Originally Posted by
Kushluk
A question for the many knowledgable people here.
I am traveling on a US passport for this one. I just bought a USA-HKG PEK-USA double open jaw r/t, and I need a visa. Visa office is no problem as I live in NYC. The ticket is uncommonly cheap, in the 3XX$ range. I am flying all segments, there are no 3xes or any of that. Will the cheapness of the ticket cause me problems applying for a visa? do I need to show the price? Will anyone care, and am I just being paranoid? If I cannot get a visa, or get denied, can I fly to HK, then just take a flight to PEK before I need to come back to the US, and just sit there in the airport and wait? Also, I hear a bought ticket is not necessary, just an itinerary, can I do that? Is that advisable, or am I just making something out of nothing?
I also speak fluent Chinese, but I learned it in Taiwan... so we won't go there with the Chinese embassy heh. I am not Chinese though, I was born in Chile and grew up in the US (could that be yet another problem?). I just renewed my US passport (the old one finally expired), so no ROC stuff is in this very brand new passport.
I am a cautious one! Just being (Very) careful before my 24 hr cancellation window expires.
Thank you very much for any information you provide.
-K
As @moondog says, relax. Should be no issues here either in getting a visa or traveling. To your conditions:
--Chinese don't care how much you paid for your ticket. For the visa application, just show a printout that has the ticket number and name matching your passport. They don't care if the price is on it or not. (Likely if they notice a cheap price, they'll think you've got a keen eye for a bargain, heh.)
--In the unlikely event (I estim <1% chance) that you are denied a visa, yes, with this routing you can qualify for a Transit Without Visa at PEK since your flight sequence touching China is HKG - PEK - USA. However, that onward ticket to the USA would need to be within the time limitations (72 hours starting at 00:01 after your arrival into PEK). You can leave the airport regardless of the length of the layover.
--Confirmed flight is absolutely necessary whether flying for a true stopover in Beijing or making an onward transit connection. That means you must purchase a ticket if you actually want to fly. Maybe I'm not understanding what you're talking about.
--Your fluency in Chinese is not an issue but there is no need to reveal this on your visa application nor when you visit. Just use English.
--Birth in Chile shouldn't be an issue as long as your US passport is what you're using. Since you aren't ethnic Chinese, there's probably no special extra pieces of paper the Consulate will want to see.