Getting Chinese visa in Hanoi- success

We were in Hanoi at the end of August 2012, and successfully got our visa for China in 3 days for $30 US each. Was a single entry, 30 day visa (one Australian passport, one UK).

I found alot of the advice online very conflicting, so just wanted to let people know it can be done yourself via the chinese embassy in hanoi, and it was not difficult.

The embassy is open 8.30-11.30 weekdays.On arrival a man gave us copies of the paperwork we needed to fill out. We took with us photocopies of our passport and vietnamese visa, a passport photo, details of our travel insurance, a copy of our flight home to australia, a print out of booking confirmation of our first hotel we were staying at. We also had to fill out the names of 4 hotels we were staying at, and give them an idea of our itinery (we just chose 4 places from the lonely planet).

We were there on a Monday morning, and were able to come back and pick it up on a Thursday. If we wanted to we could have paid a bit more and got it done faster, in 1-2 days.

You have to pay for your visa in US dollars. The lady at the embassy gives you a ticket with your application number on it, and you have to take it to a specific bank about 3km from the embassy. You pay your money there, get your ticket stamped by them, then bring it back to the embassy when you pick up your visa as proof that you have paid. They give you a copy of the name of the bank with the address, so you can get a taxi if you want. (we just walked!)

We were able to do a trip out to Halong Bay while we were waiting for our Chinese visa to be processed, so didn't have to hang around waiting in Hanoi. We just checked with the tour company that they were happy to just have a photocopy of our passports and vietnamese visa, and it was fine.

I have read alot about people getting agencies to do your Chinese visa for you- we wanted to do it ourselves because we had quite a few dodgy experiences with tour places in vietnam, so weren't really keen to hand over our passports for an extended period! I read some agencies will charge quite alot of money and some take upto 6 days, so we were quite happy to do it ourselves. It was not difficult, would recommend others to just do it yourself!

Thanks for that info.

Thanks for the update, good to know.

good to know they are alternatives as Bangkok seems nearly impossible since aug 1

Wow, wish we read this earlier. We used our hotel / travel agency in Hanoi to do the visas - paid a lot for 3 day processing time. US passport - $195, Israeli passport - $95 (this includes the $30 extra pp for the expedited processing). We also went to Halong Bay in the meanwhile, and it was great ... but when we got our visas back, they were only for 20 days! They told us that the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi isn't giving out visas for stays longer than 20 days and that we can "easily" and "simply" extend our visas while in China "for free." Of course we find this very hard to believe and we asked another travel agency, who says this is a lie. We tried going to the embassy today, but it was past closing time. We will go tomorrow morning, but I wanted to check here and see if anyone else is having this problem. Our guesthouse - Ocean Hotel - said they called the manager of their travel agency and they still say that getting a 30 day Chinese visa is impossible now.

Any one experiencing this? Other suggestions and ideas? Thanks!

Hello,

How did you get on when you went to the embassy the following day? Did you manage to extend your visa past the 20 day mark?

I have just been told that for a "30" day visa I will only get 20 days, "new rules"...I don't believe this one bit.

I will probably pop to the embassy tomorrow morning and see what is going on, just so I know exactly what the truth is.

If anyone else has any experiences regarding obtaining a Chinese visa in Hanoi please let me know. I am here a few weeks anyway, so plenty of time to find out the full sp..

Cheers

Simon

Oh, one other thing I will ask tomorrow but will ask here first...is it absolutely necessary to buy a return flight out of china to receive this visa, because I will be going in and out overland?

Cheers

Re: '20 day Chinese visas'. I found out the hard way that they existed and that this was all I had, my guesthouse in China kindly pointed out that I'd overstayed a few days.

All turned out ok but I've since discovered that unscrupuolous travel agents accept peoples money for 30 day visas and only pay the embassy for the cheaper 20 day version. I had a friend who was offered one or the other by an honest agent.

Do not let these snakes try to tell you any differently, mine is under notice that I'll be back in Hanoi and he's in my sights.

Ps: Extensions for 30 days within mainland China cost 160 yuan or about $25.

Hello sarakate86 and y’all:
I would like to confirm sarakate86's report. We had a similar positive experience with the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi in November last year. There was absolutely no Vietnamese agent or tour operator necessary. The embassy staff behaved were helpful, well organised and professional with a good standing of English. 30-day visas for US$ 30.- per person were a straightforward standard.
Find more details in our travel notes:
http://konniandmatt.blogspot.com/2012/11/25-oct-08-nov-2012-hanoi.html
They accepted our return ticket from Hong Kong and were happy with the print-out of a (faked, provisional, cancellable) hostel booking for our first night in China, easily done via Hostelbookers, Agoda, etc. A comprehensive tour itinerary was not necessary.
Happy and safe travels always, Matt.

