Hi all,

in the past I always did my china visas with the consulate in LA via mail. However, the consulates no longer do mail service and I don't have free time to go to LA in person to handle this.

Does anyone have someone who they've used and would recommend to handle this for me? Yes, I realize there are tons of folks on line offering these types of services, but I'd just as soon have a referral for someone you've used in the past.

Peter....I know you have commented on the ease of getting same day visas in HK, I've just always taken care of this pre trip. I'll be coming into HKG and heading for Guangzhou by either the ferry or train....are there agents you suggest right there in Kowloon close to the train station or CHKC Ferry?

Typically how long would I need to hang around for to wait for same day?

Thanks!

There are a couple in Science Museum Road about five minutes by taxi from Hung Hom. Typically it's in by noon, back by 6pm. I don't think you'll get it any faster except by going to the government visa office on the Island and paying a lot of money.

According to Guangzhou PSB, tourist visas can now be purchased on arrival in Guangzhou (if, and only if) you take the through train from Hung Hom to Guangzhou East station. I haven't tried this myself, but I've seen that you can indeed obtain full three-month L visas in less than 30 minutes over the counter on the Chinese side of the Macau-Zhuhai crossing, and at Fuyong Dock on alighting from the HK to Shenzhen Airport ferry, so there seems no reason to doubt this information, which is also mentioned on the KCR Web site. You could call Guangzhou PSB to check if you wish: 86 20 6130 0167 (I would imagine you'll need the help of a Mandarin or Cantonese speaker). I would have thought this your easier and least expensive choice. Probably Y200 (or they might want HK$, so take enough) for a single-entry L visa (although if you happen to be a U.S. citizen there's now a 30% mark-up--also applies to 14 other nations).

I met a couple of people within the last month who had been refused anything other than one-month L visas in Hong Kong--a sudden change of policy. Whether that was a temporary glitch (three months used to be the only option), and whether it would apply to visas bought on arrival, I don't know. It may have been connected with the consultative conference in Beijing, now long over. I had no difficulty with obtaining a multi-entry F visa as normal.

Peter N-H
http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

Xie Xie, Peter.

Another thought, and an update:

You can now take a turbocat directly from Hong Kong's airport to Shenzhen, where, as I've remarked before, you can buy a visa on the spot at Fuyong Dock. The ride includes a shuttle bus to the airport, little more than five minutes away, and there are direct buses to Guangzhou from there, I believe (but if not there are buses straight to Shenzhen station where there are regular 200kph trains which whisk you to Guangzhou in a very short time).

A service directly from HK airport to Guangzhou will also shortly be luanched, and if you have a visa already, might well be the most convenient route for you. Keep an eye on:

http://www.turbojetseaexpress.com.hk

for details of both these routes.

BUT, there is now a fresh problem for U.S. citizens, if any are reading this, which is that a tit-for-tat response from the Chinese government means that U.S. citizens may face fingerprinting or face-to-face interviews before being granted a visa, or, at least, that is what the Chinese are saying, which doesn't necessarily mean they'll carry it out if it's going to damage tourism--the point may only be to be seen for standing up for Chinese rights, rather than actually doing anything concrete about it. However, another side-effect is that U.S. citizens will no longer be able to get visas at the border, either.

It's important to stress that the number of places where this can be done are anyway very few, and the visa available may limit access to a particular area only. The basic rule is that you must have a mainland visa before arriving at the Chinese mainland.

It's also important to distinguish between some of the border points where visas are available on demand and others. At the Shenzhen border crossing, for instance, it's the government immigration department which is issuing the visa, and travel is limited to Shenzhen only. It seems unlikely that for the time being this will be available to U.S. citizens (but who cares? It now costs much the same as a full tourist visa).

But the visas handed out at the Macau/Zhuhai-Gongbei border and at Shenzhen-Fuyong are issued by travel agencies, so likely this won't be any different from applying at a travel agency anywhere else. Probably, although I don't know this, the Guangzhou East Railway Station visa available to those arriving direct by train from Hong Kong is also of this latter type, but a call to the PSB there now becomes even more important, at least for U.S. citizens.

It may turn out to be the case that there are more problems with getting visas in the U.S. than there are in HK, as has long been the case. But until there's direct evidence from U.S. citizens who've bought in HK in the last week or in the days to come, perhaps for U.S. citizens it's best, despite the tedious and expensive bother with agencies, to acquire a visa at home.

Peter N-H
http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

Peter,

as always thank you for your willingness to share your knowledge and insights.

It does seem like every time we turn around there are additional obstacles to travel. I used to just do my visas by mail with the US Consulate in LA - it was really painless, but all visas by mail ended early last summer as you know doubt are aware.

I decided to go ahead and get my Visa in the US before coming to China as things are a bit uncertain as you point out and I don't have any part of the day available to hang out in Hong Kong to wait for a visa.

CTS in the US (I know, I know) is doing chinese visas on a one week turn around for a $35 surcharge above the Visa fees. As going in person would take me a full day out of the office (a day that I don't have), the $35 is a bargain for me.

I'll try to gather more info at the bordres for future reference, however as you point out, things change. I realize that what's true when I cross may very well change again before my next trip.

Thanks for the heads up on the new TurboJet routes. Direct service from the Airport to Guangzhou will be cool - do you know anything about when its due to start?

BTW, any favorite restaurants in Guangzhou that you might recommend. I'm staying at the Rosedale and will be running back and forth between the Fair Complexes.