*sigh* of relief
Near as I can tell, I managed to avoid jinxing myself.
So, to make a relatively long story short, I managed to hear an awful lot of rumor an innuendo about Mainland China visas. I tried to do some research over the summer, but I couldn't figure out what the rules were for transit from HK to the PRC (since we have HK work visas), so I figured I'd hold off til I got here.
Well, needless to say, what I heard while here was confusing and often contradictory. I got some advice from some Canadian teaching assistants, that Japan Travel Agency was the cheapest, but when I went, they told me rather pointedly that they "don't do that for American nationals". So I figured the best bet was China Travel. Except that they have a million locations, and, like many other businesses here that are price-flexible, prices vary from branch to branch, sometimes dramatically. I went to one, and they wanted something like HK$2000, which was, let's just say, way more than I was willing to pay. I talked to a bunch of different travel agents at the Sha Tin Travel Plaza, and most of them pegged things more in the $900 - $1400 range, which was more reasonable (US nationals pay by far the highest fee to apply for a China visa, although the UK and six or seven other countries also have 'penalty rates').
Let me introduce another dynamic into the discussion: number of entries. I have M(多) entries, but this was by no means assured. My initial understanding was that Americans were required to have a single- or double-entry visa used up in their passport before they could apply for a multi-entry. And then, I heard that capricious consular officials might offer a multi-entry for your first time if they were having a good day. And then, China Travel (Sha Tin) told me that, as a Hong Kong Legal Resident (with ID card), all I needed was the name and address of someone in China to get the coveted multi-entry.
So I went home, gathered my materials, and got Wendy's contact information, for which I am quite grateful. I returned, only to have the employee insist that "it cannot be done, not for American". I, calmly as possible, told her that the last time I was here they told me differently. So she called over her supervisor, who made a phone call on my behalf to... somewhere (it was in the evening, so I can't image who would be working on visa stuff). She looked at my passport, read off my HK visa number, the works, and then told me that I needed a letter from my employer or a business card to prove my reputable employment (I had, sadly, left all my business cards at home that day). So I had to go home again. And bring more stuff. This time, I figured I should just play it safe and take some extra stuff with me so that I would have any and all proofs they could possibly request. After the same sort of putting-off I got the time before ("We can't give you multi-entry" "But you said you could last time" "Oh. Let me ask my supervisor."), we made it to the actual application form. As I filled it out, she told me I didn't need the name of my inviter (so hopefully they won't call you, Wendy, and ask personal reference-type questions), I didn't need the name card, I only needed a copy of my HK residents' card and a passport-sized photo. Which I forgot. So, for a nominal, fee, she rummaged behind the counter, found an ancient-looking four-lens polaroid with a large flashbulb on top, and her co-worker had to stop helping other customers so that she could hold a sheet of white posterboard behind my head for the background. It was quite a scene. And then, once the photo developed, it turned out that you could see the co-workers hands holding the posterboard up, and so it had to be retaken. I can only hope that the people passing by outside, in line, and being helped at other desks found it amusing. But all that, plus HK$1140, plus seven working days' processing time, and I have myself unlimited trips to China for the next six months!
Ta-da! (Hopefully, I took off enough vital numbers that I won't be subject to identity theft or prosecution or anything)
So, to make a relatively long story short, I managed to hear an awful lot of rumor an innuendo about Mainland China visas. I tried to do some research over the summer, but I couldn't figure out what the rules were for transit from HK to the PRC (since we have HK work visas), so I figured I'd hold off til I got here.
Well, needless to say, what I heard while here was confusing and often contradictory. I got some advice from some Canadian teaching assistants, that Japan Travel Agency was the cheapest, but when I went, they told me rather pointedly that they "don't do that for American nationals". So I figured the best bet was China Travel. Except that they have a million locations, and, like many other businesses here that are price-flexible, prices vary from branch to branch, sometimes dramatically. I went to one, and they wanted something like HK$2000, which was, let's just say, way more than I was willing to pay. I talked to a bunch of different travel agents at the Sha Tin Travel Plaza, and most of them pegged things more in the $900 - $1400 range, which was more reasonable (US nationals pay by far the highest fee to apply for a China visa, although the UK and six or seven other countries also have 'penalty rates').
Let me introduce another dynamic into the discussion: number of entries. I have M(多) entries, but this was by no means assured. My initial understanding was that Americans were required to have a single- or double-entry visa used up in their passport before they could apply for a multi-entry. And then, I heard that capricious consular officials might offer a multi-entry for your first time if they were having a good day. And then, China Travel (Sha Tin) told me that, as a Hong Kong Legal Resident (with ID card), all I needed was the name and address of someone in China to get the coveted multi-entry.
So I went home, gathered my materials, and got Wendy's contact information, for which I am quite grateful. I returned, only to have the employee insist that "it cannot be done, not for American". I, calmly as possible, told her that the last time I was here they told me differently. So she called over her supervisor, who made a phone call on my behalf to... somewhere (it was in the evening, so I can't image who would be working on visa stuff). She looked at my passport, read off my HK visa number, the works, and then told me that I needed a letter from my employer or a business card to prove my reputable employment (I had, sadly, left all my business cards at home that day). So I had to go home again. And bring more stuff. This time, I figured I should just play it safe and take some extra stuff with me so that I would have any and all proofs they could possibly request. After the same sort of putting-off I got the time before ("We can't give you multi-entry" "But you said you could last time" "Oh. Let me ask my supervisor."), we made it to the actual application form. As I filled it out, she told me I didn't need the name of my inviter (so hopefully they won't call you, Wendy, and ask personal reference-type questions), I didn't need the name card, I only needed a copy of my HK residents' card and a passport-sized photo. Which I forgot. So, for a nominal, fee, she rummaged behind the counter, found an ancient-looking four-lens polaroid with a large flashbulb on top, and her co-worker had to stop helping other customers so that she could hold a sheet of white posterboard behind my head for the background. It was quite a scene. And then, once the photo developed, it turned out that you could see the co-workers hands holding the posterboard up, and so it had to be retaken. I can only hope that the people passing by outside, in line, and being helped at other desks found it amusing. But all that, plus HK$1140, plus seven working days' processing time, and I have myself unlimited trips to China for the next six months!
Ta-da! (Hopefully, I took off enough vital numbers that I won't be subject to identity theft or prosecution or anything)
posted by sam at
2:13 AM
3 Comments:
i can see your fingers! take the pic again!! :P
By
jgh, at 11/3/07, 12:09 PM
Sweet!
Your middle name is Thorston? Awesome.
By
Travelingrant, at 11/9/07, 12:52 AM
thorsten with an -en... I misspelled it with an 'o' when I filled out the form for my 8th-grade commencement certificate, and my little sister has never let me hear the end of it.
By
sam, at 11/9/07, 2:41 AM
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