How to obtain a Visa to visit China

[mking8288]

We are ... amazed at how much it costs ... that when everything is added up it will be over $500 for the two of us. Does that seem about average? or should I look for another company? (We are in Florida and not about to drive to Texas.)

 

PRC Consulate application fees for each US Passport holder is $140, whether it's for a single entry or multiple entry visa, for 3 to 6 months, 1 year, 5 year and same for 10 years. Do that once & request the 10 years one, as you might decide to re-visit on your own within the next 9+ years ;)

 

Express/Rush Service would add another $20 or $30 fee per visa application, subtotal to $160 or $170. Plus the fees for returning the completed visa & passports back to you - with tracking, figure another $20 easily.

 

The Visa agency has to dispatch someone to the PRC consulate office at least twice, on your behalf - first, to submit it on first visit and without incident; once accepted & awaiting processing - to return for a second time, to pickup the completed package and pay the fees, then, return & prepare/mail the package back to you. They net about $70 to $80 max. per application including overhead & travel costs, etc. so it's not out of line, IMO.

 

We did this via a local (NYC-based) travel agency that handled our entire oversea fly-land-tour package for about 8 of us and got a discount, but it was close to about $200 p/p - that was 6 years ago (reminds me that our visa is still valid for another 4 years) - just to give you an idea (and the consulate fees was a little lower than - but, on par with what USA charge for the Chinese nationals to obtain the visa to visit here) Applicants from other parts of the world do pay less, often much less, for fees.

[brunello22]

Correction: I used CIBTVisa (Houston) not Travisa as I commented earlier.

Edited July 19, 2016 by brunello22

[brunello22]

We are in the process of filling out the form and gathering the photos, itinerary, and other information. We will send that to a Visa agency but we are amazed at how much it costs. I anticipate that when everything is added up it will be over $500 for the two of us. Does that seem about average? or should I look for another company? (We are in Florida and not about to drive to Texas.)

 

I used CIBTVisa (Houston). I applied for a 10-year business visa, since my travel to China is primarily for business (tourist visas may have a different price). The total cost was $369, which included a consular fee, service fee, UPS next day air fee, another consular processing fee, passport replacement service, and an inbound shipping label. I was surprised how many extra fees were added to the initial consular fee of $140, but at least I was fortunate to expense it.

 

A word of caution when paying online with a credit card ... check your statements carefully, prior to your travel. I paid for the visa online (November 2015) with my company credit card. I traveled to Shanghai in December 2015, and upon my arrival at the hotel, my company credit card was declined. I called the bank in the US and learned that my card had been compromised. All fraudulent charges were transacted ... in Texas! A case of bad luck, perhaps, but it was too coincidental, as I had not used my card for anything else other than the visa I received from Texas.

Edited July 19, 2016 by brunello22

[travellovers2]

I used CIBTVisa (Houston). I applied for a 10-year business visa, since my travel to China is primarily for business (tourist visas may have a different price). The total cost was $369, which included a consular fee, service fee, UPS next day air fee, another consular processing fee, passport replacement service, and an inbound shipping label. I was surprised how many extra fees were added to the initial consular fee of $140, but at least I was fortunate to expense it.

 

A word of caution when paying online with a credit card ... check your statements carefully, prior to your travel. I paid for the visa online (November 2015) with my company credit card. I traveled to Shanghai in December 2015, and upon my arrival at the hotel, my company credit card was declined. I called the bank in the US and learned that my card had been compromised. All fraudulent charges were transacted ... in Texas! A case of bad luck, perhaps, but it was too coincidental, as I had not used my card for anything else other than the visa I received from Texas.

 

This is good to know. We will use a cc that we are not going to use to travel, just in case. There is a company based in DC that is highly recommended by the the TA we contacted about the cruise. We will most likely go with them. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[thirstyman1]

But am I correct in understanding that we do not need a visa if only in China for 72 hours?

[Philob]

But am I correct in understanding that we do not need a visa if only in China for 72 hours?

 

Depends on your itinerary.

 

What are your ports of call, in order?

[thirstyman1]

In order; Set sail from Hong Kong next port Taiwan, then Japan, then South Korea

 

Then Tianjin (Beijing) for three days, and disembark in Shanghai on day 15

[TravelMore&More]

In order; Set sail from Hong Kong next port Taiwan, then Japan, then South Korea

 

Then Tianjin (Beijing) for three days, and disembark in Shanghai on day 15

 

You need a visa for this. The visa exemption is only for transits.

[NantahalaCruiser]

We are in the process of filling out the form and gathering the photos, itinerary, and other information. We will send that to a Visa agency but we are amazed at how much it costs. I anticipate that when everything is added up it will be over $500 for the two of us. Does that seem about average? or should I look for another company? (We are in Florida and not about to drive to Texas.)

 

We used a service in Boca - FlyChina for only $400 for two - plus about another $7 or $8 for increased insurance and signature required on the return mailing.

[sansterre]

The total for two of us through a reputable agency was about $525 including some priority postage charges. It took 11 days.(4 of them were weekend days).

[Bootman4U]

I think some of you might want to see this information, especially if you are flying into Shanghai and cruising out of the city within 6 days

 

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/free-transit-144hour.htm

[TravelMore&More]

I think some of you might want to see this information, especially if you are flying into Shanghai and cruising out of the city within 6 days

 

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/free-transit-144hour.htm

 

This has been widely discussed on this board. The application of the not so new policy is not widely followed by cruise companies and almost no airlines for air-to-sea transits.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2393963

Edited September 28, 2016 by TravelMore&More

[Bowie MeMe]

OP: You need to go to the consulate assigned to FL, unfortunately the Chinese consulate for your state is in Houston, TX.

