MissZiegfeld

Hello everyone--

In May, I am planning on embark on my first trip to Asia--Hong Kong.

I am a US citizen, and I have some questions about obtaining a VISA. For personal trips, I have read that it is necessary to obtain a letter from a Chinese travel agency to confirm the visit, or have a letter from a family member in China inviting you.

The latter definitely does not apply to me; do confirmation notices from Expedia or Travelcity count as proof enough for the former?

Also, are immunization shots required?

thank you!

Kathie

If you are just going to Hong Kong, you do not need a visa in advance. If you are going to China (mainland) you do require a visa in advance. Either you in person or someone on your behalf (in person) must apply for a Chinese visa at the consulate.

No immunizations are required, but you should have routine vaccines. Read the cdc website www.cdc.gov/travel

Cicerone

As noted above, you don't need a visa in advance for Hong Kong.

For the PRC, I don't believe the invitation letter is required any longer; it is optional information for the application, but I don't think you would be would be refused a visa without it. If you are concerned, call the embassy or the nearest PRC consulate to confirm; I believe you could also just include the name of any hotel you are planning on staying at in the PRC.

You can find downloadable visa application forms on the the Chinese Embassy website at www.china-embassy.org. On the main page, click on "Visa and Passport" on the left, and read and follow the various instructions. You want a tourist visa, which is an L visa. You have to bring the application in person to the embassy in Washington or the nearest consulate to you (cities are below), you can also have someone else bring it for you, i.e. you can pay an agent who specializes in obtaining visas to bring the application to the embassy or consulate. The embassy/consulate will then mail your passport back to you with the visa attached, or you can go back and collect it after the requisite number of days.

Chinese Embassy
2201 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202/338-6688)

Consulates General: Chicago (312/803-0098), Houston (713/524-4311), Los Angeles (213/807-8018), New York (212/330-7409) or San Francisco (415/563-4857).

katieling

You don't need a visa to go to Hong Kong but you do need one to go to China. In general, you only need a tourist visa, you don't need a letter. if you can't go to the consulate in person, there are plenty of companies on the interent would help you to apply the visa. My fiance just got one through one of them. It costs around $100.

bhuty

I don;t understand why you would use a company to apply for a visa...but then I'm not from the US so excuse my ignorance

laurieco

bhuty, you don't need a company to get a visa but some people just like the convenience it provides. I've always just gone to the consulate here in NY or, if there is no consulate here, as was the case with Vietnam, I send the application and my passport to the embassy in D.C.

rkkwan

In the US, you can only get a Chinese visa the following two ways:

- Go to an embassy or consulate in person
- Use an agent

They don't do direct mail here.

laurieco

Once again I stand corrected by rkkwan (thanks, you truly are a wealth of information). When I got my Chinese visa, I went to the consulate in NY in person so I wasn't aware you couldn't just mail it in. I guess I'm lucky that there are so many consulates in the city I live in. But the few times there wasn't, I was able to do it by mail to the embassy. Why does China make it so difficult/expensive to obtain a visa? That's a rhetorical question, no answer required (unless someone has one!)

Neil_Oz

Australian citizens pay only AU$30 (US$22) compared to (I think) US$60 for US citizens, and submit less paperwork. We must be China's New Best Friend.

No, you don't need a letter. Well, we don't

MissZiegfeld

thanks for the replies--I'm still a bit confused though! you're saying I don't need a visa for hong kong, but I do need one for china. Is that mainland china only?

Basically--if i book a plane ticket to Hong Kong and get off the plane, will I be allowed in? Not visiting any other cities aside from Hong Kong. thanks!

rkkwan

Yes, <b>no visa needed</b> for Hong Kong. Just buy a ticket and that's it. You can also travel to Macau, which also doesn't need a visa. Both are called &quot;Special Administrative Region&quot; or something like that. There's still a border between Hong Kong and China, and between Macau and China.