DIY Visas for Asia

[forgap]

I wanted to share my experience obtaining visas for various Asian ports for our upcoming Mariner cruise.  This may be helpful for those of you who prefer a hands on approach.   If you have a smart phone, internet access and the ability to scan and copy documents, the process is relatively easy except for China.  More on that in a moment.  

 

Vietnam and Cambodia is easy.  Both countries have websites and easy to navigate online applications.   You must upload required documents.  After receiving the application, Vietnam completes the transactions via text messaging and they are very responsive and timely with any questions.   The loose leaf visa is then sent via FedEx.   Cambodia sents the visa via email that you print and keep with your passport.  Fees are paid with credit card or PayPal. Turnaround time for Vietnam was 3 days and Cambodia was 1 day. 

 

China is a whole other story.   If you live in a city with a consulate, you can hand deliver your documents. Otherwise you must use an agency. We used the agency that Regent uses, Visa Central.  They have different levels of service, all for a fee, of course.  The basic service, which we used, is to look over your application for accuracy and completeness and then to deliver and pick up from the consulate and send everything back to you.  This service is $135, while the visa itself is $140.   The visa fee is the same whether you request a one time entry, multiple entries over a time period, or a 10 year visa.   We chose the 10 year visa in case we decide to see China in depth in the future.  You must send along your passports which made us nervous!  

 

The application itself is very detailed.  It is a PDF document that has to be completed in all caps and all fields have to be completed.   If it doesn’t apply, enter N/A (all caps!!).  They require copies of all flight information, tour information, hotel information, drivers license (to prove residency), passport, and on and on and on.   The photo has to be precisely what they require.   My best advice is to read all the guidance several times!    Our turnaround time was 2 1/2 weeks from send off to FedEx return.  That was during the end of the year holidays so the process may be shorter.  The consulate requires 4 days.  

 

Perhaps this is more information than you wanted, but it may be helpful to some of you.   Happy traveling!

 

Jennifer

[flossie009]

Thank you, @forgap,

Very timely information as we are in Asia, on Navigator in March.

Fortunately, as Brits, we do not need a visa for Vietnam; but we do need one for Cambodia.

 

One question is whether the Cambodian e-Visa is valid for entry at the seaport (Sihanoukville), as it is not listed on their website?

[forgap]

Good question.  I used the Sihanoukville airport in the drop down menu and then emailed them about entering at the port.   I got a non-answer back just listing the entry points that are in the drop down menu, so emailed again.   Waiting for an answer.  Have fun on your cruise!   I plan to blog on CC as we go along!

[flossie009]

10 minutes ago, forgap said:

Good question.  I used the Sihanoukville airport in the drop down menu and then emailed them about entering at the port.   I got a non-answer back just listing the entry points that are in the drop down menu, so emailed again.   Waiting for an answer.  Have fun on your cruise!   I plan to blog on CC as we go along!

 

Thanks - I have sent an on-line question as well, so let's see if either of us get a definitive answer!

Have a great cruise on Mariner, one of our favourite ships.

[ronrick1943]

For China if you are lucky to live near the consulate they have a service that let you wait for the visa--it takes about 2 to 3 hours. The fee wasn't that much for this service.  I just when out for lunch, came back and the visa was ready.  Very easy and worth the price.

[forgap]

Lucky you!  China has regional consulates so our point of contact was Houston.  In hind sight, we  could have gone to DC and had a mini-vacation....but, then again, there is that pesky government shutdown, so no Smithsonian!

[captn337]

I know Regent said we must get visa's for Vietnam and Cambodia, how do they handle China?

[forgap]

If you are just going to Hong Kong, you do not need a visa.  If you are going into mainland China, you need a visa.  

[prcruising]

So if you want a visa for China for a Regent 2020 cruise, do you need to wait for your actual plane reservations from Regent-perhaps 30-60 days  before the cruise to apply for the visa? Thanks.

[1982CruzStart]

Here is a link to an article regarding visas for China. You may no longer need a visa for China depending on your travel arrangements and your nationality. 

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/intro2.htm

 

My apologies if the link doesn't work directly but could be copied into your browser. 

