Nomarian
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2011
- Messages
- 215
Today we applied for our China Visas and I wanted to at least let other Americans know what it took to get them done and make sure they don't have to make multiple trips like we did. 
A little family background before I get started. We are a family of 4 with my two boys being 13 and 16. We are all American citizens and each hold a US passport. Luckily, we have a Chinese Consulate here in Houston, so we were able to take our applications to be processed there.
I am a crazy planner and I knew that I wanted a full Visa vs using the 144-hour transit "visa" that others have used. Our travel plans would have exceeded the 144-hour rule anyways and I did not want to have to worry about the 144 hour limit. I went to the Chinese Consulate website and found documentation that listed what kind of Visas are available and following the lists, I found that we wanted the "L" Visa for a tourist. I downloaded form v2013 and proceeded to fill it out. Here is an example form filled out: http://alliedpassport.com/cty/china-sample-secure.pdf. I then read through all the required documents and made all the copies of the required paperwork and had them ready for the next day.
I can tell you that the documentation does not tell you all the paperwork required for the Visa and we found that out the hard way. The nice lady went through our paperwork and proceeded to tell me what was missing and I had to come back with it. We drove home (30 minutes), got the rest of the paperwork and went back into line. I should note that the line was probably a 20 minute wait at the Consulate. We got back into line and had another lady and she proceeded to tell us what was missing now. Luckily, we were able to get that resolved with a quick trip to the local copy machine down the street. I knew that this was going to be a process, but sheesh.
So here is what is needed for each person if you plan on applying for a China Visa. We applied for a 10 year Visa, since the cost is the same for a 6 month, 12 month or 10 year.
Myself
1.) Filled out application, signed and dated.
2.) Passport Photo
3.) Passport
4.) Photocopy of my passport (important)
5.) Printouts of my flights and hotels in China with the names of all the family members. They mainly cared about the plane reservations. They only saw my name on the hotel reservations.
Wife
1.) Filled out application, signed and dated.
2.) Passport Photo
3.) Passport
4.) Photocopy of her passport (important)
Son #1
1.) Filled out application, signed and dated. (Note that on this, he signs his part and there is a part for me to sign and date as I did his form for him. He also notes that he is a student for his job.)
2.) Passport Photo
3.) Passport
4.) Photocopy of his passport (important)
5.) Photocopy of my passport
6.) Photocopy of my wife's passport
7.) Photocopy of his birth certificate
Son #2
1.) Filled out application, signed and dated. (Note that on this, he signs his part and there is a part for me to sign and date as I did his form for him. He also notes that he is a student for his job.)
2.) Passport Photo
3.) Passport
4.) Photocopy of his passport (important)
5.) Photocopy of my passport
6.) Photocopy of my wife's passport
7.) Photocopy of his birth certificate
With that done, she accepted our paperwork. Woohoo! We pick up our visas in 1 week and the cost is $140 per person paid by money order or credit card (Visa or Mastercard) during pickup. Hope that helps others that want to get a full Visa vs using the 144 transit option.
A little family background before I get started. We are a family of 4 with my two boys being 13 and 16. We are all American citizens and each hold a US passport. Luckily, we have a Chinese Consulate here in Houston, so we were able to take our applications to be processed there.
I am a crazy planner and I knew that I wanted a full Visa vs using the 144-hour transit "visa" that others have used. Our travel plans would have exceeded the 144-hour rule anyways and I did not want to have to worry about the 144 hour limit. I went to the Chinese Consulate website and found documentation that listed what kind of Visas are available and following the lists, I found that we wanted the "L" Visa for a tourist. I downloaded form v2013 and proceeded to fill it out. Here is an example form filled out: http://alliedpassport.com/cty/china-sample-secure.pdf. I then read through all the required documents and made all the copies of the required paperwork and had them ready for the next day.
I can tell you that the documentation does not tell you all the paperwork required for the Visa and we found that out the hard way. The nice lady went through our paperwork and proceeded to tell me what was missing and I had to come back with it. We drove home (30 minutes), got the rest of the paperwork and went back into line. I should note that the line was probably a 20 minute wait at the Consulate. We got back into line and had another lady and she proceeded to tell us what was missing now. Luckily, we were able to get that resolved with a quick trip to the local copy machine down the street. I knew that this was going to be a process, but sheesh.
So here is what is needed for each person if you plan on applying for a China Visa. We applied for a 10 year Visa, since the cost is the same for a 6 month, 12 month or 10 year.
Myself
1.) Filled out application, signed and dated.
2.) Passport Photo
3.) Passport
4.) Photocopy of my passport (important)
5.) Printouts of my flights and hotels in China with the names of all the family members. They mainly cared about the plane reservations. They only saw my name on the hotel reservations.
Wife
1.) Filled out application, signed and dated.
2.) Passport Photo
3.) Passport
4.) Photocopy of her passport (important)
Son #1
1.) Filled out application, signed and dated. (Note that on this, he signs his part and there is a part for me to sign and date as I did his form for him. He also notes that he is a student for his job.)
2.) Passport Photo
3.) Passport
4.) Photocopy of his passport (important)
5.) Photocopy of my passport
6.) Photocopy of my wife's passport
7.) Photocopy of his birth certificate
Son #2
1.) Filled out application, signed and dated. (Note that on this, he signs his part and there is a part for me to sign and date as I did his form for him. He also notes that he is a student for his job.)
2.) Passport Photo
3.) Passport
4.) Photocopy of his passport (important)
5.) Photocopy of my passport
6.) Photocopy of my wife's passport
7.) Photocopy of his birth certificate
With that done, she accepted our paperwork. Woohoo! We pick up our visas in 1 week and the cost is $140 per person paid by money order or credit card (Visa or Mastercard) during pickup. Hope that helps others that want to get a full Visa vs using the 144 transit option.
. There’s also a way to get there by public transportation from Shanghai.
