I've searched this forum but it seems some people think day 1 is the day you set foot in china , others the next day. This is what I found on the shanghai and malaysian embassy sites(see para.5):

"Foreign citizens applying visa-free entry, upon their arrival in China, can stay 15 consecutive natural days, until the 24th hour of the 15th natural day, before leaving China."

There seems to be no provided definition of what "arrival" means.

I enter December 9th, and leave December 23rd. To me it seems I'd be exactly within the 15 days, unless of course the exit flight is delayed. Am I reading this correctly?

I'm considering doing a day trip to Hong Kong just to be on the safe side.

Thanks

Hi, I have UK and EU passports. I'm planning to use the EU passport which is visa free up to 15 days. But I've already registered my UK passport for all the flights to and from China. Is this going to be a problem? I think I did this before and it was fine but that was a while ago. Thanks

I'm a bit confused as to whether i would qualify for the 144 hour visa for my trip to beijing next year and would appreciate any advice!

Any trip is as follows:

UK --> Ho Chi Minh (internal flights in Vietnam - staying in vietnam for 2 weeks) Hanoi --> Beijing (2hr connection in Guangzhou) (4 nights stay in Beijing) Beijing --> UK (3hr Connection in Doha)

Many thanks in advance for any help navigating this!

Hi all

Not sure if this topic could be complicated or not but my parents are retired now and wants to move back to China permanently.

They hold foreign passports for the last 30 years and all their children do not hold chinese citizenship.

Is there any info that you can give me about this on how to restore their chinese nationality?

We do have extended relatives in China so not sure that would help in their case.

"An invitation letter provided by a Chinese citizen or a foreign citizen with a Chinese permanent residence permit. The invitation letter should contain: a) Information of the applicant (incl. full name, gender, date of birth, passport number etc); b) Information regarding the visit (incl. purpose of visit, arrival and departure dates, place(s) to be visited, relationship between the applicant and the inviting party, and details of any financial support to be provided during the stay in China); c) Information of the inviting party (incl.name, contact number, address, signature of individual)."

Can this technically be a friend from China or no for applying to Q2 visa?

So my leave letter from my company just has a digital signature. As I work remote for an offshore company was wondering if I need to submit an official signature with stamp as I do not live in the same city as the company (and I don't know if they have a stamp!) what should I do?

I’m an 18+ New Zealand citizen with a New Zealand passport. Recently, I found out that I’m “supposed to” use a Chinese Travel Document (CTD) to travel to China.

Here’s a bit of background: both of my parents are ethnically Chinese. When I was born, my dad had already become a New Zealand citizen and had renounced his Chinese citizenship. My mom had received her resident visa a year before I was born, so she still had to wait one more year before getting her permanent resident visa.

From what I’ve seen in similar cases online, it seems like I should be eligible for a CTD. I’ve been granted Chinese visas (L, F, Q2) multiple times.

I called the Chinese embassies in Auckland and Sydney to ask about it, and they told me that a nationality determination was already made the first time my parents applied for a visa for me. So, they said I should just keep using visas to travel.

Is there any way I can resolve this situation? I’d like to get a CTD, as it might let me stay in China indefinitely in the future.

Hello everyone,

I’m a French passport holder and recently went to China for 15 days visa free (in August to be exact) and I was wondering if this is a one time only use or if it resets and I’d able to go again without one?

I was thinking it wouldn’t be possible but I’ve been seeing some mixed answers on Reddit and was wondering if I could get some clarification. I contacted my nearest Chinese embassy to ask them but they haven’t replied to me so far…

Thanks! :-)

I am flying in from Seoul > Shenzhen (SZX) November 19.

From what I understand you need to have a pre-booked ticket to show that you are leaving within 144h.

Would a train ticket from SZX to HK be sufficient ? Or should I get a bus tickets ?

I've read multiple testimonies that mentioned some bus tickets are not eligible.

Thanks for the help!

I found previous posts on this subreddit useful so I thought I would post about my experience.

My experience was essentially the same as this post, but:

• I arrived at the visa centre at 09:00 on a Monday and only needed to wait ~45 minutes to be seen
• The clerk dealing with my application mainly asked about my invitation letter (I was being invited by my partner's family), but didn't ask too many questions
• I had to wait an additional ~10 minutes in the payment queue (only one window was open)
• I was able to leave at ~10:30

Overall it was very quick and efficient. My sense is that fewer people commute into London on Monday and Friday, so these might be better days to go.

Best of luck everyone!

Hi - I'm proposing to have four days in Hainan (under their 30 day visa free stay), followed immediately by 14 days in mainland China (under their 15 day visa free stay) and then four days again in Hainan (under another 30 day visa free stay).

