In this article I will provide you with information on how to get a tourist visa for China. The easiest ways to do this is to secure a valid hotel booking in advance. To get a tourist visa for China you are going to need to provide documentary proof that you have a hotel booking, (often) a return flight, and a travel itinerary for the days you will be staying in China.
1. Passport
With at least 6 months remaining validity and available blank pages, and a photocopy of passport’s data page.
2. Application Form
One accurately completed China Tourist Visa Application Form.
3. Recent Photo
A recent passport-size colour photo with white background attached to the application form.
4. Round-trip Tickets Plus Hotel Bookings or Invitation Letter
A general itinerary including proof of round trip tickets booking and proof of hotel/ hostel reservation (see below).
a. Information on the applicant, including full name, gender, and date of birth.
b. Information on the planned visit, including arrival and departure dates, place(s) of visit.
c. Information on the inviter, including name, contact number, address, official stamp, and signature of the legal representative of the entity or the inviting individual.
5. Other Supporting Documents
a. For those not applying in their country of citizenship, a proof of legal stay or residence status is required.
b. In some cases, applicants may need to submit a certification letter from the employer of the applicant with details as follows: name and contact number of the employer, the applicant’s income statement, or original copy of recent 6-month bank statement of the applicant.
c. Applicants who intend to travel to Tibet must obtain a Tibet Travel Permit, which can be obtained from Tourism
Hostel World
For the purpose of simplicity I will concentrate on how to get proof of your booking through Hostel World and Booking.com. These offer the best deals and can be easily cancelled. My favourite for affordable fun places to stay is hostel world. Its by far the easiest to use for booking confirmations. Additionally if you have to cancel for whatever reason its the easiest, deposits are not required in most cases and you will not be charge or penalised for cancelations.
Booking
As for Booking, if there is more than one person staying at the hotel who needs a visa, make sure to add them in the Additional Guests Names, which can be done during the booking process (before paying).
Once done, simply print the confirmation email for the booking (make sure that all of the names appear on the booking).
If you forgot to add the names of all of the guests who need a visa, you can always edit the names of the guests from your Booking’s account (log in, then go to My Bookings – > View Booking and edit the guest names).
Important: Remember that on the booking, the names of all of the people who will be staying at the hotel must appear (if they all need the visa). If only the name of the person making the booking appears, you won’t be able to use it for a visa for the people that don’t appear on the booking.
P.S. It’s better if you print the invoice in English language (although the local language – that is the language of the country where you’re applying for the visa – shall also be fine).
If you choose a hotel
It’s best to choose a hotel that has a least three starts, as these hotels often will have at least someone who can speak English plus good wifi connections. Remember however social networks will be blocked so if you want access to these please read this article on best VPN services for China. China currently has what some might call intra-net. Therefore gmail, google, youtube and other such sites will not work.
Additionally if you choose a hotel pick one that is well connected to the places you wish to visit. Most Chinese cities are huge but have great transport connections. Choosing one near a subway or close to the sites you want to visit will be helpful.
Safe Travels
China is a very safe country however, we highly recommend any serious long term traveller, travels with proper travel insurance such as that offered by World Nomads. This company offers affordable insurance with its general travel coverage includes the following, and depending on your nationality will also cover martial arts non-contact training.
- Overseas emergency medical and dental expenses
- Emergency medical evacuation
- Trip delay, cancellation, or interruption due to an unforeseen event
- Delayed, damaged, or stolen gear or bags if they’ve been checked in with a carrier.
1 Comment
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