Hey guys me and my friends are arriving at Hong Kong . we all hold UK passports we wanted to go shopping in Shenzhen for one day and was wondering what the procedure is for obtaining a visa.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you very much

sorry mate, UK passport holders can't get visas on the border for the last few years at least...best bet is go to a travel agent and pay a bit more, or go early to China consulate in Wan Chai and apply there...if you go early enough in morning you'll get it back that evening, otherwise 24 hrs later

Ahh this blows we arrive in HK Saturday and go macau Monday morning. Is there a way we can get this done in Macau?

i did this last year

• The visa is called "Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Tourist Visa" or "深圳特区旅游签证"
• You can get it only at the Lowu/Lohuo border
• You can buy it after the Hong Kong passport check, before the CN passport check, one floor up.
• It's inside the CN customs building 1 floor up
• It's HK$150 for most nationalities, Hong Kong ID is currently not required!
• It's HK$450 for UK passports (no idea why)
• Beside UK 18 other countries have similar fees, mostly African places
• USA, French, Indian and Philippine passports can't cross at all
• Takes about 5 Minutes to get, you don't need a photo
• In theory you are not allowed to leave the Shenzhen SEZ
• In practice you don't get checked when you exit SZ
• You *may* get checked when you enter SZ SEZ (I never got checked the last few years and cross a few times a week). It's a risk you should avoid though.
• Visa get usually checked in hotels (just a reminder)
• You can exit through other borders inside the SEZ (Huanggang, Futian etc.)

Thank you so much for your input. I honestly appreciate it.

yes they charge more for UK passport, and even worse for US ones. The reason is because they make it hard for Chinese Visa, so they play the same game. The UK is not part of the Shenzen agreement too.

I applied for a Visa from the UK (French citizen), that was so painful. They ask for shitloads of information. I think it applies if you wanna stay a bit longer than just a day. They asked me for Plane ticket + Hotel Reservation (they dont care if you visit a Friend, they would only accept if it's a Chinese citizen with invitation letter too) + Daily Travel plant (Wtf do I know what I'm going to do in advance, so dumb, so I just copied pasted some random crap I got online). Visa took a few days to process,  you can have an express one from the UK too.

Best advise is use travel agencies, they know the tricks, a bit more expensive but it's better than dealing with Chinese administration (and the queue).

I ll try to get a visa too, too painful just for a day though. I can go to Taiwan without a Visa....

Tbh we want to go to Shenzhen for the day mainly for shopping gifts for friends and
family etc. I think I might just apply for it whilst we are in macau. Worst case we will risk it and try and get one for the day at the border crossing

Thank you for the detailed information. It's really helpful.

As you rightly say it,s hk$ 450 for uk ..a leftover from the colonial days ...

Be aware ...You cannot get one on an American or filipino passport  at all !!

You have to go to immigration and apply ...which will take 3/4 days !

Happy punting !

SailorMan

Update : We went to the china travel agency office in Macau gave them our UK passports and got a 1 week visa for 400hkd the next day. Simple and easy process plus they spoke great English here