Originally Posted by
bevoinva
Anyone have any experience with getting a visa for a minor? I'm taking advantage of the AA mistake fare and taking my 16 year old son with me to PEK for a few days during his spring break.
I'm hopeful that I will be granted the new 10 year visa as I have traveled to PEK twice in the last year on a (now expired) multi-entry 1 year visa. My question though, concerns what type of visa I should expect for my 16 year-old. His passport will have a little over 13 months of validity when we apply.
Any advice as to what to put on the application under the type of visa requested? Thanks!
There's only a limited number of visa categories that make sense for a non-resident minor: if he's not visiting family and not going for a study course, then the logical answer is "tourist" or L visa. Whether they will grant a 10-year visa to him with just over 13 months of validity left may depend on the Chinese mission you have to deal with--I received a 10-year with closer to 12.5 months of passport validity left from Houston Consulate. I do not know if there is a minimum age limit to be granted the 10-year visa. If his current passport was originally issued as a 5-year validity (typical for US applicants <16 years), they may limit him to the 12-month visa or even less.