when crossing from macau to zhuhai, visa-on-arrival is possible for uk and thai citizens (among many other nationalities), the cost being 240 patacas plus a wait of up to 45 minutes in 2006. the woman at the cts travel agency desk at the border also said that american cititzens were not permitted to use this method.

ian. :)

Hi everyone! Im waiting to get my new passport back from the State Dept and going to apply for a Chinese visa for the first time. Ive found some good prices on hotels and airline tickets and was thinking about purchasing them. Could anyone tell me how strict the Chinese are with issuing visas. Ive gone through the Russian visa process a few times with no issues but I dont want to purchase airline tickets and hotel reservations only to have the Chinese government deny my visa application for some reason. Please let me know if you are familiar with Chinese visa denials or if visas are basically all accepted. Thanks

Unless you are famed for leading the local Falun Gong movement/being a journalist writing articles about human rights abuses in China/etc then getting a visa for China is simply an administrative process. For the tourist visa simply call in to the consulate with your passport and application form and then call in again a few days later to collect the visa. No need for invitations, hotel reservations, etc.

The Chinese visa process is very much based on the principle of 'it's yours unless there's a good reason to deny it', rather than, say, the US process which seems to be moving rather rapidly towards the 'we presume you are a terrorist and really want to get you to Guantanamo, but if after a personal interview you can prove otherwise then we will think about giving you a visa'.

However, in the case of the US visas, you pay for the visa application, so you are required to pay even if the application is rejected. If you're applying for a US visa that everyone is bound to get (e.g. a visa for visiting scholars), you have to pay about/at least twice as much because of additional "administrative costs".:td:

There's still handling costs--to make sure you really are the person you claim to be. US visas from the third world are *NOT* rubber stamps due to the high number of people trying to illegally immigrate. I think it's reasonable that the visa applicants bear this cost.


Something that I think would help with the objections: I think there should be a lower price for people who have already had one approved and have no denials. Those cases are going to mean less checking needed.

They recently changed the forms. It used to be all on single page. Now, it has two. But no problem downloading and opening either:

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/zgqz/t84240.htm

The easiest place to get a china visa is Hong Kong. So if you have a few days before your trip or need to go to Hong Kong anyway: There is a China Travel Service just opposite of the Holiday Inn (dont go to a travel agent in the next building with a similar name - look for the real china travel service).
http://www.ctshk.com/english/useful/chinesevisa.htm
Visas for US citizens are more expensive.

Basically any travel agency can process China Visas. It does not cost more for US passport holders but the fees are based on 'urgency' as well as whether it is a single entry or a multiple entry visa.

Visas may be processed within the day, or over a day.

nothing is cheaper than going to the embassy in your country usually with same day service but they do charge the most for us and uk citizens as they obviuosly have more money than sense

It costs US$100, HK$780, or equivalent local currencies to get a basic Chinese visa for US citizens (now one-year multiple entry, usually). Doesn't matter which embassy/consulate process it.

It is more than most other nationalities, but cheaper than citizens of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, UK, Panama, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Chile.

CTS is just a travel agent, though it's owned by the Chinese government. They still charge an extra fee, I believe, and you can use other agents.

In Hong Kong, one can go up to the visa office yourself in Wan Chai.

In the US, one can use an agent or go to an embassy or consulate yourself. Can't mail the passport direct to them.

Right on! They now regularly give out 1 yr multiple and if you ask travel agent, they might even be able to swing 2 yr multiple for you. Let them do the work, a few dollars more but well worth it.

When my wife went for one a few weeks ago the travel agent considered a 2 year out of the question. The form doesn't even have a box to select it. Numerous trips in the past, all on single entry visas.

This is because the Chinese do visa fees reciprocally. Since we raised our visa prices, they raised theirs.

Get a NEW travel agent - everyone in my office, several clients of mine as well as family members have all secured at the very least a one year multiple visa since late 2005 & early 2006. My wife's one yr just expired, we're leaving next month and our TA is 'renewing' her and one of my business associates for 1 yr (although I asked them to try to get 2 yr).

If you're in NYC area, pm and be happy to refer my TA to you.

You realize I'm talking about tourist visas, not business visas? It's only recently that tourists could even get the 1 year, isn't it? 3 years ago we asked the office in Shanghai about even a 6 month visa and she got nowhere. (Her mother was dying, we didn't know when. We wanted to have a visa in the passport ready to go.)