I am going to visit some friends in Shanghai this summer but I’ve never traveled to China while living in Taiwan.
As an American I am required to have a travel visa.
Can anybody out there, in the ether of the forumosa net, share with me what I cna expect?
To be specific, I refer to the fact that this island & China do not have “embassies.”
Unlike Japan or Korea - where I could go to the Chinese consulate for the visa, how will I obtain it in Taiwan? Will travel agents take care of this? Do I have to go to Hong Kong just for the Visa, or can I obtain it in abstentia (legally of course)?
I’m sorry if this sounds stupid or confusing. I’m just curious if I can obtain the travel visa without having ot leave Taiwan.
FWI’s W: I am well aware I can expect a Taiwan-Hong Kong-China and vice-versa flight situation, so I am not in thdark about that.
Thanks in advance to anyone who shares their experiences with me.
You can get your visa from a travel agent in Taiwan. Allow about a week I think. Maybe a little more or less. In HK, you can stop off there and get it the same day, but it wll be tight unless you are on the first flight out of here in the morning. I use to do it that way now only do it, if it is is spur of the moment business trip. Use the travel agent route it is more convenient.
Thanks, Juba, but “by train - take forever, by plane - get there fast.”
I have a limited amount of time for vacation and want to spend as much time back in Shanghai as possible. I ahve to meet people and research everal things.
I’ll save the train travel for when I move there.
I would prefer NOT to go to Hong Kong for a visa and get it in Taiwan. I don’t have time to fuck around. I don’t get a long vacation and I simply want to have the visa and leave Taiwann, layover in HK and then onto Shanghai and hit the ground running, then go backwards and return to Taiwan a week later and return to work. I’m hoping I can find a reputable travel agent who will be able to do that, since time is limited, time is money and I don’t have much of either to waste.
I’m an American as well. When I called up several travel agencies here in Taiwan several months ago, they said they couldn’t do PRC visas for Americans. Maybe another place can, but that’s my experience.
Furthermore, be prepared to pay a lot more for your visa than other nationalities. I ended up getting my tourist visa in HK. Almost every other nationality it costs HK$200 for a three month visa, while for Americans it costs HK$700 for one month and HK$900 for a two-entry visa (30 days, exit, go back in, and 30 more days. Americans can’t get tourist visas with durations longer than 30 days.) I guess I shouldn’t complain too much. Taiwan does the same thing to Americans as well. :s
If you do have to waste a day in HK and time is short, I’d recommend booking a flight from Shenzhen to Shanghai. You can take a ferry directly from HK to Shenzhen airport, it would only take another hour or so out of your time as opposed to flying out of HK, and you’d save about US$100.
[quote=“alidarbac”]I’m an American as well. When I called up several travel agencies here in Taiwan several months ago, they said they couldn’t do PRC visas for Americans. Maybe another place can, but that’s my experience.
Furthermore, be prepared to pay a lot more for your visa than other nationalities. I ended up getting my tourist visa in HK. Almost every other nationality it costs HK$200 for a three month visa, while for Americans it costs HK$700 for one month and HK$900 for a two-entry visa (30 days, exit, go back in, and 30 more days. Americans can’t get tourist visas with durations longer than 30 days.) I guess I shouldn’t complain too much. Taiwan does the same thing to Americans as well. :s
If you do have to waste a day in HK and time is short, I’d recommend booking a flight from Shenzhen to Shanghai. You can take a ferry directly from HK to Shenzhen airport, it would only take another hour or so out of your time as opposed to flying out of HK, and you’d save about US$100.[/quote]
Wow! Thanks for the heads up. I kind of figured I’d end up having to hit HK.
Any details on where to go to get the visa in HK, and is it possible to get it in one day (and leave that night)?
I had to stay in HK for several days because I had the brains to arrive at the tail end of the Chinese New Year holiday. I forget whether you could get same-day service, but you definitely can get next-day service. CITS (there are dozens of branches all over HK) is one of the official places to get visas, but nearly every little guesthouse in Tsim Sha Tsui can help you get a visa as well.
Thanks. Well, I love Hong Kong and while my time is limited, if I had to spend over 24 hours in one layover destination, I can’t complain too much if it’s Hong Kong. :bravo:
I will start working out the logistics of the trip.
Having posted late in the evening and after a handful of nightcaps, I didn’t realize that Juba provided some links in their original post.
According to a German friend, you could get a China visa at the ferry terminal in Shenzhen while waiting when going to the airport from HK China ferry to Shenzhen airport. Than take the plane from Shenzhen to Shanghai.
I tried to get one in a day from CITS… but failed. I got their early and my documents went off just fine… i learned while waiting for the docs to return that all of the CITS’ in Hong Kong send their visa applicant info to one place! I guess that makes some sense but still it was annoying. :fume:
so my visa was given to me two hours late and thus i had no chance of getting into China that night!!
dont you just love bureaucracy!!
if you go early in the morning, like just after it opens, you might have a chance…
HONG KONG - This morning, I arrived on the morning BR flight and went to the CTS desk (Counter B08) at the airport here. I needed to get a visa to China (I’m on the 8am flight from HKG to SHA tomorrow)
I was prepared with a passport photo and was given a simple one page form to fill out. Because the time wsa before 13:30, for same day turnaround, I could expect to have my passport back - with visa - “19:00 AFTER” and written in Chinese, my receipt also says, “during office hours”
I asked, “why does this say after 7:00 pm?”
The 2 ladies looked at me and said, “pick up from 6:30pm to 7:00pm”"
I asked that my passport be sent to the branch at Tsim Sha Tsui, so I could pick it up there. One lady started to say that could not be done, but the other interrupted and said that would be fine.
I’ll be heading over there soon - let’s see what really happens.
Cost: HK$ 1,000 (I’m using a US passport) for a Single Entry, 3-month visa. I had lunch with friends and they laughed, as non-US citizens, they have paid HK$ 600 for Multiple-entry, 12 month visa!