 

[forgap]

17 minutes ago, prcruising said:

So if you want a visa for China for a Regent 2020 cruise, do you need to wait for your actual plane reservations from Regent-perhaps 30-60 days  before the cruise to apply for the visa? Thanks.

I would call Visa Central with that question.   When we realized that we needed a visa, we were about 60 days from departure.   As I said, our turn around time was about 2 weeks.   Since we had made our own flight arrangements, the only thing we needed from Regent was our flight information from Hong Kong to Xi’an and back.  Regent suggests a three month window for the process.   Also read the link the 1982CruzStart provided as you may likely fall into one of those categories.  For some reason, China is very careful with folks traveling fromTaiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong.   Good luck!   

[captn337]

Jennifer, did you hear back on entering at port and using Sihanoukville airport on visa. Thanks

[captn337]

When you travel with an e-Visa, you can only enter Cambodia through the following Ports of Entry: Phnom Penh International Airport, Siem Reap International Airport, Poi Pet (Banteay Meanchey), Bavet (Svay Rieng), Cham Yeam (Koh Kong), Tropaeng Kreal Border Post (Stung Treng) and Sihanoukville International Airport.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          This is what it says at the Cambodia E-Visa site.

[forgap]

I did not hear back from them.  I will try again.  The visa itself does not indicate a port of entry.  I suspect they will not turn us away however.  They are hungry for tourism.  

[captn337]

Perfect, Thanks

[forgap]

FYI, I received a response from the cambodia evisa website.  Evisas do not work for cruise ship arrivals.   This is definitely not clear on the website so our only recourse is to go through Regent while on board.   One must complete the application and attach a picture and have it ready for the cruise.   

 

[flossie009]

10 hours ago, forgap said:

FYI, I received a response from the cambodia evisa website.  Evisas do not work for cruise ship arrivals.   This is definitely not clear on the website so our only recourse is to go through Regent while on board.   One must complete the application and attach a picture and have it ready for the cruise.   

 

 

Thanks for the update - we haven't had any response to our communications with the Cambodian visa people 🙁

 

Sounds to be a similar problem to one encountered in 2016 with e-Visas for India. . At that time an Indian e-Visa was not acceptable for arrival by sea, or for multiple entries. Unfortunately a small group of guests on our cruise had managed to obtain the wrong Visa and were therefore unable to go ashore in any of the Indian ports of call. Very frustrating for them 😠. Glad we had the correct visas.

(I believe that the e-Visa for India has now been extended to some sea ports but you still have to be careful on the number of entries)

 

Oh well, as you say, we will simply pay Regent on-board for the required Cambodian visas - must remember to take some passport photos with us.

 

Thanks again for the useful info, and it just shows how careful you have to be in checking on the entry requirements for the various countries around the world.

 

[captn337]

Thh

19 hours ago, forgap said:

FYI, I received a response from the cambodia evisa website.  Evisas do not work for cruise ship arrivals.   This is definitely not clear on the website so our only recourse is to go through Regent while on board.   One must complete the application and attach a picture and have it ready for the cruise.   

 

Thanks for the information. I was afraid that would be the case. I did get the Vietnam visa, so very helpful.  

[flossie009]

@forgap,

Today I finally received an email response from the Cambodian e-Visa people which reconfirms the information that you received that an e_Visa is not valid when arriving by ship. This is their response to my query:

 

Dear sir/madam,

If you travel to Cambodia by cruise, you cannot use E-visa, because it is not available yet.

e-Visa is valid to enter Cambodia via three international airports

1- Phnom Penh international airports

2- Siem Reap international airports

3- Preah Sihanouk International Airport

 

e-Visa is valid to enter Cambodia via four land crossing points namely

1- Poi Pet border checkpoints with Thailand

2- Chamyeam border checkpoint with Thailand

3- Bavet border checkpoint with Vietnam

4-Tropaeng Kreal  Stung Treng border checkpoint with Laos.

 

e-Visa is valid to leave Cambodia at any exit point.

 

Best regards,

 

 

The phrase "....... it is not available yet" is interesting as it implies that they may extend the validity of the e-Visa to seaports in the future. 

[forgap]

Fingers crossed!   Otherwise we are over the barrel. You can always send your passport and application to the embassy in DC for $30 plus FedEx charges or you can let Regent handle it on arrival for $89. .