Can anyone confirm that the stays in Hainan at either end of my 14 day mainland China visit will not affect the 15 day visa free stay in mainland China?

Can I have two 30 day visa free entries to Hainan within the same month?

Also is a travel agent letter really necessary for the Hainan visa free stays - as I am not proposing to use the services of a travel agent during my stay there? I'm not clear what this letter is meant to do or say.

Thank you

Hi guys, Could you please check for me if this route is okay for TWOV?

Tokyo - Shanghai (Pudong) - Manchester Layover 2h55m - Juneyao Air Baggage checked through Vietnamese and British passport holders

I'm pretty sure that we don't need a visa for it, but when I booked the tickets on Trip.com it said Visa required for Vietnamese (but said nothing for British passport holder) Is it just the website hasn't been updated to I do need a visa for it? The layover is short, baggage seems to be checked through, then I don't see why we need to clear immigration and required visa. I guess Trip just doesn't update their website (?)

Please let me know if anyone has same experience. Thank you.

Would I be allowed to get 24 hr TWOV when transiting Xiamen going to Taiwan? I have a 9h overnight layover there.

I’m not sure if China considers Taiwan as a 3rd country or another region

ALSO, what should I write in the address in the arrival card in Xiamen? I don’t have a hotel, but I think Xiamen Airlines will be providing us one after clearing the immigration.

TIA!

Hi all,

I'm helping my parent apply for a Chinese Visa (L - Tourism) from Toronto, Canada. They were born in China but moved to Canada in the 70's. They are Canadian citizens/nationality and are former Chinese Nationalities since they were born there. However, they do not have any Chinese ID or Chinese passport that they can find due to constant moving and lost documentation.

Will there be a high chance of rejection since the application form asks for their Former Chinese ID and last Chinese passport? What should I look out and prepare for? They only want to travel for a few weeks in China.

Note: They went to Hong Kong a few years back and got a Visa on arrival of 5-day to Shenzhen in their Passport.

I’ve been asked to drop off a visa app for someone who’s been invited for a business meeting in China. Is this something I can do? I tried to read around on Reddit but am conflicted. There’s a couple comments that had said it’s possible but another had said there’s an in person interview? Not sure.

Hello! My wife lives in china and I live in argentina. She wants apply a visa to come to my country but she is not working now, so she hasn't proof of salary. Someone know an agency who can help us to apply visa??? Or someone that had same problem know if there is a way to fix it?

I am a 11 hour round trip distance from Chicago and really don't have the time to go back to pick up the visa. How fast is the paid expedited service? Also, since that probably still won't work, are there recommendations for companies that will pick it up and send it back for me?

Thanks!

I’m trying to renew my travel document, and I’m at the video interview stage now, but whenever I go into the consulate app and reach the front of the appointment queue, it tells me the call failed and directs me to reschedule my appointment. I’ve tried using a different device, uninstalling and reinstalling the app, and taking the call on cellular data, but nothing has worked.

I only have one more chance to reschedule and complete the interview, otherwise I’ll have to wait a month, by which time it’ll be too late. At this point, the only thing I can think of that could be causing an issue is my location since I’ve always tried to take the call inside my apartment, but I don’t know if that should even be a variable since both my cellular and wifi receptions are still strong. Does anyone have any ideas or advice on how to fix this?

For reference, my sister has the same model and software phone as me, and she was able to complete her interview just fine, so I’m not inclined to think it’s a problem with my device.

EDIT: After multiple emails to the embassy explaining my situation, they finally arranged an in-person appointment for me that’ll happen in a few days. From what I can tell, I just need to bring all my documents to the consulate, and they’ll complete my application there.

Hi! Next month I will have a flight from Helsinki to Pudong airport with Lufthansa and have 5 hours to take luggage and checkin myself to China Eastern airline. Because they are 2 different tickets so Im sure I need to pass the immigration clearance before getting my baggage for the next flight. There are some concerns that I have tried to contact the carrier and the local china visa service but they only told me to contact the other and vice verse

• is 5 hours is enough for me to do self checkin at Pudong airport. I arrive at terminal 2 and next one depart at terminal 1
• will at the Helsinki airport they decline to checkin since I will arrive with visa on arrival in Pudong.
• because some people said I could only have the temporary visa entry if my layover is > 8h. So they might reject it . I just want to take my luggage for the next flight so I don’t have any intention to go out of the airport. :((
• and is anyone has the similar case like me and have gone completely fine. I have tried to call both Lufthansa and China Eastern but they both telling me to ask embassy. So actually the information is so vague for me :(

Thanks and welcome for your replies

I have a 10-year L Visa and I would primarily like to travel to China as a tourist, but I'd also love the opportunity to take some language courses or get some tutoring while abroad. I'm not sure what the rules are on this front. Would I be able to purchase some language courses? If not, could I hire a tutor?

