Visa service for $299/China and Viet Nam.

[jrozman]

I am booked for the January 6, 2007 cruise-Hong Kong to Singapore. Oceania offers the service for $299 per person. Is this a good buy or should I purchase on my own through a visa service company.

[exgeordie]

It is much less expensive to get your Chinese visas, 2-3 months ahead of your visit, by obtaining the forms on-line and sending them together with your $50 fee, photographs and passport with at least 6 months validity still on them to the nearest Chinese consulate.

I send groups to China on tours and this is the most efficient way of getting Chinese visas.

I am sorry but I do not know anything about the Vietnamese applicatiojs but am sure that you can get them on-line.

[digby]

If you live near a Chinese Consulate you can go in person and have your visa in a couple of days at a reasonable price.

[exgeordie]

Sure you can get them at the consulates but have you ever done it? It is a real pain with long lines and the fact is you have to pay 2 visits, one to apply and one to pick up. Much better by mail IMHO.

[Fetchpeople]

There are services that will obtain a China Visa for you. The fee is about $20 for the service plus $50 for the Visa itself plus modest P & H costs. Total is less than $75 per Visa.

 

You can call the Embassy, a consulate or visit the Embassy web site and I believe it suggests the names of 1 or 2 such agencies.

 

By using an agency, you do not need to go in person to an issuing location nor have to wait in lines.

[digby]

Sure you can get them at the consulates but have you ever done it? It is a real pain with long lines and the fact is you have to pay 2 visits, one to apply and one to pick up. Much better by mail IMHO.

 

Yes, we did it last January before our Beijing to HK cruise. There was no line at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, and we were inside about 10 min. Took another 10 min. to pick them up a couple of days later.

[shoshona2]

Hi Digby,

 

You are very lucky that you live near a China consulate. I think that there are only three places in the USA where you can do what you did -- S.F., Washington, D.C. and NYC. They closed the China consulate in Los Angeles. So, we use a Visa service. The original poster also needed a Vietnam Visa -- we used a visa service for that one two years ago. Oceania got double what it cost us for the double entry China Visa for the Beijing to Hong Kong cruise.

 

Sheila

[Fetchpeople]

My China visa took 7 days to be deliveresd to me. The cost per person is a tad less than $75.00 ($50 for the Visa, $20 for handling, and small $ for postage).

 

The source used was Oasis International Travel Corporation (866-312-visa, www.oasischinavisa.com).

[Judy Baxter]

I am booked for the January 6, 2007 cruise-Hong Kong to Singapore. Oceania offers the service for $299 per person. Is this a good buy or should I purchase on my own through a visa service company.

 

 

It is definately much cheaper to do it on your own.

A good source to get your visa is www.americanpassport.com

you mail them your passport with picture and applications which

you can print on line. The price is half of what Oceania charges.

Good luck and have a good time. We are booked on the reverse

trip Dec. 22nd.