Just some update. Applied for my visa 1 week ago and got it today. No trouble at all. Although living and working in Vietnam no special questions (only have to fill in an extra sheet, as I am not originally from Vietnam). Takes 5 minutes, then u get the pink slip which you can go pay and after the days the tell you, pick it up. I sent someone, only with the pink slip and had no trouble picking it up!! hope it helps!!

Just thought I'd share our recent success too -

• Australian passports
• In Vietnam on regular 30 day tourist visa (extended once)
• Applied for double entry 30 day China visa, got it no problems.

We submitted the following docs -

• photocopy of passports
• photocopy vietnamese visas
• passport photos
• photocopy of travel insurance
• completed application form (available at embassy)
• our planned itinerary which showed why we needed 2 entries, with hotel names & phone numbers we got from lonely planet

We didn't have any hotels or transport booked for china at all. When we submitted our application the lady asked about hotel bookings, and we just said we were waiting to see if we got the visa first - she said thats fine.

From memory it took 3 days, and cost $40 to $60 (sorry it was a few weeks ago and I've forgotten already).

Edited by: mccat

Hey there,
Just a quick question to those who've already shared so much, you do NOT need the letter of invitation? I lined up to get my visa this morning (only to find out they are closed until Friday), reading the list of requirements posted outside the entrance it lists all of the above including a letter of invitation. This sounds superfluous though. Is this indeed the case?

Thanks,
Charles

Hello Charles07:
Affirmative, we did NOT need any letter of invitation in October 2012. See: http://konniandmatt.blogspot.kr/2012/11/25-oct-08-nov-2012-hanoi.html. Good luck, Matt.

Howdy folks,

Thought I would share my recent experience with getting the Chinese Visa in Hanoi.

First off, the longest you can apply for, at least for a single entry tourist visa, is 30 days.

List of things you need: (at least as a Canadian citizen)
Canadian Passport
Photocopy of said passport
Photocopy of Vietnamese Visa
A single passport photo (as far as I know background colour and size dont really matter. I saw white and blue photos, some bigger than mine)
A print out of first night's accomodation (I initially didn't have this and tried pleading with the desk lady, she was adamant that I needed it)
A brief itinerary with names of the first 4 hotels you'll stay at with their numbers (obviously I just went on the internet and picked without serious intention of staying)
Insurance Policy number and company, I had a print out of my policy info but she said it was unnecessary.
Two filled out application forms, the main one, and a supplemental one because you are applying outside of your home country. They are available at the embassy but this is how they look.

Here is the main one
http://www.visaforchina.org/YVR_EN/upload/Attach/mrbj/260913.pdf

Here is the Supplemental one.
http://www.visaforchina.org/YVR_EN/upload/Attach/mrbj/262996.pdf
For the supplemental one you need your Hanoi hotel info and a phone number.

You ONLY need proof of a return flight or onward travel if you are asking for express (3 working days) or urgent (2 working day) service. Normal service is 4 days, and doesn't require anything else.

The visa cost me as a Canadian citizen, $30. Which apparently (I havent gotten the visa yet) can also be paid in dong.

Anyways, hope all of this info helps, any questions, let me know, also fingers crossed that I actually get the visa.

Charles

Since there hasn't been a recent entry and I still had some unanswered questions before I got mine, I thought I would also share my recent experience earlier this month of getting a Chinese visa in Hanoi. Most of the information about the process I got here is correct, but I may have gotten lucky as well which I shall explain.

So I submitted two passports, one Canadian (so many Canadians here!) and one Brazilian (same price) for approval. I went around 30 mins to an hour after they opened (on a Monday), and there weren't many people there. When I entered, they directed me to window 2 of 3 where there was perhaps 5 or 6 people in front of me. Windows 1 and 3 had ladies, but they were busy with other paperwork.

I could hear the woman at window 2 grilling people on different things. One couple was turned down because they didn't have the first night reserved (as discussed here). I also heard her grilling someone about their health insurance. This made me nervous because I had no insurance policy and put N/A on the application form there. HOWEVER, the woman at window 3 finished what she was doing, and even though there was some Vietnamese people in front of me in line, she motioned for me (presumably because I'm a foreigner) to come to her window. She asked me NONE of the questions the other woman was asking other people (though I think the insurance one was the only one I would have tripped on). I didn't have a ticket in or out, but I explained I would get them after the visa. The only thing she had a problem with was that my passport and Vietnamese visa were photocopied on both sides of one paper instead of 2 separate papers. Luckily, my wife was waiting outside with extra copies, so I grabbed them, came back, and got straight in line behind another person she pulled to her window (I didn't want window number 2).

