suet

It's a nightmare traveling to Beijing last Saturday.

The three of us (my daughter, my husband and a 5 year old) are traveling together, from Dallas, to Toronto, thru Vancouver to final destination Beijing. In Beijing, the chinese official found out that my 5 year old's entry visa into China had a void stamp on it and was denied entry. The stamp was done in error obviously because the 3 of us applied for the entry visa together but only hers has a faint void stamp on it. I then show them her valid Foreigner Residence of China Permit, which was recieved at the same time I applied for her entry visa, but that was not enough to enter China.

The Air Canada Agent at the Toronto Pearson Airport did check all of our passports for valid visa to China before issuing us boarding passes. So nobody knows about her visa problem until we reached Beijing.

So in Beijing Airport, the Air Canada agent together with chinese official were seeking ways to fix her visa problem, because obviously the void stamp was put on in error, as she's also carrying a valid Foreigner Residence Permit of China.

Here's when the situation turns sour, the Air Canada Agent said she must send my daughter back to Vancouver on the original flight since she does not have a valid visa entering China, or else the government will fine Air Canada 20000 ren/ 2500 USD for letting her travel without proper documents. At the same time they have placed a call to Chinese Immigration office to check what's going on with her visa, but it will take at least half an hour to get back a response.

I've asked them to wait for half an hour to get response back from Chinese Immigration and they said no, my daughter must go back on the same plane which leaves right away back to Vancouver. One adult must accompany her back to Vancouver on the original flight or else Air Canada get fined.

So the Air Canada agent was in a hurry to avoid a penalty to the airline. She asked us to pay for 2 one-way tickets from Beijing to Vancouver, costing a heafty 11984 ren / 1400 USD EACH. The Air Canada agent was in such a hurry since the plane's leaving right away, she asked my husband and daughter to board the plane first and the wife stays here and pay for the tickets plus pick up the baggage. So my daughter was send back to Vancouver to without baggage. And she's still in Vancouver today waiting for the Chinese Embassy to open up Monday morning to figure out what's going on with her visa.

I'm very upset at the way Air Canada and the Chinese officials handled the whole matter. They could have let us waited that half hour for a response back from Immigration office, or they could have let us choose to go to a closest port to fix her visa problem. We could have fly to Hong Kong which cost about 1000 ren / 120 USD each.

The Air Canada Agent is most concern to send her back on the original plane so Air Canada can avoid the penalty from Chinese government for letting her get on the plane in the first place. The Chinese official want to send her back on the same plane "as this is what the Americans will do to Chinese when Chinese enters US without a valid visa". The Chinese official seems sastisfied to finally find some American they can kick out of the country, a five year old. They will not give us anytime to rectify the problem, even though no one can explain why only her visa has a void stamp on it plus she's also carrying a proper Foreigner Residence permit in China.

Right now I'm so stressed out being separated from my daughter and husband, alone in Beijing.

I don't think I should have paid for the 2 one-way tickets, but I've signed a Visa bill already. I've wrote a complaint letter to Air Canada.

I'm not sure what else I can do to try to at least get back the 3000 USD from Air Canada on the 2 one-way tickets.

Suet, alone in Beijing

cordelli

While I can't help with your situtation, I can tell you that when we visited China my wife's visa was voided and caused some issues at the airport. They let us get boarding passes, and we didn't understand the issue (in our case it was a pen mark across it). We looked through the passport trying to understand if it was an accidential mark or what, and saw another visa in the back. They spelled her name wrong on the first one (though it was only a missing space, nothing we would care about).

The point was, the airline would have been perfectly happy to let us fly with that, indeed they mentioned it to us that was a common way to void it, we had just thought it was a pen in the purse or something. I totally agree with you, I would not have been happy if they turned us around if the other vaild one wasn't in there, and as soon as they saw it marked, they immediatly looked for another one.

Did you use a tour company or visa agency for the visa? They should have noticed it and gotten it corrected (as they did with ours, they got the passports back and then sent hers out again), though not sure you will get anything going that route.

hfly

Did you even think about calling your Embassy? Personally I would have refused to allow anyone in my family to reboard the plane, or at very worst have offererde to write Air Canada a note there and then saying that if they were in fact charged a fine then you would have covered it. After all, sending them back seems to have cost you a lot more than that fine would have been ($2800 and counting as they will have to fly back). The Chinese consulate seems to have screwed up, AC seems to have screwed up, and now you are paying for it. As you sent them back to Cnada, I find it highly unlikely that you'll see your money back.

