Hola,
We are applying for a China visa from Australia (we will be in China in 6 weeks), and we want to stay for longer than the 30 days that a standard visa lets us, maybe 40 days or more. Is the only way around this to get a dual entry visa then zip down to Hong Kong (which our travel agent assures us isn't classed as part of China for visa purposes - is this true?) or another country (which will require a separate trip/and $$) mid-trip? We hope to hang around in central china for a few weeks, so other countries are a fair bit out of our way, and so we are keen to avoid double entry visas if possible... any thoughts? Help?!
Ta

have you looked at the china embassy website for australia?? they may have a 60 or 90 visa

I agree that the first place to check is the website for the Chinese embassy in Canberra. There are usually several types of tourist visas available and you may qualify for one that is longer than 30 day. Otherwise, a dual-entry may work, provided that it does not mean a total of 30 days for both entries; I don’t know the rules for tourist visas.

Neither Hong Kong nor Macau “count” as China for visa purposes. However, to pay to fly or train out of the PRC just to renew a visa is a waste of time and money, IMO, unless you want to see one or both of those places anyway (both worth a visit, but you may first fly into Hong Kong anyway on a long-haul flight from Australia).

Hi Lordploppy,

I would love to know the answer to your question as I am in exactly the same quandry! How did you end up getting round it?

My flights are booked 32 days apart (I booked them BEFORE i knew about the visa time limit - stupid, i know) so I am unsure of what to do.

Another qustion, I am thinking about going to Lhasa, so does that mean I would need a double entry visa?

Thanks

We got our China visas from the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, standard visa issued on 2 Jul 07 stamped as being valid for 60 days.

Charges are Aus citizens $30, US $85 and 'Others' $50.

Here's the link:
http://sydney.chineseconsulate.org/eng/

The website also includes info on Double-Entry with 6 months validity ($45 for Aus) and Multiple-Entry with 6 months validity ($60)

Took about four days, and we had no problems. Well, a small one. The Consulate issued my Visa with a typo on my name, so I was Aackie instead of Jackie.

Luckily I had scanned my application, so I printed a copy to present at Beijing immigration should there be any queries.

Breezed through without any probs, but for some in my family, I will be Aackie forevermore.

May the Aacks be with you,
Jackie

Thanks a lot FurryTiles/Aackie - seems like you are the China expert on here!

There may be a little confusion here. The validity of a visa refers to the period of time during which you may apply for entry -- not the length of stay granted. Standard entry to China is for a period of thirty days, but you can request an extension when you apply for the visa. I would suggest visiting the local Chinese consulate to confirm.

Our visas (standard) were for a 60 day "Duration of Visit" stay, ie 60 days after entry.

The visa itself was valid for entry between 2Jul07 to 2Oct07. The Chinese Embassy/Consulate here therefore advises travellers not to get their visas too early, ideally one to two months prior to departure.

Hope this clears any confusion.

And no way am I the China expert - there are other Fodorites with much more in depth local knowledge - just perhaps the most recent China t.r. poster from Oz.

Aackie

You can also renew your visa while you are in China. I did this in Chengdu with no problems. I have read (Lonely Planet) that two extensions (30 days each) can be had with no problems, although I only needed one. For me the big problem was that the visa was only valid for 90 days after it was issued and I was traveling for longer than that before I reached China - I wound up getting the visa in Vienna.

Thanks aackie/fra!