MSPeconomist

DL has some GAs and redcoats who behave like number two also. They just "believe" that you cannot go to China without a visa and refuse to properly investigate using TIMATIC. IMO those with these attitudes and ways of doing their jobs should be fired and also required to personally pay to compensate the customers they harm.

alexinc

A few questions.

01: When attempting to apply for a 10 year tourist visa, which box should be checked? I was not able to type anything in the "other" section when modifying the PDF. Can I check the 1 year and just ask the counter for the ten year? It appears you are not supposed to handwrite anything but even that is unclear.

02: Is a photocopy of any previous Chinese Visa necessary? There is no literature of this requirement on the Embassy website, only on forums.

03: The new foto rule. Has anyone had any success just handing in a standard 2x2 with a paperclip and having that accepted?

This will be for a USA citizen at the Los Angeles consulate. Thanks for any insight.

LoganFlyer

I don't know about #1 or #3 , but I can answer #2 . When I applied for a 10 year visa earlier this year, I did not need to send a photocopy of my previous (now expired) Chinese visa.

jiejie

General comment: Embassy/Consulate websites are often not kept up to date. Websites from good visa agents and good, active forums often have better information. To your questions:

1) No don't check the 1-yr box. Something is wrong with the form you downloaded. Download a form from a different source that is fully functional including that field. Try this agent's website and click the link at item #3 to get the pdf form:
http://www.mychinavisa.com/visas/tourist

2) Maybe, maybe not. This is up to the discretion of the visa officer that your application lands in front of. Usually the answer is "not needed" as the poster above described, especially for a US citizen applying for a tourist visa. If you want to check and see if there is a pattern or not on this from a wider set of datapoints, call the LA office of the above agent (mychinavisa) and see if they are seeing many requests or not. Now, if your passport was issued after 2014, the Consulate may want you to send the prior passport with your application, so they can thumb through the stamps looking for red flag countries (like Turkey, certain Middle East/North Africa countries). This is a relatively new phenomenon.

3) Very strict on new photo regulations. This year, more applicants are getting knocked back for this reason than for any other. Put in some upfront effort and get the photo right and heed all warnings about total size, face size maximum/minimums, expression, ears showing, etc.

A final note: if your trip is far enough into the future that there is any way that you can delay application until end of October/first of November, do so. With the upcoming Party Congress starting in Beijing on October 18, visa applications now are subject to extra scrutiny for security reasons.

alexinc

I just wanted to follow up for people who may be asking similar questions in the future. This is as of 25 SEPTEMBER 2017 at the Los Angeles Chinese Consulate.

01: I downloaded the form from a different website and was able to write 10 year visa on the "Other" checkbox. I will edit this once I receive my passport in three days to see if they issued me a 10 year visa as requested.

EDIT: I did receive the ten year visa. It appears they are fairly standard unless you are requesting over 60 days.

02: I did not need to give a photocopy of any previous Chinese Visas. However, a photocopy of your passport and driver's license was required and I had to go next door to make copies. This was not listed on their website as part of the requirements, so save yourself the hassle and do it in advance. It can be done next door for 25 cents \ea cash only if you're in a bind.

03: I cut my passport photo to 33x48mm. I looked at the MAJORITY of other people's applications getting processed and they had a 2x2 USA regulation size that were being accepted. Mind you, this was at the Los Angeles Consulate - they seemed to be less strict about it.

FlightNurse

Applying for Visa what is the turn around time in receiving your passport and visa back?

JPDM

Depends, one day to one week.

Petri

Hi, Do I need a visa if I have a flight from Helsinki to Chonking if I have an immediate flight 2 hours after landing to Norway? I’ve bought a ticket from Chongking to Oslo Norway but there is a change of plane in Helsinki? In practical terms I return with same airplane from China as was a first flight but I need to change planes in order to go to Norway? I’m not going through customs in China. I intend to stay at airport gate.

Can I download full 24 hour terms from somewhere? Thanks

889

I can't follow your plans for certain, but if you arrive in Chongqing on a plane that last stopped in Finland before arrival, then you cannot on TWOV depart Chongqing on a plane that makes its first stop after departure also in Finland. It's not considered a transit. That your final destination on return is Norway doesn't matter.

LoganFlyer

You won't be able to wait at the airport gate because you can't get there. As people come off the plane, the doors are set up so that you have to go to immigration; you can't waltz out to the gate area. And as mentioned above, TWOV won't apply because your itinerary, from a TWOV perspective, is HEL-CKG-HEL, so you are not going to a 3rd country. It doesn't matter where you're going after HEL on the return flight; the first stop must be somewhere other than in Finland.

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

LoganFlyer is correct.

Petri - you may wish to check out the TWOV thread also here on FT. It will give you all the information you need.

ChicagoDave

I tried to apply for a visa this morning, and after a 75 minute wait I was told I need to book my flight and hotel before applying for the visa. I did some research and this seems to be a requirement. Do people buy non-refundable tickets and risk it, or is it better to get a refundable ticket until you get the visa, and then cancel it & purchase a more affordable ticket?

I also learned that I need to include the following in my application (hope this helps someone else):
- copy of the passport information page
- copy of previous visas (may not be required, but why risk it)
- hotel reservation
- airline ticket

Did I miss anything?

889

Maybe your old passport, if your new passport is relatively new.

Maybe something like your driver's license, to show residence in the consular region.

Green card, visa or something if you're applying somewhere you're not a citizen.

LoganFlyer

This is true for many countries. I've always "risked it," bought the cheap ticket, and I've never been turned down. But then there's nothing about me or my background that I know of that would make a country question giving me a visa.

JPDM

You should check the Chinese embassy's website for the exact requirements (their site may forward you to the visa center website). It's all there and pretty simple.