Hello fellow brothers!
Just wanted to share my experience with obtaining a visa and getting into China for those interested. I'm not sure if i don't have access to reply in the existing stickied thread or if the post is locked, so i'm just going to put the info here for now. Mods, please move where necessary. Thanks!
This info is current as of:
November 01, 2012.
Preamble
A few things for starters:
- I was born in HK but have immigrated to Canada
- I have my HK ID with 3 stars
- I have an inexplicable paranoia when it comes to China -_-'
As i don't frequent Asia more than once every few years, i have been hesitant with obtaining the "Return Home" permit that is the right of all 3-starred HKers. However, some of the friends who traveled with me decided to go get their "Return Home" permit.
Obtaining the "Return Home" Permit **
** Note that my friend got this so i'm basing this information on partial heresay. Information i am unsure of or unconfirmed by another bro in this forum will appear in
Green. **
If you have 3 stars on your HK ID, you can apply for the return home permit. It takes typically 2 weeks to process and you need a HK Address for them to mail you your information back. If you are a foreign national (i.e. Canadian), do not show your passport! If you do, then you will be asked to go to the China embassy to get a letter certifying that you have a change of citizenship status (i think that's what it's called -- can someone confirm?). All they require is your HK ID. They will not hold your HK ID for this duration.
To immediately qualify to enter china, there is a temporary "Return Home" visa that you can obtain while your application is being processed. This results in an issued printout that you can take to the border for one,
two, or multiple entries . Under expedited services, you can expect to have one in
24hrs time.
(I am unsure if you can obtain more than a single entry temporary visa as well as the time it takes to get it. I don't think my friend returned to the embassy to get his visa so it might have been obtainable immediately. i am assuming 24hrs here on the conservative side).
At the Border
When you enter China from the border (i.e. Luo-Hu), you need to line up at the visitor lineup and not the HK permanent resident side. Get in the right lines and save yourself the trouble of needing to wait in two queues! I don't think you need to fill in the Immigration and Customs card as they ask information like your passport number (which you shouldn't have!). Most border officials will just wave you on by as you aren't a true foreigner. You will need to show this temporary visa when purchasing train tickets.
Obtaining a Travel Visa with a Foreign National Passport
The last time i went to China was in 2009. Back then, the requirements were a lot more relaxed. The additional measure for scrutiny that was added since 2009-2012 was the requirement of an invitation letter OR a proof of entry/exit method to/from China. This made it hard to obtain a visa from Canada itself as there is a higher potential of rejection. If you are joining a tour group, then the itinerary is all prepared for you and the travel agency should be able to assist you with this process.
The easiest way to obtain the visa right now is to apply for it from HK. I used the
China Travel Services (H.K.) that are located across HK/Kowloon/New Territories with 20-30 branches. Click on "Branch Info" for the locations. They do not ask for the invitation letter or itinerary. This is very important for those of you holding a HK ID:
Do not tell them you have one! --- or else you need to obtain that damn letter from the chinese consulate first stating your citizenship relationship etc.
If you have previously obtained a visa from china using a previous passport, bring it along and submit it with the application. This helps improve your chances of getting a new visa as background inquiries were already made against you. Make sure you also bring a valid recent photo of yourself in the correct size for the visa. If you didn't bring any photos from home, you can find a
Fotomax to get one processed in 30mins or so.
The visa can be obtained for single entry, double entry, or multiple entry over a course of 3 to 6 months time. I heard the visa can be expedited for same day pickup if you can get it processed before 10am
(unconfirmed), if not, the earliest you can obtain it is the next day at 6:00pm (most branches close at 7:00pm). They will probably have it by 5:00pm if they aren't in a peak busy period. The costs quoted to me for one-day expedited double entry visa was $1860HKD (or was it $1680?).
Note that they will hold on to your passport during this time -- so don't have plans to go to Macau or Taiwan during this time.
At the Border
When entering the border, you will enter through the Foreigners' queues. Remember to fill out the yellow card Customs and Immigration card so you don't need to stand in line twice like yours truly -_-'. The forms are just opposite of where you line up to get processed by the border officials. Bring a pen as many pens don't work there.
You will need to show your passport to obtain train tickets if you are going into places like DG.
This is true with ALL border crossings around the world -- BE MEEK AND HUMBLE! It is at the discretion of all border officials to reject you from entry if they don't like your look or attitude. Don't let your temper or bad attitude prevent you from having a good time punting!!
Recap of what you need to get the visa:
- Passport
- Recent Photo of yourself
- Old passports with issued visas
- Payment for processing said visa
- Proper lead-in time so you can get your visa before the day you are traveling
Recap of what you need to bring when you cross the border:
- Passport with valid issued visa
- Yellow immigration/visitor card
Hope this helps and happy punting in the Mainland!
- ArDot