Hi everyone!

I’m super excited because I'm finally going to China to meet my in-laws and explore the country where my girlfriend was born and raised. I'll be entering on the 15-day visa-free scheme for Italian citizens, which has been available since last year.

For those who’ve used this visa-free entry, could you share what the process was like? Is there anything specific I should prepare for, or is it as simple as showing up with my passport? Any tips or insights would be greatly appreciated—thanks in advance!

My current 10 year M Visa expires December 12th. Do I have to wait and apply for a new visa after the expiration date? I potentially have a trip to make on December 16th. I hope to have a new visa before then.

Hi,

Wondering if there’s a time limit on when you can pick up an approved passport/visa? For example, if I go on a Friday and get approved, and they tell me it will be ready to pick up the following Friday, would I be able to go by a month later to pick it up? Or is there a limit on how long they will hold it?

Reason I’m asking is I’m already planning on going to London late December, but will have the first appointment in November. Trying to avoid taking extra annual leave to go to the centre if possible as I live a few hours away.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Hi everyone,

Has anyone recently applied for a tourist visa from a visa center that requires you to upload all supporting documents online? I know that not all centers use this system.

I’ve reached the document upload section, and one part states: "The applicant's passport should have enough blank visa pages and a validity period of no less than six months from the date of application submission. If you have other countries' visas and records of exit and entry, please upload them together."

Does this mean they need all visas in your passport, or just the valid ones? Earlier in the application form, they specifically asked only for current valid visas.

I need to finish this ASAP, but the visa center in my country of residence (Singapore) is already closed, and anyway from my recent experience, their phone line doesn’t seem to work anymore. So I thought I’d try asking here. I have a weak passport and therefore a lot of visas, which makes organizing all the images of visas and entry/exit stamps quite time-consuming. I'd rather avoid it if possible.

I managed to speak with staff at visa centers in Bern and Berlin, and they both said they only care about the most recent Chinese visa, not visas from other countries. So now I’m a bit confused. Has anyone here been through this process and can share their experience?

Right now I'm just leaning towards uploading all the pages of my passport without grouping together visas and the matching entry/exit stamps, that seems to be the easiest option.

Thanks so much!

Do you still need itinerary and proof of hotel bookings?

I'm going yo visit a friend and staying with them at their house so don't need a hotel but not sure if I will get refused if I don't have any booked?

UK citizen with UK passport and my flights will be direct with no transfers within China

Sooo confused by this.

Was meant to transit via China for less than 24 hours with Hainan Airlines from AKL to LHR (via HAK).

Following an early notification of flight cancellation, the airline rebooked me onto a new itinerary now extending well beyond 24 hours (I think the exact time is 33 hours).

Since the flight disruption and eticket reissue came from their end, are they also meant to arrange for a last minute transit visa (travelling in less than a week) for me? It would be horrific to be denied boarding at the start of this long journey when the airline took care of the whole rebooking process... they do have my passport information from the original reservation.

Hi guys,

This may be a silly question but I’m flying to Taipei from London and I have a layover in Shanghai for 19hrs. I’m from Honduras so I need a visa to enter China, but again my layover would be less than 24 hours? I don’t need to apply for any visas right?

Will I have any issue at the airport? I’m flying with China Eastern so I’m sure the airline knows all about the TWOV.

I appreciate the help :)

I have been trying to apply for a tourist visa in seoul. And the first time I went I didnt have all my hotels in order so I have to go again which isnt a problem. But I also had to fill in a destination list. So I filled in the cities and the dates I will go to them. But that was wrong apparently wrong. So i asked what to do and got the answer that for example, Tianamen sqaure in bejing. Or shanghai tower in shanghai. But I dont know how specific to bo. Or what they mean by all destinations. But since there was a language barrier (I dont speak any chinese or korean) I just said okay and left. And when I emailed the answer was also very vague. So before I go or mail again I want to ask if someone has had to do the same and know what they mean. Hope someone can help

Hi, is my itinerary ok for the 144 TWOV? Looking for added assurance based on the Hong Kong layover of the exiting flight.

Tokyo to Shanghai

Shanghai to Delhi with 55 minute layover in Hong Kong

I'm also travelling for work - do I need to say anything specific when filling out the form for the 144 hour exemption? I have all of the other items needed, including hotel reservation info etc. all ready to show. Thanks!