How to get a Chinese visa in Taiwan? I’m a Thai citizen holding an ARC. My grandfather has been born in Jinghong, Yunnan Province and my family name is probably also from that area (Sudprasert-สุดประเสริฐ). My first name (Benjamin) is Thailand-Thai and not China-Dai though. Benjamin (เบญจมินทร์) is a traditional Thai name but I decided to change the spelling to เบนจามิน which is still Benjamin in English.
I want to see the area where my grandfather has been born and open to see people with the same family name who could be relatives. I hope that there is no need to go to Hong Kong or Macau (or Bangkok) only to get a Chinese visa as I’m living in Kinmen and going abroad as long as I’m not Taiwanese is more expensive.
Thai passport? Living in Kinman? Maybe someone or agency in Thailand could process your passport visa?
China Travel Services in Taipei used to provide the service in certain situations for certain passports as they send it to and process via their office in Hong Kong. Before covid.
I don’t know if they still do it or will do it with the Thai passport.
Probably get better assistance visiting them in person.
I would like to go from Kinmen to Jinghong with my wife and my daughter. But even Xiamen is too difficult for me to visit. Just flying from Bangkok to Kunming return alone - which would be quite easy concerning the Chinese visa - would be possible but isn’t exactly what I want. My wife and my daughter can get visa on arrival in China with their Taiwanese passports or apply for a Mainland Travel Permit. So even if it would be more expensive in order to apply for a Chinese visa in Taiwan it’s still my preferred way to obtain a Chinese visa.
I don’t think that I can apply for NWOHR status as just informing the Taiwanese authorities that I have ancestors from China without any documents proofing it won’t lead to anything. Also a Taiwanese passport without any national identification number isn’t very good for travelling.
Traveling via Kinmen and Xiamen is restricted. Foreigners afaik cannot use these links to enter China as it is not a designated port of entry for us. I hope I am wrong but when I checked it out… That wasn’t a valid way to enter China, regardless of visa status. Now, if you were a citizen here… that would be different.
Ok. Searching in Formosa suggests it is possible to transit via the mini links if you already have a visa.
Previously I was using the ferry from Xiamen to Kinmen (and vice-versa) quite often. But since they’ve stopped issuing multiple entry Chinese visas to Thai citizens in Bangkok about 7-8 years ago (unless if having a living relative in Mainland China) I didn’t used the ferry often anymore and when I used it I usually had a double entry Chinese visa. When I entered the ROC for the first time in 2011 from Xiamen I also saw my wife for the first time as she was working in Kinmen’s Shuitou harbour at that time.
I don’t have any problems not being able to go to Xiamen that easily anymore as I like Kinmen much more than Xiamen anyway. But for some other nationalities like UK and U.S. it has become much easier in order to obtain a multiple year valid multiple entry Chinese visa in the meantime.
So is this the easiest way for a foreign passport holder in Taiwan to get a visa to the PRC? Visit Hong Kong, apply, wait a week, pick up, and then come back? Seems difficult but if that’s how it is then so be it…
back in the day you could get a visa in 24 hours in HK, or there were travel agencies that would FedEx your passport to HK, apply, and FedEx the passport to Taiwan.
But now with covid and PRC policy this isnt possible i think.