Chinese Visa Sticky

I can answer brb732's question as I worked in Japan for several years. Even in those days, before the new visa regulations, Japan was one of the worst places on earth to get a Chinese visa. Both myself and my New Zealand colleague failed to get one because they insisted on residency papers that the Japanese do not issue. Therefore, without wishing to dishearten you, I feel you may find yourself on the road to nowhere in Tokyo.

a few questions:

us passport holder. Has anyone traveling abroad tried sending their passport back to US to have an agency get their visa for them?

I will be in Kathmandu in 2 days and I have entry and exit flights, and a residence permit for my friends I will be staying with. I have a previous visa from last year to China so I think I might be able to get a single entry 30 day visa (from what I have read on the previous posts). But I would like to stay for longer, so I am not sure weather to mail my passport back to the states and see if I get a longer visa like some people have said they have through mychinavisa.com, or just go ahead and get the visa here or in Delhi and then try to renue it.

Any suggestions?

Feel free to personal message me if you have an info

table - seems to me that only you can decide. Several things to consider. One, as a US passport holder rules may be different. China tends to be very tit for tat. As the US requires that you apply in the country of your passport or official residence, the Chinese may say the same. Report from Kathmandu (#636) was not a US passport holder.

Two, It is likely that you will only get a 30 day visa in Kathmandu. Same for Delhi assuming that it is even possible there. If you send your passport back to the US there is a possibility of getting 60 days.

Three, you mention renewing your visa. There are reports that it won't be possible to extend your visa after 1 July. US passport holders pay the equivalent of 131 USD to get extensions so you won't be saving any money.

Four, people send passports all the time, particularly for Chinese visas because they must be personally delivered. So they send them from overseas, probably. Is it a good idea? Depends upon the country in which you are sitting waiting for your passport to be returned.

Ruth

everbrite and eurozhongguo - thanks for your comments.. certainly looks like it would've been better to visit while I was living in Japan, although without these new rules it would'nt have been so troublesome this time either.

Booking any flight from Japan at a reasonable cost alone has been a chore, but eventually I've booked one with NWA which I can cancel for 1/3rd of the cost.. seemed to be about the best option going.

I've also made bookings for every night of my stay with hostelworld apart from those which I intend to use overnight train (intend to travel Shanghai-Xian-Beijing-Shanghai) - it makes my plans less flexible than I wanted but I guess it wouldn't be too expensive to cancel/change dates if needed.

So, I will be submitting a copy of the hostel reservations, my rtn flight ticket from Tokyo-Shanghai and also my rtn ticket London-Tokyo (just incase they query my flight originating in Japan) with my application tomorrow morning. I will include an extra sheet outlining my complete itinerary, but it would seem unreasonable not to grant a visa with this amount of information provided, wouldn't you think? (although it is probably better not to second guess bureaucrats).. the only thing I don't have booked is the train tickets - and looking at chinatraintickets or chinatripadvisor they cannot even guarantee/provide confirmation of tickets before they go on sale anyway so I'd rather wait until the visa is confirmed before booking them.

If you have any other suggestions I'd be happy to hear them, otherwise I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks

I need to apply for Chinese Visa through a US based internet service. Any tried-and-true services recommended? Currently traveling abroad (currently Germany) so applying in person from home ain't an option.

blakek - #718 of this thread:

There are several agencies mentioned in the US on this thread:
uschinvisa.com
mychinavisa.com

Ruth

a new query - as I will be a volunteer for 6 months next winter - helping at a poor school for the blind (I am older and I can do this for little or no money, I have rent from my cottage). But if I have to keep going out to try to get an 'F' visa it is going to prove too expensive.

But it seems if the plan is to help them for 6 - 9 months they may be able to get me a 'z' visa

If school starts in September - but I have a ticket back to China from Japan, can I get a 'Z' visa to start earlier? 6th August?

I will be in UK for June, and could I get a tourist visa to use for 30 days + a 'Z' visa to run from when that finishes?

Any suggestions?

Sheila

Sheila - I am pretty sure that Z visas must be applied for in the country of your passport or official residence. I think you need to talk to the people at the school and see if they can get the appropriate paperwork for a Z visa. I am not sure that this will be possible. They must be able to obtain these two documents:
(1)An employment permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security or the State Administration of Foreign Experts of China;
(2)An invitation letter from a relevant Department of Chinese Government or a government-authorized company.

Without this paperwork, you can't get a Z visa. Unless the school has some connections or regularly obtains these forms for others, I seriously doubt that they will be able to assist you. I wouldn't bother thinking about this alternative until you can ascertain that they can obtain these documents. Start with the school. Either for a Z or an F visa they must get the paperwork. If they won't or can't then all you can get is a tourist visa.

Until this recent change many schools that used foreigners to teach, both paid and volunteer came into China on a business that could be extended several times.

Ruth

These has been posted on an other website thought it was interesting ;

Jonathan on May 16, 2008 at 4:58pm
More news hitting the newspapers:

Further visa news but this time it relates to foreign students currently in China with their visas soon to run out.

According to the Dutch website De Gele Draak, The Dutch embassy in Beijing has just released a message to Dutch citizens confirming the rumour that students wont be able to renew their student visa in China unless they go back to their hometown.
Also the Dutch Embassy has found out that visa of foreign students who are already in China for study and whose visa will expire shortly, are not being extended over the summer period. People involved will basically have to leave the country and have to apply abroad to get a visa for the next semester

Meanwhile in Guangzhou the crackdown has began with over 10000 African expats being denied extensions to their visas, report Bloomberg (quoting The South China post).

Nearly half of the 10,000 Africans in the city have already been forced to leave because their visa-renewal applications have been denied and at least 100 people are stranded in Macau without enough money to return home, the newspaper reported

Still two stickies for Chinese visas months after the change? Anyone familiar with China was talking about it in March if not Feb, long before that article from South China Morning Post in April and these two stickies.

In any case, no Chinese visa is issued on Thorn Tree, not even on a sticky. If you need one, go to a consulate or travel agency.

Han Girl