PTravel

I was curious about this, too. Presumably, AC didn't intent to put the little girl on the next flight back by force. What would have happened if the OP simply refused, and told AC, "You inspected our visas, you let us on, it's your problem, not mine."?

RunawayNFly

You could dispute it with your credit card company and then try to work something out with Air Canada. They might reduce the fare and/or not charge you when they in turn are hassled.

Fermat

good luck. It's AIR CANADA that the OP is dealing with. The "C" stands for Completely intransigent

Leftover Meatloaf

I'm not familiar with entry & exit to China, but I have travelled extensively to another communist country just to the south of there. Over half the time I travel there, they find some "problem" with my (or one of my traveling companion's) VISA, passport, customs declaration, hair color, facial expression... you name it, there always seems to be a "problem".

The cure seems to be a ten dollar bill slipped into the passport. Now before everyone freaks out, THIS IS WHAT THEY EXPECT! You can deal with a bunch of hassles (like the OP did), or you can make the "problem" (whether real or imaginary) go away simply. I have sometimes not played the game out of principle, but in the long run, parting with the $10 is the simple solution.

Now we must have some frequent travelers to China here. Were the Chinese officials just looking for the same palm-greasing, or don't they operate like that there. Obviously, you have to be particularly careful with "accidentally" leaving cash in your passport because in more places than not, it can get you into even MORE trouble - China may very well be in that category.

alexus9

I have nothing to offer but just want to let you know that you are not alone and we are thinking of you here. What an awful situation.

I wondered why you have to pay the one way fare back? I don't think thats right. I also wondered why the chinese immigration was unable to help you. Talk about customer no service. Well, What do you expect from a communist?
It might be a social envy from the chinese that they think we have the dollars to go back and forth anywhere. Something is not right here . Stay strong and keep on fighting.

hfly

I am a regular visitor to China and would not have tried the $10 trick, In PEK they don't play that way.

Had they refused, nothing would have happened except they would have been stuck in the airport for anything from an hour to a day to get it straightened out (especially if you got the Embassy involved). Someone I know had a similar situation into Brazil a few years ago, he hadn't had a visa and no one checked in Miami. They flew him back and forth for FREE in order to avoid the fine. AC screwed these people, plain and simple. The above poster gives the advice. Call Visa and dispute the charge immediately, that is probably your only chance.

Guy Betsy

Chinese entry requirements have their own whims... even if you have proper documentation.

A recent case.... was when a 12 year old girl travelling on her own from Vancouver to Beijing. She holds both Canadian and Chinese passports. (Illegal actually as China does not allow dual citizenships)... but upon check-in, the AC agent obviously asked if the girl has a Chinese visa for entry and was shown that she also holds a Chinese passport.

Upon arrival in China, the Chinese passport was shown upon which officials questioned why the passport had not Canadian stamp of entry on it. Then the Canadian passport was shown. Upon which the Chinese officials decided that the girl must have a Chinese visa on her Canadian passport.

She was duly deported and sent back to Canada. I don't know who foot the bill then... but when situations like this occur, the passenger does NOT have to pay the return cost of the ticket. The onus falls on the airline.

But the girl being 5 I guess, one parent would have to accompany her even if the parent has the proper documentation.

I guess you won't be going back to China in a while.

suet

Thanks for all the advice. I'm not sure how to dispute this since I did sign the visa bill. Looking back I think I signed it because there was a guard standing behind my daughter.

I'll call the visa company and let you all know what happens next.

PTravel

Well, I don't know if I'd qualify as a frequent traveler to China, but I've been there about a dozen times. I definitely would NOT try your $10 trick. If you're a westerner and play by the rules in China, you'll be treated very well. If you break the rules, however, you can find yourself in an awful lot of hot water. My wife is Chinese (from the PRC), and, according to her, there are times when it is appropriate for a Chinese person to provide a gift to an official. However, the etiquette of doing so is involved and culturally complicated.

My advice to anyone going to China -- don't bend the rules, except the ones that you absolutely know can be bent.