Double Entry Visa Validity - Help - Lonely Planet travel forum

Double Entry Visa Validity - Help

Replies: 6 - Last Post: 03-Oct-2007 23:20 Last Post By: DafLoz

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DafLoz

03-Oct-2007 06:00
Posts: 194

Double Entry Visa Validity - Help

I am a UK passport holder and have a double entry Chinese visa that was issued in Hong Kong.

It is a tourist (L) visa
It has name, DOB, Passport No then,
Entry(s):02
Valid Until: 04 Oct 2007
Issue Date: 04 Jul 2007
Issued at: in Chinese
Remarks: none

I first went to China on the 5th Jul and stayed until 10th August.
I have now re-entered China on 3rd Oct. I was told by the woman at the border that I could only stay in China for 1 day unless I get an extension.

I thought that the Valid Until date meant the date I had to be in CHina by (and use my 2 entries) and then my stamp gave me 60 days to travel). I am really confused as all the websites state different things - I cannot find a definitive answer. My entry stamp does not state how long I can stay in the country and nothing on my visa is written about how long I can stay in each time.

So, am I supposed to leave China tomorrow without an extension or do I have at least 30 days to carry on traveling? I am going to try to ring CTS in Hong Kong tomorrow and then go to the PSB in Jinghong but I fear they won't understand my question - it's also a little tricky as my visa is in an old passport but I got through the border fine. I just think an extension could cause me problems.

The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for [Louis L'Amour]
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page [St. Augustine]

James

03-Oct-2007 06:32
Posts: 398

Just go into the PSB in the AM and ask for an extension. Don't bother calling Hong Kong. I think the lady at the border was correct.

http://www.usefilm.com/photographer/28275.html

harju

03-Oct-2007 06:59
Posts: 443

This has been discussed before. It seems that visas issued in Hong Kong do not have the typical "enter before" and "days per entry" that you have when getting them elsewhere.

iantyke77

03-Oct-2007 11:41
Posts: 179

From PRC Consulate in Hong Kong website;

VISA VALIDITY AND DURATION OF STAY

Usually the validity of a Single Entry or Double Entry "L" visa is 90 days or 180 days from the date of issue. This means the holder of the visa shall enter China no later than 90 days or 180 days from the date of issue, otherwise the visa is expired and is null and void. The duration of stay of a "L" visa is 30 days, which means the holder of the visa may stay in China for up to 30 days from the date of entry.The visa officer may extend the Duration of Stay if the applicant needs and requests a stay in China for more than 30 days.

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/zgqz/t84246.htm

Harry_Mudd

03-Oct-2007 17:53
Posts: 4,088

you are allowed to have two entries, each of which has a 30 day max between the 4th Jul and 4th Oct. The Visa is NOT valid after the 4th Oct.

You can get an extension at the nearest PSB, or go back to HK.

"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road" - Henry Ward Beecher

chinamario

03-Oct-2007 20:49
Posts: 1

man, your situation is very clear. Your visa expires on Oct 4th. You entered the country on Oct 3rd. So you can only stay one day. What to do? You MUST go to the visa office no later than October 4th to ask for an extension. This is something you should do several days before your visa date expires. If they don't want to give you an extension of an additional 30 days, then they will probably only give you an extension of 2-3 days to give you time to get organized and leave. If they flat out refuse to extend your visa, then you need to cross the border or pay 500rmb per day fine for each day past Oct 4th when you do finally leave, up to a max of 5000rmb....

Each tourist stay is typically limited to 30 days.

Cheers, Mario
www.sanyaexpat.com

DafLoz

03-Oct-2007 23:20
Posts: 194

Well I went to the PSB and got a visa extension. I actually got 31 days as I had put the new date as 4th November not 3rd Nov with 0 entries. They seemed like they would've given me an even longer extension as they just copied what I put on the form. Was very easy, done while I waited.

So it is true that for this visa you have to leave the country by the valid until date not just enter by then. It was the other info about "normal" chinese visas that confused me (as can be seen from post #3 above).

However length of stay I think can be as long as you want up until the expiry of the visa. I stayed 6 weeks the first visit with no problems.

Also for reference, despite the official line that a visa in an expired passport is invalid and you must buy a new one (you can't transfer it) I had no problems at the PSB or at the border just showing both old and new passport. The entry stamp went in the new passport and the new visa extension has gone in the new passport also.

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