Oceania’s unnecessary Chinese visa requirement

[ssawjo]

52 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Seriously ?? 🙄

Well, yes, the Government is bombing its' own people for one.  So, not sure what your "comment" means.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, ssawjo said:

Well, yes, the Government is bombing its' own people for one.  So, not sure what your "comment" means.

Sorry mistook your comment    of "what is happening there"  as something you were not aware of

 

[pmatawan]

I received a reply to my email to Oceania regarding the necessity for a visa for china.

They replied that the information I supplied concerning the 15 day visa exemption is correct and that nothing has been updated yet pending feedback from management. 

So I'm hopeful that Oceania will eliminate the need for a China visa.

[Stockjock]

2 hours ago, pmatawan said:

I received a reply to my email to Oceania regarding the necessity for a visa for china.

They replied that the information I supplied concerning the 15 day visa exemption is correct and that nothing has been updated yet pending feedback from management. 

So I'm hopeful that Oceania will eliminate the need for a China visa.

It’s possible that they are thinking in the way that we did when we visited China a few years ago. As I mentioned, we probably did not need a China visa, but we thought it would be a lot safer to have one. Obviously, I cannot speak for the cruise line, but that might be how they are operating.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Stockjock

[YWGcruisers]

Just rec'd this today from OC...

"Thanks for your email. Yes, our Visa, dept. confirmed no third parties can secure a Chinese visa for any nationality requiring one. The individual must apply on their own."

 

Still no word on whether we can take advantage of the visa exemption policy for Shanghai if we have shorex booked with OC.  One small step at a time I guess!

 

[pmatawan]

1 minute ago, YWGcruisers said:

Just rec'd this today from OC...

"Thanks for your email. Yes, our Visa, dept. confirmed no third parties can secure a Chinese visa for any nationality requiring one. The individual must apply on their own."

 

Still no word on whether we can take advantage of the visa exemption policy for Shanghai if we have shorex booked with OC.  One small step at a time I guess!

 

The reply I received indicated that the Visa Dept. was aware of the visa exemption  policy and was looking into the matter. They indicated that nothing had yet been updated, pending feedback from management 

So I am hopeful also that the visa policy will be updated. 

[YWGcruisers]

Just now, pmatawan said:

The reply I received indicated that the Visa Dept. was aware of the visa exemption  policy and was looking into the matter. They indicated that nothing had yet been updated, pending feedback from management 

So I am hopeful also that the visa policy will be updated. 

I'm sure you are because it is my understanding that you would have to travel up to DC for your interview/fingerprinting and give up your passports for 1-4 business days depending on current processing times and how much extra you are willing to pay before you can return to pick them up. In Canada, we can give them a "prepaid Xpresspost envelope" to send everything back as their processing time is usually 3-10 business days.

[YWGcruisers]

This just in from the Visa dept at OC...

"I hope this email finds you well and thank you for your patience with us while you await a concrete response regarding the China visa.

 

I began working on obtaining specific details regarding the exception prior to receiving your original email and have been providing Luigi and our managers with any information received during that time. Hopefully, it has all reached you.

That said, I now have detailed information to provide you and all our valued guests with regarding the China visa exemption.

 

Most, if not all of our itineraries do qualify for the 15-day China visa exemption as I believe all begin in Shanghai; one of the visa exempt requirements. Your cruise certainly qualifies for it.

All guests must enter mainland China via Shanghai and sail all the way through to the ship’s departure from China in order to complete final clearance at the last Chinese port.  

Another requirement in order to be visa exempt is that guests must take part in an organized shore excursion as the tour operator will be responsible for submitting necessary documents to immigration for formalities.

You may book a shore excursion offered through Oceania Cruises or an independent third-party tour operator. If the latter, kindly ensure your travel advisor selects a well-established one in China able to do the same.

 

Any guests wishing to go ashore on their own MUST secure a Chinese tourist visa on their own in advance of the cruise.

 

I will be working on removing the China visa requirement information from the applicable itineraries in addition to removing the visa from any reservations who opted into the China visa through us."

 

[pmatawan]

Absolutely wonderful news.

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, YWGcruisers said:

This just in from the Visa dept at OC...

"I hope this email finds you well and thank you for your patience with us while you await a concrete response regarding the China visa.

 

I began working on obtaining specific details regarding the exception prior to receiving your original email and have been providing Luigi and our managers with any information received during that time. Hopefully, it has all reached you.

That said, I now have detailed information to provide you and all our valued guests with regarding the China visa exemption.

 

Most, if not all of our itineraries do qualify for the 15-day China visa exemption as I believe all begin in Shanghai; one of the visa exempt requirements. Your cruise certainly qualifies for it.

All guests must enter mainland China via Shanghai and sail all the way through to the ship’s departure from China in order to complete final clearance at the last Chinese port.  

Another requirement in order to be visa exempt is that guests must take part in an organized shore excursion as the tour operator will be responsible for submitting necessary documents to immigration for formalities.

You may book a shore excursion offered through Oceania Cruises or an independent third-party tour operator. If the latter, kindly ensure your travel advisor selects a well-established one in China able to do the same.

 

Any guests wishing to go ashore on their own MUST secure a Chinese tourist visa on their own in advance of the cruise.

 

I will be working on removing the China visa requirement information from the applicable itineraries in addition to removing the visa from any reservations who opted into the China visa through us."

 

As previously mentioned, GF and I did a Japan cruise out of Shanghai on RCCL in late 2018.  Even though we made the decision to bite the bullet and secure 10-year China Visas, out of an abundance of caution, there are 144 hour and 24 hours transit exemptions.  Even though I felt we would have qualified for one of these exemptions, again, we figured it was worth the time and money not to have to worry about it.  Plus, the China Visa is good for 10-years, which could come in handy if we visit China again.

In our case, we flew from San Diego to Los Angeles to Shanghai, stayed 3 nights in Shanghai on the Bund, did the cruise, and then flew immediately from Shanghai to the USA.  We did have to provide information on the cruise and the hotel that we were staying at.

Here's a website that has information that some may find to be of interest.  We didn't want to mess around with Chinese immigration issues, so obviously make sure your I's are dotted and T's crossed, regardless of what Oceania tells you.  There is also a self-test, that some may find to be useful.

https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/visa-application/144-hour-visa-free.htm#:~:text=China Implemented 144-hour visa-free transit policy%2C which allows,Hangzhou%2C Nanjing%2C Beijing%2C Tianjin%2C Shijiazhuang%2C Dalian%2C and Shenyang.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Stockjock