 

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zmzlljs/t84229.htm

 

You need to send your passport as the visa is glued on to 2 pages.

 

Takes 3-4 working days, drop off on Monday, pickup Thursday. Add X days if you use a visa service.

 

They don't accept mail-ins or do mail-backs, so you either have go to Houston or use a visa service.

 

We live in the Washington DC area and chose to go to the embassy in person. there are very detailed instructions on the Chinese embassy web site. Follow those rules to the absolute nth degree as I did see folks being turned away for not the right size photo and not having enough time for the passport to be processed. It took two trips and both times we had to wait for a fairly long time -- 2 hours or more to turn in materials and pick them up. I think that since the Florida place for getting your visa is not close a well respected visa processing company would be worth the money. The Visa companies seemed to have well known agents who greeted the Chinese officials warmly and seemed to get called faster than this woman who was waiting and waiting and waiting. Perhaps they had a different appointment only line? Anyway I don't think I would bother to travel to get to the office. We had to factor in a one year visa guideline but now that it is a multi-year visa do it as soon as you can. As stated it is a 2 page document that is laminated onto the passport pages next to each other. Make sure you have at least the two page spread as they won't look hard for the page that is empty. If your passport is fairly full you might need to have pages entered which also takes time.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Bowie MeMe

[Hoyaheel]

If your passport is fairly full you might need to have pages entered which also takes time.

 

As of the beginning of 2016, the US will no longer add pages to a passport.

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/news/visa-pages-no-longer-issued.html

 

But at the same time, they began to offer the longer passport at the same price as the shorter one....

 

But now - when you run out of pages, you get a new passport.....(and yes, I work with people who do that regularly:D)

[annbarker23]

On 27th September Celebrity advised me to obtain a single entry visa for my cruise in February 2017. I wasn't too pleased at having to pay £350 for one day! Apparently however as of October 1st the rules have changed in order to boost tourism. Cruise passengers sailing into Shanghai have a visa exemption for 15 days. The article is from the Daily Telegraph and reads as follows:-

 

28 SEPTEMBER 2016 • 2:53PM

Foreign tourists arriving in Shanghai on a cruise from October 1 will be allowed up to 15 days of visa-free stays in the country’s most populous city, the Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection announced this week.

Passengers must be travelling on tour groups arranged by travel agencies that are registered in China and the companies must submit the details of their groups to inspection authorities at least 24 hours before the ships arrive in Shanghai to be eligible.

The cruise passengers may remain in Shanghai or travel to Beijing, the Chinese capital, and the northeastern port city of Tianjin, as well as coastal provinces where ships often berth, including Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi.

The new policy aims to attract more cruise ships to Shanghai. The global financial hub welcomed more than 1.6 million passengers last year, a 35.5 per cent increase on 2014, but only 69,000 of them were reported to be foreign visitors.

[diesel1973]

Just returned from a land tour in China. About a month before tour I applied for Visa at Consulate in Chicago. Printed app.from Chinese Consulate web-site,took my passport photo, tour sched. provided by tour co. and went to Consulate(no appt.) on Mon.. Took all of 15 min. there.I filled out 5 page app. and they had me sign #1 page and gave 4 pages back to me. Told me "come back Fri." Came back Fri. Took 5 min. to pay $140(c.c.) and got 10 year visa.No Problem!! Wonderful trip!!!!!!!!:D:D:D

[yoredale]

Ann Barker,

Did Celebrity confirm the new regulations are acceptable to them?

[annbarker23]

i'm still waiting for a reply. Guest relations acknowledged that they were aware of the new concessions and were checking with the Miami office which was closed due to the hurricane!

[Havingfun2010]

How far in advance can you request it?

Thank you for your replies

 

I was told 90 days in advance. You must use a Visa service. The cruise line will recommend one. For Florida it's TX. I was told it will take about a week. The service will help you with everything you need. The Visa is now good for 10 years.

[HELENPSL]

I was also told 90 days but when I spoke with the service company they told me I could submit the paperwork whenever we wanted. I submitted everything and now have my 10 year visa for my Feb. 2017 cruise.

 

 

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[annbarker23]

10 year visas are not available to UK citizens. I was advised by Celebrity(before the rules changed) that I should apply about a month before travelling & purchase 2 single entry visas at a cost of £350. A lot of money for an 8 hour trip! I sure hope that we are going to be able to take advantage of the visa waiver for Shanghai which is stated in black and white on the official website of the port authority. Don't travel until April so we will wait and see. There is a Celebrity cruise going into Shanghai this week. Perhaps somebody will update us on their return.

[onespots]

We have just returned from a 22 day land trip with a USA touring company.

Although the tour company did a fine job while we were overseas, we had to apply for the Visa ourselves. We live in Arizona just outside of Phoenix. Therefore were used a visa express company to obtain our visa for China & permission to enter Tibet.

 

This process took six weeks. We sent our passports, the forms, & a large sum of money to obtain the required approvals for travel in China. We now have a 10 year visa for travel to China. I would suggest you start the process at least

60 days prior to your departure.

 

I will answer any questions about our trip & experiences, if you ask...

Realize this thread is just about the visa... John

[annbarker23]

Just had an e mail from my TA who had spoken to guest relations at Celebrity UK. She was informed that visas are no longer required for Shanghai if you are doing one of their shore excursions. Visas are however required if you wish to explore independently. I'd be obliged if someone else sailing with Celebrity could ask the question and confirm this information.

[angeleyes27]

My husband and I are going through this visa process right now for a cruise leaving next month. It is very confusing

 

 

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[Pokemon Master]

try http://www.flychina.com, they will do the Visa processing for you. There is a fee, but you save the headache (and travel expense, if you are not in one of the major cities).