Posted by
Team NZ
18 yrs ago
We havent been to China since all the issues with visas...
Have to go to China (Dongguan) next week for one day on business, where do you recommend we get the visa from
and what do I need - do I need passport photos or will HKID and passport suffice? Will Shenzhen issue a 1 day visa that extends to Dongguan or is this limited to Lowu only.
Fastest and most economical place for processing would this be the China consulate?
Am I right to think it will be easier to simply get a tourist visa rather than a business one day visa?
Thanks
(Travelling on NZ passport)
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Visa's issued at the border are for the SEZ only, which is a limited area within Shenzhen. For other areas of SZ and further afield you will need to apply for a visa at the China consulate or one of the travel agents still able to process this for you. Tourist visa is by far the simplest to get.
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You will still need to provide proof of return travel arrangements and possibly a hotel voucher, even for a same day return trip.
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Thanks evildeeds and Mattash
Any suggestions of proof of travel when one is taking the MTR/train?
Is the hotel voucher avoidable when not staying overnight?
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If you are taking the train directly to Dongguan you can pre purchase your tickets from the KCR or China Travel.
If you are being met in Shenzhen, then a letter form the factory/company confirming that they will arrange for your travel. (I even had to provide a copy of the driver’s license)
You should provide a letter of invitation from the company you are meeting anyway.
The hotel thing is a bit silly, I have been able to get a visa without it and have also been told on other occasions that I must have it, depends on the person at the time.
I get the factory to book a room and have it canceled after I obtain the visa.
A normal process time for a visa now is 4 working days, 2 for express.
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Great information, many thanks Mattash!
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Hold on a second...if you can get a visa at the Shenzhen border (which I believe you CANNOT) the fact it's only for visiting Shenzhen is irrelevant - there are no border checks for leaving Shenzhen. I travel between Shenzhen and Guangzhou twice per week and NEVER need my passport once I leave the terminal at Lo Wu.
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Hi HKScot
You could be right but I wouldnt want to risk being checked on the train.
Friends with HKID cards and NZ passports have been successful in recent weeks getting a Shenzhen visa at the border. I understand this does not apply to all all passports (for instance UK and USA excluded) but Aussie and NZ seem to be ok for 1day visas (the HKID card is a must!).
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HkScot, I know what you are saying, I haven’t been checked at the second border coming back for years, however I wouldn’t want to take the chance should China decided to do random inspections there on the one day that I travel through. Big big trouble.
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On that line of thinking, every businessman from HK who travels to China should therefore apply for a work visa and not a tourist/visit visa....
Where is this "second border"?
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Well guys if you haven't been stopped then you've been lucky. I have twice now. Is it really worth taking the risk?
Anyway the border situation is strange at the moment, I walked through with a friend who was issued with a visa on Sunday, UK passport and HKID. Elsewhere on this forum someone with Aus passport and HKID was turned away.
And there is no second border as such but there are what are called locally as city gates and these are inspection points. You can be stopped at any time and asked to show your passport and visa.
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Sorry evildeeds but WHERE have you been stopped?
The Chinese immigration/visa laws are so complicated and inconsistent that very few people, even amongst Chinese officials, fully understand them. Hence why the majority of foreigners working on China, begin their jobs (illegally) on Tourist Visas. I'm not encouraging anyone to break the law, but the hoops they make people jump through, it's as if they're encouraging it.
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I don't know what it's like crossing the border from HK, but to get the visa for my trips to China from Canada I needed my passport, two photos, the form filled in and an invitation letter (from our rep), plus $50.00 for four-day service, $75.00 for two- to three-day service, or $100.00 to get it the same day.
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HkScot - WHERE exactly!!
2 different points to the east and north east of SZ going into and out of Long Gang district. Once each way approx 6 months apart. One is on the old coastal highway near Yantian the other further inland, not quite sure of the exact location. Not only me but other HK'ers with me who needed to show go home permits. It does happen.
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190k
18 yrs ago
I used to get stopped quite frequently a few years ago. Then I just had to show a passport and they did not check it. Now they don't even stop the car/taxi and wave us through. That is at the three check points. You can see the locals (that is China locals) still have to get off the transport and get thier residents permits checked. I did notice that the check points approaching Zhuhai are not even manned anymore
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i got checked once in a shopping mall and another time at the Zhuhoi checkpoint within the last 2 months; and the staff at the hotel checked my visa as wel
l-don't leave Shenzen city on a shenzen- only visa-it is not worth the risk
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K_iwi
18 yrs ago
Does anyone have any recent experience of using an APEC business travel card to enter China? I haven't used mine since before the Olympics so not sure what current situation is.
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Ed
18 yrs ago
I used my apec card to travel to shanghai just prior to the olympics - no problems
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From Shenzhen daily 22/9/08
FOREIGNERS visiting Shenzhen for a brief period of time will find it easier to complete the immigration process from next month, after the Ministry of Public Security issued 12 simplified immigration procedures Tuesday to improve border efficiency.
According to the new rule, which will take effect Oct. 1, foreigners entering the mainland for less than 24 hours will not need to fill in entry and exit forms, and Chinese travelers will no longer need to fill in exit forms when leaving the country.
Current regulations require all foreign visitors to fill in at least two forms, one for entry and the other for exit, according to Yin Xiao, a spokesman for Shenzhen¡¯s exit and entry administration.
Outbound Chinese passengers have to fill in a declaration form in addition to the exit document.
The procedures have led to growing public complaints as passenger flows have increased rapidly in recent times.
Other procedures to be introduced by the ministry include the stamping of travel documents of outbound Chinese passengers within 40 seconds, and the publication of a guidebook for foreign seamen entering China.
According to estimates, some 4.5 million people will use Shenzhen checkpoints during the National Day holiday week from Oct. 1 to 7.
The border authority has announced it will open special channels for those who are late for flights or need emergency medical care.
Huanggang Checkpoint receives 170,000 passengers daily on average, and the number will increase to 200,000 during the holidays, according to Huang Guochun, a spokesman for the checkpoint.
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