent. then i will go to the immigration office and sort out all the other problems i have.

if i arrive a month after my visa is issued will i get less time on the visa? so if i had a 3 month visa but didn't enter china for a month would i then only have a 2 month visa or does it start from your entry date? i want to stay in china for 6 weeks..

some of these questions must seem a little foolish i know but this actually is seeming like the best place to get information because i don't speak hangul.

thanks!

[prideofidaho]

No, the length of sojourn starts when you enter the country. You can get the visa up to 3 months in advance, and the when you enter China your sojourn starts (so depending on what you get, you can stay for 30 days, 6 months, 12 months, etc., from the date you enter China.)

When you have your visa, it will have two dates on it, the date issued and the date that you have until to enter.

[Jessie41]

I think the standard for the tourist visa is that you can stay for up to 30 days only. You may want to look into if this can be extended.