[photopress:hotels_visitor_to_China_2.jpg,full,alignright]The government has brought in new visa rules in order to keep better tabs on the more than 1.5 million visitors expected for the Olympic Games in August.
While the new regulations are having more of an impact on foreigners living and working in China, tourists are also being required to jump through a few extra hoops.
According to the Chinese consulate in New York, people applying for a 30-day tourist visa must now provide proof that they have purchased round-trip airplane tickets and have made reservations at hotels for their entire stay.
Here are the required documents for tourist visas:
- A completed visa application form, which can be downloaded at china-embassy.org/eng.
- A passport with plenty of extra pages, valid for at least six months.
- One recent passport photo.
- Copies of hotel bookings from the day you arrive to the day you leave.
- Copies of your round-trip airplane tickets. (This one is a bit tricky since airline tickets no longer exist. It will have to be a print out of the itenerary.)
[photopress:hotels_visitor_to_China_1.jpg,full,alignleft]China has also suspended multiple-entry visas until October which means side trips to, say, Thailand, where this is being written and back to China on the same visa will not be possible.
Lastly, you cannot submit a visa application to the Chinese embassy or any consulate in by mail — you have to either take it to the office personally, or have a friend or travel agent do it.
Visa prices have also gone up to $130 for individual applicants, and $110 per person for people applying as part of a tour group. That is a lot of money for a visa.
There is not that much change from the earlier rules. And one thing will hopefully remain constant — the courtesy and helpfulness of the issuing bureaux. The one in Sydney, Australia, is exemplary.
Source: Budget Travel
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