Apart from simple connections (which I advise against in China), I am hard pressed to envision any scenarios in which people with visas wouldn't want to --at least attempt to-- use them for entry/exit.

Just adding a data point on obtaining a tourist L visa (10 year, 60 day entry). I went in person to the SF consulate on Friday the 11th, arriving at around 7:45am, when security let me in around 9:05am, I got ticket 17. Had all of my papers/copies/itinerary in order, so was relatively quick (spent less than 5 mins at the window). The only thing that threw me, was the person working the window asked me to write a sentence about what exactly I do. Wasn't on the list of things to bring, but I brought a 'self generated' employer letter stating where I worked and she took that letter and asked if I had a similar letter for my GF too, which I did and gave her (I also applied for a visa for her too, since I wasn't about to stand in line again, when she actually travels with me next). Note neither me or the GF work in the media business so who knows. I left the consulate around 10:15am at which point the line was huge). I went to pick up the visa yesterday the 17th, the day it was set to be ready (consulate was closed on the 14th). I arrived at 1:55pm and was able to pick up the visas and leave around 2:05pm. Overall relatively painless if you come prepared, for better or worse its like a DMV experience.



And like Pogaf, my visa didn't have my photo.

What's the right application form if your goal is a 10 year? I only see an option for a 1 year multiple entry.

http://www.china-embassy.org/chn/lsz...1570742708.pdf seems to be the most recent version, though I admittedly only spent 20 seconds searching (so I could have missed something newer).

What version are you looking at? The "other" option has appeared on all PRC visa application forms I've seen for the past ~15 years.

So do I just check that box and write "10 year multi-entry"?

I'll admit I didn't read much of this thread.

1. Yes

2. In spite of the large number of posts, this thread is pretty straight forward, unlike its sister thread (TWOV)

I know people who were told they had no choice but to use their US passport when they tried to get a visa on their non-US passport from a US consulate.

They also report that this was not the case prior to 2008, but it became much stricter then.

I just want to make sure I understand this correctly.

My visa says "Enter before 09NOV2019", and gives 30 days.

I don't plan on staying anywhere close to 30 days, but I would like to enter on the morning of 9 November. I am finding conflicting answers at various websites about whether "Enter before 09NOV2019" means "Enter on 8 Nov 2019 or earlier" (that is what I would have thought "enter before" means), or "Enter on 9 Nov 2019 or earlier".

I could fly to Hong Kong, and try to cross into Shenzhen, on that day - if my visa is not valid on that day, I would then apply for one of these port visas at Lo Wu (or can you get them when taking the HK airport ferry to Shekou, or at the high-speed rail station at West Kowloon?). That would be somewhat limiting, because I would have to stay in Shenzhen, and I would like the option to visit Guangzhou. It would also be nice to have the option to fly into Shenzhen or Guangzhou instead of Hong Kong if the flights work out better. But it wouldn't ruin the trip if I have to get a port visa and stay in Shenzhen, assuming you can do this on a Saturday.

This version does have the 10-year-multiple -entries option (see item 2.2). I downloaded it from the Los Angeles Chinese Consulate website, and submitted it in San Francisco with no problem.

http://losangeles.chineseconsulate.o...0381274902.pdf

Tip: don't pick up your visa during lunch hour, which adds 45 min to what should be a short process.

I can say from personal experience it means enter before midnight, 9NOV2109.

Before 11:59pm on 9Nov or before 12:01am on 9Nov?

So far as my experience as a native English speaker goes, "midnight, November 9" always means the very last minute of November 9. Always.

So mid-day on 9 November is OK then?

In that case, I think I'm going. One last use out of the old visa :)

I've been minorly hassled about this when entering (by foot, from Macau to Zhuhai). When I said, I left the airport and spent one day in Istanbul, while enroute to somewhere else, they seemed satisfied with that. (Possibly relevant - do not speak more than a few dozen words of mandarin, as white as they come.)

I think it might be the only time (out of several dozen, probably less than one hundred) entries when mainland immigration has ever asked me a question. That includes quite a few entries when I would have had the same Turkish entry stamp in the passport. Many of these entries would have been from Hong Kong to Shenzen, by foot or by ferry, but there have certainly been a few dozen air entries as well.

This is not my experience (an American English native speaker). For example, "insurance coverage begins at midnight, November 9th" I would interpret to mean the very first minute of November 9th.

Here's what the U.S. civil time authority has to say:

https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-fr...times-day-faqs

Anyway, I thought it was a legitimate question in this visa context -- thank you for clarifying.