She took my copies, and gave me the bank information mentioned above along with the voucher that needed a stamp. It had the address for the place, but unfortunately, it still wasn't easy to find. For one thing, the address was an odd or even number, and the odd numbers on one side of the street don't match the even on the other. So if it's 450, or whatever it was, then it was like 651 on the other side of the street. It's in the corner of a business complex, not super obvious. There are taxi drivers waiting at the door of the embassy, but I hate getting screwed on tourist prices, so I decided to just bike there myself (it's not super far).

I didn't have enough US dollars to pay for both visas, but I figured since it was a bank, they would be able to change it. I was emboldened when I saw an exchange rate on the wall of the bank. But when I went to pay and I said I had half in US dollars, the teller told me I had to pay all in Dong or USD. BUT, if you pay in Dong, you have to pay a fee (something ridiculous like $15USD per visa), so I had her write down the address for a nearby money changer, walked there, changed at a decent rate, and then returned and paid.

Back to the embassy, the woman at window 3 took my stamped voucher, then asked for my phone number. I didn't have one at the time, but she told me she needed to contact me to tell me if I was approved. Instead, she gave me her number and told me to call back at 3:00 p.m. for the news. I called to find out we were approved.

All and all, they were very helpful, and despite a few missteps along the way, it was a pretty smooth process. Perhaps I got lucky with who processed me, but it probably wouldn't have made a difference if I didn't have insurance anyways.

Hello folks!!

I would like to let here my experience with the chinese visa in Hanoi i got yesterday.
My husband and I (europeans) went there on 18/02, we intended to stay in China for 45 days so when we fulfilled our forms, we put the total stay in China intended was 50 days. We had printed:
- booking for a first night
- detailed itinerary printed explaining our 45 day-trip includind our visa extention in China
- copy of passports
- copy of international health insurance
- copy of bank statements
- copy of vietnamese visa
- copy of flight ticket (from Nepal back to europe)
- one picture 4,5x4,5

While we were queueing on guichet 2, the lady on guichet 3 called us (to pass in front of the vietnamese in front of us) we handled her our papers, she checked and asked us why we need to stay 50 days in China. We answered because the country is big, and we are planning to visit many different regions which are long distances travelling.
She rudely threw the paper back to us on the counter and told us that as tourists we can only stay 30 days, plus we need more hotel reservations and we had only one for a first night.

We left the consulate and rushed back to our hotel to book more 3 hotels, we booked a total of 9 nights, and we fulfilled a new form with a 30 days intention of stay, we changed also our itinerary to a 30 day one and reprinted it.
Back in the consulate, we found out it was closed and they open only from 8h30 t0 11h00 am.

Back there the next morning, we gave our papers to the lady on guichet 2 (more polite this one), she asked us a telephone number to contact us. We gave our hotel telephone nunber. She said that if there was any problem she would call the hotel, if she doesn't it's because it's ok and in this case we had to come back the next morning for the payment formalities.
She didn't call and we were back to the consulate on thursday morning. She gave us a paper with a bar code and our names and price to be paid in their bank + a paper with the bank address where we had to pay for the visas.

The bank address is:

ICBC
Toa nha Daeha Business center (Daewoo Business Center)
so 360 Kim Ma road
(trong khuon vien khach san Daewoo)

the bank opening hours: 08h00 to 11h00 and 13h30 to 16h30

When you leave the consulate, go direction the Lenin statue, in front of it there's the Highland Coffee bar, you will see a bus stop. Take bus number 9 write on paper the address Kim Ma and ask the ticket boy to stop there for you.
The bus will stop just 10 min later in front of a lake, looking on your left side you will see a bridge, walk towards it, keep on the same sidewalk of the bus stop. Just before the bridge (2 min walk) you will see on the left the Daewoo Hotel Business Center. Go to the ride side you will see the ICBC Bank and the entrance is just around the right side corner.
Prepare in advance some US Dollars to pay for your visa since the bank charges a fee of 110.000 vitnamese dongs per person if you pay in dongs...

To get the bus back cross the street and you will the bus stop a few meters ahead of the bus stop you arrived on the other side, this bus goes up to the Old Quarter in case you are going back there to your hotel.

We got our visas on 24/02, there is an issuing date and a date limit to enter China. And your visa will be valid for 30 days from the date you enter.

