China Question...please help!
 

I am planning a trip to China and the Philippines in June. My question is two-fold...and any help will be greatly appreciated!

#1.) I've never travelled to a country where I've had to obtain a visa, so excuse my question if it sounds dumb. I know the restrictions for obtaining a visa to China became incredibly strict during the time around the Olympics...is it easier now to obtain a visa and should I have no problem obtaining one if everything I submit to the embassy is in order? I just don't want to run into any problems which would ruin my trip.

#2.) After I visit China I'll be visiting the Philippines. On my way home from the Philippines my airline makes a stop in Beijing where I'll have a five hour layover before I take off on my next flight to the USA. You don't need a visa if you're just transitting the Beijing Airport correct? This will effect whether I need a single-entry or double-entry visa.

Thanks again. China is a very new destination for me, so thanks for helping me even if these questions are simple ones.

1. Correct. Getting a Chinese visa now is as easy as before the Olympics.

2. You don't need another visa for a transit under 24 hours at PEK as long as you can show your onward ticket/boarding pass.

Awesome...thanks for the help! Those answers were exactly what I wanted to know.

Why would you want to go to China?

Bearing in mind the global readership of this site, it should be stated that the broad claim that 'getting a Chinese visa now is as easy as before the Olympics' is not correct. This very much depends on what nationality you have, where you are applying, and what kind of visa you are looking for.

While restrictions are not as tight as they were during the Olympics (unsurprising, since visas were simply refused to most) they are by no means as light as they were before the games. Tourist visas are obtainable with simple paperwork by most now, but there may still be questions about hotel bookings, and durations may be shorter than before. Extensions within the country may also be significantly harder to obtain.

Peter N-H

I am from the U.S.

And to Mango, why would I want to go to China? My time there won't be long, but in particular I want to see the Great Wall, one of the most spectacular sights on earth.

However if I feel the visa situation may be too much of a hassle, perhaps I will go to Japan instead before the Philippines leg of my jounrey (as both Japan and China are high on my lists of places to visit in the world). I have no idea why the visa restrictions would be so strict...I'm thinking they would want the extra money generated by tourists.

Chiming in again haha.

Peter N-H...do you have any firm idea about having to provide hotel/flight reservations to obtain a visa at the moment? I have heard that this practice has been discontinued, as of December '08, as it was just a precaution instituted for the Olympics.

I'm sure I'll have no problems, but perhaps providing the hotel/flight reservations anyway would be a failsafe idea then?

DMD- I admit, that's a good reason.

> Peter N-H...do you have any firm idea about having to provide hotel/flight reservations to obtain a visa at the moment?

I think it was mentioned that the situation varies according to nationality and place where the application is made. Not knowing either piece of information, it's impossible to say (even if one could in fact keep track of all the variables).

I believe in most cases the requirement to show proof of hotel booking has vanished and there's little interest in air reservations either. But with a recent application in Canada using a Canadian passport I was asked to name my hotel, and I could not obtain a visa for longer than a month. The longer, more flexible visas once easily available in Hong Kong (to most of us except US citizens) are still unavailable, the last time I looked. On the other hand, accounts suggest that U.S. citizens are now finding things much easier when they apply at home.

I don't think the Chinese are currently asking us to jump through more hoops than most people. But certainly life is much more straightforward when dealing with the Japanese.

Peter N-H

I have plan to China around 1 week for holiday. Please help.