Hi friends,

I noticed one block on the China visa application that says, "Name of Inviter, contact or your relative in China."

What does an independent travel write down? "N/A"?

Thanks,

Monica

Hi,

I filled out the application this past Tuesday. Have you booked the hotel yet? Perhaps you can put the hotel manager name? I have friends in China, so I didn't have that problem. Do they actually "contact" your contact that you put on the application?

Leaving in 3 weeks.

If you don't think the hotel info alone would do, I would suggest calling the Chinese consulate near you and asking what to do (don't give them your name or have a man call if you have a distinctive voice!)

Good luck.
Anita

Your first hotel is fine. If you don't know yet, just pick the most likely.

Thanks, I'll list my first hotel on the form. I understand that I now have to provide copies of all hotel reservations/confirmation. Frustrating because I wasn't going to book until mid September.

Monica

"I understand that I now have to provide copies of all hotel reservations/confirmation." - well in that case my info is out of date. Sounds like Russia! Is this just during the Olympics?

I got the information in an article from the Frommers Budget Travel magazine online. Not only do I (and everyone else) have to provide copies of hotel reservations, I have to either go to the embassy in person or have a travel agency process the application for me. Maybe things will settle down after the Olympics.

Monica

Monica, all Chinese visa applications have required that you (or your representative) go to the Chinese embassy in person for the visa for some time. That isn't related to the Olympics. The requirement for hotel reservation confirmations is new.

Hi Monica,

yes, you do need to provide a copy of all of the hotel confirmations, with hotel name, address and phone numbers with check in and check out dates. You will also need to provide copies of your flight itineraries to and from China; they would not accept the application without ALL of this info. The women accepting the applications spent 5 minutes looking over all of my documents to make sure everything was there.

You DO have to go in person. I asked about mailing in the application, that's not an option. I am unsure about sending a representative on your behalf unless its an established visa processing service (you might want to call and ask as I have never used that type of service, so I can't speak on that).

The visa process take 4-5 working days they say, unless you need it expedited because you are traveling right away (documentation needed for that too!) They give you a slip of paper with your pick up date on it. You pay when you pick up your passport/visa (the cost for me was 150 swiss francs (I am a US citizen living in Luzern).

I am going to pick up my visa and passport from the consulate on Monday morning. I will let you know how it goes!

Anita

Thanks for the information Kathie and Anita. Yes, the hotel confirmation is new.

I plan to drive down to Washington D.C. to hand in my application. I do know I have to provide a copy of my airline tickets that are to/from China/USA, but do I have to provide inter-China tickets? I wasn't going to buy any airline tickets until I got to China.

When I had my picture taken for my passport (currently being renewed) I went ahead and had 2 sets made since I knew I needed a photo for the visa.

I do know the turn around time is about 4 days, but I'll give myself a little extra time and head to D.C. 3 weeks before the trip over.

Monica

Hi Monica,

I did not provide copies of all of my internal flights (there are some provided on the tour I am going on, and I don't even know that info yet). They did not ask for that info, so I am assuming they don't need that (unless you are flying out of China and then back in to China during your trip!)

OK, visa is picked up. I just gave the woman my pick up slip and the $$ for the visa, and then was on my way. Easy as pie!

If you haven't done so already, I would call the consulate/embassy and ask them what documentation you need to complete your application. If you don't have everything you need, they will send you away...

freeman0819, thanks for writing. Sounds like it was very easy for you. I will call before I drive to DC to make sure I have everything.

Monica

I just brought six visa applications to the Chinese embassy in Ottawa (Canada). She definitely wanted to see air tickets in and out and hotel reservations. She didn't seem to pay much attention to the rest of the application (like "contact" - we had put our first hotel) but maybe that happens after the paper work is submitted. She also did not ask for internal plane or train reservations.

I don't know what it is like elsewhere but there was one official working and a line of applicants out the door. Everyone seemed to have a story that complicated their application. A very long wait.