Get US ---> China ticket before visa??

[KyleB]

Hey all,

I am planning on a 4 to 5 week trip to China this summer after graduation. However, my problem is that I don't think I can not get a visa more than a week or two before the trip. I will be spending most of May in Africa and need April to do that visa paperwork (part of my senior design project - visa is done by my university). What would you recommend? The two options I see are:

1) Go to Chicago 10 days before the trip having already purchased the airline ticket

2) Fly to HK with no visa and get one there (assuming I could)

Any other ideas? How hard/fast is it to get a Chinese visa in HK?

thanks.

[roddy]

A visa in HK should be fine - it's just a few days turn around and you can pay rush fees if necessary.

[yonitabonita]

The Japan Centre in the East Ocean Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui were pretty good the last time I used them. Quick, relatively inexpensive and reliable.

[889]

What kind of visa are you getting? Something other than a tourist visa? If you need paperwork for it, as you suggest, and there's a problem with the paperwork -- and different Chinese visa places can have different attitudes towards paperwork -- it's going to be time-consuming to correct with your university, and leave you cooling your heels in expensive Hong Kong.

[imron]

I know in Australia it is possible to get a visa up to 3 months before your intended entry date into China. The same appears to be true for the US:

Ⅴ.Visa Validity and Duration of Stay

Usually the validity of a Single Entry or Double Entry "L" visa is 90 days or 180 days from the date of issue. This means the holder of the visa shall enter China no later than 90 days or 180 days from the date of issue,

[KyleB]

I'll be getting an L (tourist visa). The 'paperwork' I mentioned was for my trip to Africa, which is through my university. This trip to China would be only as a tourist.

[889]

You can also use an agent to get the visa in the States if you don't want to waste time in Hong Kong tracking down your visa, no need to fly to Chicago yourself (or to wait till you have your r/t ticket in hand).

Japan Travel in East Ocean Centre may not handle visas for Americans, so call first if you're thinking of going there.

[m000gle]

It only took me three days to receive my tourist visa in 2007, and if you're going as a student (with a JW201 form completed) it may not take much longer. If you can make it to a consulate in person, you could possibly have your visa in hand before you even leave for Africa. That does mean you risk losing it if something were to happen to your passport while abroad, but that's a calculated risk.

[KyleB]

Thanks for the replies.

I am still debating on what to do. I may go ahead and use a visa service company since it would be cheaper than going to Chicago. In 3 1/2 weeks I need to turn in my passport to my university to get my Cameroon Visa. Either way I need to decide soon on what I want to do.