FlyerGoldII

Will be going to China for the first time as a tourist - with family - first week of Jan.
More than 6 days, more than 1 city - so we need a visa.
We will apply for a Chinese 10 yr multi-entry tourist visa.

Reading the instructions on the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa web site.
Link:

Visa Requirements

It directs me to the Chinese Online Visa Application (COVA). Nine page form!

link: https://cova.cs.mfa.gov.cn/qzCoCommo...1&locale=en_US


It is not clear to me - is the application totally on-line (but a photo is required - how does one submit that on-line?), or does one go to the Chinese embassy?, or does one submit the application form to some other site (in person) in Ottawa?

jc94

FlyerGoldII

Effective Aug 1, there is the new visa service:

The Chinese Embassy in Canada will outsource the authentication service to the Chinese Visa Application Service Center from August 1, 2018

Some - do we submit to the service, or go to the service (?Embassy, some other site) or both?
Somewhere it talks about scheduling interviews - presumably we do that only if we are asked to schedule an interview

Antonio8069

You download the form, print it, complete it, and bring it (with photos) to the service centre during opening hours. Also, a good idea to have a hotel booking.
NB The service centre is not new. Its been around for awhile!
As you have already figured out, its best to get a multiple entry visa - same cost and its good until the expiry date of your passport.
I have visas for India Vietnam & China - all in YOW. Hands down, the Chinese visa was the easiest.

Absolute

+1, it really is easy - much more than the Russian or Brazilian process!

It's a very efficient system, and like Antonio8069 mentioned, it's not new. I went there for my first visa in 2012 (second in 2013), back before Canada was allowed to have multi-entry visas. As he also mentioned, multi-entry is the way to go.

Regarding India, I actually found it the easiest (since it's all online), although it took me a loooong time to enter all my previous country visits into the system!

FlyerGoldII

I wlll then go to the Service Centre.

Chinese Visa Application Service Centre



Office Address :220 Laurier Avenue West,Suite 1450, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5Z9,Canada

Antonio8069

1. requires two visits - one to drop off your passports, the next to pick up;
2. I paid by credit card. I imagine they also accept debit?

FlyerGoldII

The question is how do we answer the questions:

We want to be fully flexible - want it for 10 years - do we state that we want it for 10 years, do should we say that we want it for the validity period of the passport?

Maximal length of stay - I doubt I will ever need to stay more than 2 weeks - should I put 4 weeks.

Obviously, I should say multiple?

This would be our first Chinese visa application?

FlyerGoldII

Went to visa application office today.

Was told that the 9 page visa application is a diplomatic visa application.

Gave us a 4 page visa application.

It does not seem that one can apply for a 10 year multiple visa application?

This is the Chinese visa application:







heading:



中 华 人 民 共 和 国 签 证 申 请 表 Visa Application Application Form of the People’s Republic of China (For the Mainland of China only)







duration/number of entries:







2.2 计划 入境次数



Intended number of entries







Options:







One entry valid for 3 months from date of issue



Two entries valid for 3-6 months from the date of issue



multiple entries for 6 months from the date of issue



multiple entries for 12 months from the date of issue



Other - please specify







(Please note - I could not copy and paste this section - I do not know why?).







So this application does not look like a 10 year multiple entry visa - unless one adds it to the last option?

tentseller

Since you were there in person why not ask them to hear this from the horse's mouth?
I know that they were still issuing 10yrs Multi-Entries at Toronto this November.