American with a Chinese visa situation and questions
Replies: 5 - Last Post: Aug 1, 2012 3:07 AM Last Post By: bstevenlyew
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American with a Chinese visa situation and questions
Visa expired yesterday and I'm now in Hong Kong. I did a lot of research and everyone gave me different information.So for everyone it seems very specific to your situation and what kind of visa you can get.
My situation: American in China for a year previous on a student visa.
Figured out In the end of June that I was staying in China for one more year and my visa was expiring at the end of July.
Some agencies in China could give me a year long tourist visa for 6000RMB (which now in retrospect I should have done). I wouldn't have had to leave my city, Qingdao. But every three months I would've had to leave so I think for the year a visa would've cost in total 2000USD.
But, I called different agencies and on recomendation of a Chinese agent I was told that I could go to Hong Kong and get a Business or tourist visa for at least three months and it would be a lot cheaper.
Now that I'm in Hong Kong all agencies are telling me that the most I could get is perhaps 30 days but certainly nothing longer. But I probably would get a fifteen day visa.
So be warned take care of your visa stuff early but if you're late either do the Chinese agency in your city or enroll in a Chinese uni. for that student visa.
My questions are: What should I do if I get the fifteen day visa? I still want to stay in China for the next year, don't want to go back to America because it would be too expensive, and want to save as much money.
Does anyone else have any recommendations?
3
a friend just got a 90 day visa via shoe string in hong kong, australian passport, although they had also receievd similar information as you from other agencies in hong kongthe best if you had the time would be as others have suggested here , stay in hong kong and courier your passport back to the usa and get a year long 90 day visa there, it could possibly be cheaper in the long run, but perhaps not if you have to pay for hong kong accomodation as well
4
It might not be any better anyplace else in Asia.At this point I would find someplace cheap to hole up for 2-3 weeks and send your passport back to the US to mychinavisa.com for a one year multiple entry visa.
Ruth
