Chinese Visas

[worth]

I'm a Canadian passport holder and I have a one way flight booked for Beijing on April 1. I have no return flight as I will be traveling for a year and I will probably not fly out of China, but some other country.

I have done a lot of research and I know China has been tightening up on visa requirements in the past year. I do not know anyone in China who can send me an Invitation Letter.

My plan is to book a hotel for a week and a flight out of China at the end of that week and submit that to the Chinese Consulate in the hopes that they will grant me a visa. Once the visa is accepted I would cancel the hotel and flight out of the country.

I would really like a multiple entry 1 year visa, but I have my doubts they would issue this visa to me.

Does anyone have any experience in obtaining Chinese visas like this? Is there another option I am missing?

I do not have a travel agent, and I do not want to do a tour.

Thanks!

[jus_sum_guy]

Travel agent here
All you need to do is make a fake itinerary showing your flights in and out of China over the year
Will also need fake hotel bookings for that same time frame as well
Make sure you can prove sufficient funds for such a long trip

Visa approved

[gargamel]

I have nothing to add about visas other than that I'm going through the same issue right now with Cambodia, but congratulations on following through on quitting your job and traveling. Good luck.

[worth]

Making an itineary for a year seems like a huge pain. Maybe one flight in and out at the beginning and one in and out at the end? Are they going to question it if I only stay for a week each time?

Thanks gargamel! I thought Cambodia you could get on arrival? Or are you trying to stay longer than 30 days?

[jus_sum_guy]

Originally Posted by worth

Making an itineary for a year seems like a huge pain. Maybe one flight in and out at the beginning and one in and out at the end? Are they going to question it if I only stay for a week each time?

Thanks gargamel! I thought Cambodia you could get on arrival? Or are you trying to stay longer than 30 days?

They won't approve you multiple entries if you only show the 2 flights. Well I shouldn't say won't but chances are slim
This is where you find a travel agent willing to do it for you. they will most likely charge a fee though

[Kybosh]

I made up a sorta fake China itinerary and only provided the hostel info for the first few nights in Beijing and it went through (I pretty much only said stuff like Beijing, Xian, Chengdu etc. with no specification on days). Handed off my passport in person at the consulate in Calgary, then it was back in my hands a few days later. Not too sure about your re-entry question though.

Also, bought my Cambodia visa upon arrival from Thailand. They had everything all set up after deplaning and even had a bank machine there for people who had no US dollars.

[Huntingwhale]

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by worth

Thanks gargamel! I thought Cambodia you could get on arrival? Or are you trying to stay longer than 30 days?

You can get a visa on arrival for Cambodia, but the airline is telling me that I can't fly in unless I either already have the visa (I don't have time to get one in advance) or already have a flight booked to leave Cambodia. I'm not sure how long I'll be staying, so I want to go in on a one-way flight. I'll be teaching English in Siem Reap for at least 3 months, but I want to stay flexible in case I decide to stay longer.

[jus_sum_guy]

Originally Posted by gargamel

You can get a visa on arrival for Cambodia, but the airline is telling me that I can't fly in unless I either already have the visa (I don't have time to get one in advance) or already have a flight booked to leave Cambodia. I'm not sure how long I'll be staying, so I want to go in on a one-way flight. I'll be teaching English in Siem Reap for at least 3 months, but I want to stay flexible in case I decide to stay longer.

That's right. If you go one way you will a visa in advance.
Get a fake ticket from cambodia to whereever in Asia with another airline and you'll have no problems

[worth]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

I made up a sorta fake China itinerary and only provided the hostel info for the first few nights in Beijing and it went through (I pretty much only said stuff like Beijing, Xian, Chengdu etc. with no specification on days). Handed off my passport in person at the consulate in Calgary, then it was back in my hands a few days later. Not too sure about your re-entry question though.

Also, bought my Cambodia visa upon arrival from Thailand. They had everything all set up after deplaning and even had a bank machine there for people who had no US dollars.

How long did you request for length of visa? One entry, 3 months?

[MoneyGuy]

Where is Qiang when he's needed?

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by worth

How long did you request for length of visa? One entry, 3 months?

I think it was just a single entry 3 month visa. 3 months from the date of issue, so I got the visa about 3 weeks before I left.

[JohnnyB]

The best advice in this thread is that telling you to get fake tickets out.

[worth]

I got a 1 year multiple entry tourist visa valid for 90 days at a time, so if anyone needs any help in the future with this, just send me a message.

Had to show I was entering China 3 separate times and I also wrote a letter to the Consul General explaining what I was wanting to do and they granted it to me.

Thanks for the help in this thread.

[hatty]

I have gotten multiple Chinese visa's over the past few years, even last year, I only showed my one hotel at my destination which was dongguan, and we put it as leisure, not business.

Putting it as leisure instead of business was actually advised to me by the person at the chinese consulate, he said if we were to put business then we need an invitation, otherwise you don't.

Though, last time i went was last march, (2013) so I am not entirely sure if they have gotten stricter, or they are more lenient towards people who have already had visas.

Also, i never applied for multiple entry, i was advised its a little more information required, which makes sense now as i see posters saying they have to show entry and exit multiple times.

[savemedrzaius]

Originally Posted by worth

I got a 1 year multiple entry tourist visa valid for 90 days at a time, so if anyone needs any help in the future with this, just send me a message.

Had to show I was entering China 3 separate times and I also wrote a letter to the Consul General explaining what I was wanting to do and they granted it to me.

Thanks for the help in this thread.

I'm surprised you were able to get a one year visa. You got a L-Visa? They have really been cracking down on giving out long-term travel visas because so many foreigners work here on L-Visas. What exactly did you have to show them? You didn't even have to show them the flights leaving China? Seems crazy they would give you a one year. Even 6 months would be impressive.

[worth]

Yes, 1 year L-Visa.

I showed:
-Flight into Beijing
-Flight out of Guangzhou to Hanoi
-Flight into Guangzhou from HCMC
-Flight out of Xiamen to Manila
-Flight into Guangzhou from Bangkok
-Flight home from Beijing

I also wrote a letter to the consul general stating my intentions and said I would support myself in the country and would leave upon my visa expiring.

[savemedrzaius]

Originally Posted by worth

Yes, 1 year L-Visa.

I showed:
-Flight into Beijing
-Flight out of Guangzhou to Hanoi
-Flight into Guangzhou from HCMC
-Flight out of Xiamen to Manila
-Flight into Guangzhou from Bangkok
-Flight home from Beijing

I also wrote a letter to the consul general stating my intentions and said I would support myself in the country and would leave upon my visa expiring.

Ahh okay. Why are you flying in and out of China so much? Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to see all the places you want to see in China in one go and then move on to your next destination? Also it is usually a lot cheaper to fly out of Hong Kong or Macau when flying to places like the Philippines, Vietnam etc.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

In North America, we have the typical default fake "123456789" credit card number. But for China, of course it is "8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888"