Keep in mind:
prepare as much documents as you can (bank statement, health insurance), at least 1/3 of your stay bookings,
go well dressed (no flip flops, bermudas, keep your hippie clothes for another day)
prepare US dollars to pay your visa and avoid extra fees
even if you plan to stay more than 30 days in China and extend your visa in there, just put on your form and your itinerary you are staying 30 days.

We were not asked for proof of transport in or out of China.

I hope this will be helpfull for the next travellers,

cheers

;)

So am I right in understanding that you paid for the Visa at the bank and then got the actual Visa in your Passport when you got back to the Embassy with the receipt for the Visa payment?

The reason I asked the question above is that I am interested that, if you go back to the Embassy after paying for your visa and to pick it up and they say that your visa is not approved, then can you get your money back.

Norm C, they don't stamp your passport, they put in a full page with he visa printed in. So while she didn't show me it before I left for the bank to verify that it was in there, I don't think she added it in between me going and coming back. So no, they don't add the visa after you pay, but during the several days that they are processing it.

For Malaeicuia, I'm very surprised you had a problem with the reservation. My wife and I only had the first 3 nights reserved (though we had the names of the other hotels for the rest of our trip, none of which we actually stayed in). I also met an English guy coming out that just booked (by 10% deposit) one night on hostelworld, which we also should have done instead to save money (we didn't end up using our other reservation).

Ok thanks for that.

I am so glad I found this thread!

I was just wondering if anyone that had been through this process recently knew whether there was still a rush service? We arrive in Hanoi next Tuesday night and fly to Hong Kong on Friday night. So we have exactly 3 days to get our visas. Cutting it very fine I know, however I only just found out getting the China visa in Hanoi was an option. Previously we had planned to get it in Hong Kong, however we are there over the weekend and worry that we will really be leaving it until the last minute that way!!

We are both Australians, have all of our accommodation booked and our flights from Shanghai to LA and are only after a 30 day visa. We are planning on catching the train from Hong Kong to Shenzen, however we haven't got this ticket booked yet. Would it be advisable to get this booked before applying for our visas?

Thanks in advance!

As I found this thread very usefull, I would like to share my success info:

I submited Feb 2014:
- German passport
- 1 photocopy of passport photo page
- 1 photocopy of Vietnam visa page
- 1 passport photo
- 1 application form, 4 pages. They hand it to you entering the building.
The form asks you to list 5 places to stay in China, which I did. (but changed my plans after arriving in China)
- 1 hotel booking for first stop in China. This is where the lady at the counter had a problem with and asked what about the other 4 bookings. I told her that I do not have yet, as I wait for the visa first. She told me, that her manager has to decide this and that I should come back next morning. But next day they gave me the pink payment paper without any further questions, so everything fine. (I changed my plan for hotel in China later as well and cancelled the booking)
- It might help if you have been a vistior to China before, what you can put on the form as well. (I even wrote down my old visa number, which was in an expired passport)

I DID NOT need to submit:
- ticket leaving China (which I didn't have anyway, because I entered and left the country by bus - did not tell them)
- travel insurance
- financial status

With pink payment paper, you just take a motorbike to bank. Drivers will already wait for you outside embassy. Or take public bus no.32 direction west from the main road south of the embassy. Quite easy to find, as it is on a large crossing in a big building to the right. Embassy staff even give you a paper with bank address.

Applied for visa on a Thursday and got in next next Tuesday morning. 30 days tourist visa. No urgent process requested.

Later I got a 30 days extension while I was in Xining, Qinghai province.

this is the latest from hanoi !
they DONT ISSUE a tourist visa from hanoi embassy ,i my self got not refused but unable to apply ,i told that to a friend of mine who runs a travel agency in hanoi,and she said this was crazy beacause just the previose wek a fellow american was able the get the visa .i went there again the following morning and explained that i only need to go china for a few days since my ultimate goal is to take the transmongolian from bejing .at that point the lady told me that i could possibly apply for a transit visa ,wich alouds you to stay in china for 7 days .this was ok for me .so i apply and got it ( i already made the payment true the bank they tell you to go to )now i need to go there on wedsday morning to pick up the passaport along with visa for 7 days .if this is not suitable for you you must apply either in ho chi minh city ,or in hong konk..as an american the total cost for the 7 dayd transit visa was 140.00 u.sd .
for other nationality it is much cheaper .from the emassy to the bank i took a taxy .he waited for me 5 -10 minutes outside the bank went back to the embassy present the payment stab and back to the hotel(french old quarter)
total cost 150.000 dong = 7.00 dollars . much better than take the motor bike who can be a little less expansive but much more annoying .if you should have an opportunity to apply from your country do that ,it will safe a lot of aggravations .only rimember that from the moment they issue the visa you have 30 days to start to use it .good luck