chinese visa

[franklin]

OK here we go again. You guys have been very helpful so far...

What's up with the visas for Americans? To stay for ninety days (duration of stay, not length of visa validity) should I apply for an F, X, or L visa?

Can American citizens apply for the visa in Hong Kong?

I am a US citizen and residing in Taiwan at the moment. The come in person rule is kind of a pain in the ass for people in Taiwan, as there is no consulate here.

Thanks in advance.

[Uwe]

Visa

I am not sure on how it is going from Taiwan, but below, I copied a posting I made in the Travel Section of russbo in June.

State Department June 05, 2004


Any US Citizen traveling to China MUST have a VISA PRIOR to arriving in China. Before, some were traveling to China with letters of invitations and getting their visa upon arrival. No longer the case.. All US citizens MUST have the visa before departing the USA. This process will take approximately 5 working days.. However, in some cases we can request a rush 1-2 days.

Also, US Citizens can no longer obtain China visas in Hong Kong. We do have travelers who take side trips in and out of Hong Kong and have received their China visas in Hong Kong this will no longer happen.


Uwe

[doc]

I was just in Hong Kong. You can get a visa to leave HK for the mainland, but, I think it's just for day trips. The best thing for you to do, in my opinion, is Fed Ex your passport to the Chinese consulate in either NY or Los Angeles directly. You can get a single or double entry visa, double entry costs more, about 100 USD, but the visa is good for 30 days. It will be a tourist visa. To get a longer visa, sometimes you can get 60 days, if you provide some sort of itinerary or reason. As for the schools helping you get a longer visa, I have no experience with this.

[franklin]

Hello again Russbo.com

I just thought I would let you guys know that I'm in Hong Kong now, and they gave me a visa for the Chinese Mainland yesterday. Before I came I had a chinese speaking person call the Chinese consulate in Hong Kong to inquire about the "no US citizens receiving a visa in Hong Kong rule" and they assured us (twice) in chinese that there was no such rule. I wrote the Chinese consulate via e-mail (in English) in the US and asked them if there was such a situation and they responded by e-mail that I could apply for the visa in Hong Kong.

No one said anything about US citizens being barred from the chinese visa process in the SAR, and I sure as hell didn't mention it once I got here. So, if that's the rule I don't think it's being enforced very strictly. Although it might be good for prospective travellers to know that according to the Chinese Embassy in the United States website, they do not accept applications by mail. Only in person, through a family member or relative, or through an authorized travel agent. I would suggest interested parties check out visarite. I didn't use them but I did call for some advice one day and they were most helpful. I haven't actually used the visa to enter the country yet, but I did get it from the Chinese Consulate itself. The cost was $390 HKD. There are several places in Hong Kong that organize visas for the Mainland but I opted to go to the consulate myself.

I thought this might be good stuff for people to know.

[doc]

Thanks. Continue to let us know if you can, it seems to be a common question among the community. Have a safe trip up there.