hey guys i need a quick reply as per title

my visa ran out and i plan on heading into china, where do i go to get it renewed at in HK???

and how do i do it ???

and how long is the time frame for single entry???

can i get it the same day????

You can get a fast VISA at a place on Peking Rd in TST, you can pay extra for same day service. It is near the Nathan Rd / Peking Rd corner. Red & White sign, you need to go up to the second floor. I think it's called China Travel Service or something. Opposite what was the Hyatt and is now iSquare. I will find it on google maps and post a pic here in 15 minutes. Not cheap but fast VISA...

Bro, take a look at pics below. This is on Peking opposite iSquare. I have got same day VISA before here, ie. in before 10am and VISA is ready by 6pm same day.

You pay a surcharge for this service.

alternative option, "sometimes" you can get a VISA at the Lo Wu boarder passing through at SZ. However they change the rules all the time so I would only try this if you are travelling with a local Chinese Bro who has recent experience.

Good Luck.

Where in China are you going to?  If you are going just to either Zhuhai or Shenzhen administrative zones, then you can get an instant visa at the border.  Of course, USA passport holders cannot get this instant visa at the border.  

Plus if you are going to other areas beyond those two cities, then you will need a proper China visa that can only be obtained either at those China Travel Service centres like TonyToro mentioned above or at most travel agencies.  Visa fees do vary according to desired processing time, desired type, and what country's passport you hold.

going pass shenzhen, heading into kaiping and xintang, zengcheng.

That is so interesting!  How much would that instant visa cost for an American?  And what if my friend picks me up from SZ and drives me into GZ?  I wonder if I would get in trouble doing that?  I've taken a taxi to the border, bused into SZ (weird process, two buses) then have my friend drive me from SZ into GZ.  It's hella expensive for an American 130 USD for a visa.

They stopped doing Instant visas for US passport holders in 2008, and I believe its gone up to $150 these days.

I can get into China without a visa now so not sure of the latest cost, however last time I got one for a colleague (about a year ago) a same day single entry visa was HKD1,300. Dual entry HKD1,600. If you had a 6 month VISA in the past you could get another one for HKD1,600. Up until the Olympic year I could even get same day 12 month multi entry visas at the place I mention above. But it really tightened up in Feb 2008.

Since you are in NYC, you should go to the Chinese consulate there and apply for a 1 year multiple entry visa.  An American cannot get a 1 year multiple visa in HK.  


Like I said above, there are no more instant visas for Americans anymore.  

For others, if you enter SZ with the instant visa which is only usable for the SZ Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and proceed somewhere else like GZ which is in China proper and outside the SEZ, you better hope you can get back to SZ with no problems so you leave the same way you came in.

The reason said you may face trouble is one - there is a boundary control point between China proper and the SEZ.  This boundary control point is to check to see whether the mainland locals have the proper paperwork to enter the SEZ as only those who have the qualifications can go to SZ.  The control point police may just give a cursory glance at your passport and you are scot free or he may be in bad mood and actually check your visa (this happens very rarely these days) give you shit for being outside the zone without the proper visa.  

Second - you will get in trouble if you don't attempt to leave China the same way you went in if you holding only the instant visa.  When you leave at other exit points, immigration will inspect your visa to see if you had the proper visa in hand.  I don't know the penalty for this infraction.

All of the above applies to Zhuhai too which is its own Special Economic Zone.

that is old information.  CTS does not offer instant visas anymore.

The fastest way is to go to a local consulte, if you live in a city with a consulate.   There are 5 US cities with offices - New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Houston.  You should be able to get a visa that same day, if you get there early enough.

If you don't live in one of these 5 cities, you still have an option.  If you are flying to HK, you can go to the China Consulate in Wanchai.  Hopefully you are taking a flight that arrives in the morning.  They will tell you that the fastest visa will be next day.  And that's not a bad thing, certainly staying overnight in HK is something most of us would love to do.  However, if you really have the need/urge to go to China that same day, you can do so by providing a medical reason.  An example would be that one of your close relatives had a bad accident or something like that.  Provide some proof, preferably written in Chinese with a doctor's signature.  Or come up with some other story.  The point is, same day is available - my SO was able to go over to SZ exactly like described.

Well, I do do the multi visa thing for the year and it's still 130, well it was 130 but if your passport expires within the year, you only get one entry and even the multi visa entry is like 2 max I believe.

Not instant Bro, same day. I don't recall them ever offering instant. However, it's been almost a year since I had to arrange one for someone so not sure of what they can offer "today".

I can't see where the Bro says he is from the US looking for a place in the US to get a visa?The Bro's original post indicates he is looking for somewhere in HK not US. Won't take him long to quickly check w CTS, if they can't do it any more I am sure they can help the Bro find a way.





[ Last edited by  TonyToro at 19-3-2010 07:51 ]

You are confused, he was talking to me, not the OP

yes you're right, I was confused.