Chinese Tourist Visa Documents Required

[alisonfiona]

I have just been to the embassy in Bangkok (3rd visit) and have the pink slip that says I can collect my passport with the visa in it - hooray!!!!!.

Here are the documents I needed to achieve this:

Form A (with photo attached)

Form B

Passport (with at least 2 empty pages)

Copy of passport – photo page

Copy of passport – visa

Copy of passport – re-entry permit

Copy of work permit – photo pages

Copy of work permit – current stamp page (if renewed)

Copy of bank book – front pages (showing name and account number)

Copy of bank book – page showing current balance

Return flight confirmation

Hotel reservations for entire visit

Letter from your employer confirming employment (I have been told that I can take this when my collect my passport)

Ticket (from the machine just inside the door on the 2^nd floor).

All this for a two week holiday - I hope it helps people.

[Chicog]

Bank book?

What nationality are you?

[alisonfiona]

I am British and I have a Thai bank account

[Tomtomtom69]

Why did you need to show a work permit?

In Chiang Mai I showed all the documents I was required to, but I was simply a tourist in Thailand at the time (Oct 2012). I was just recently in Chiang Mai to apply for a Chinese work visa and the requirements are still the same. They don't care about your status in Thailand...but apparently in Bangkok they do?

Can you confirm that foreigners without visas can't apply for a Chinese tourist visa, even if they have confirmed letters of employment, bank books etc. (although these would be from your employer in whichever country you work in)?

Edited May 10, 2013 by Tomtomtom69

[alisonfiona]

I needed to provide copies of whatever they asked for because I want the visa - what else can i say?

I don't know about other people, but having spent a number of hours in queues at the Embassy I can say that it is not easy for any foreigner to get a visa there. I reckon that 8 out of 10 foreigners were getting 'bumped' when they got to the window and so, like me, had to come back another day with additional documents.

[bonobo]

If you are American, you need two copies of both the Application A and Application B.

I got to the embassy at 8:45 this morning. At 9:00, I followed the queue into the building, was handed a number, then directed into one of five lines. I'm not sure why they handed out numbers as people were not called up by number (the lights used to indicate the number being served were all turned off.) I joined the line at window 7, which was the shortest of the lines. However, the second guy was at the window for 30 minutes, and another guy had about 12 visa applications. At 10:45, I finally made my way to the front, and I was told I needed two copies of both applications as well as a letter from my company saying I worked there (even though my work permit clearly stated my place of employment.)

I ran to an internet cafe, got the letter e-mailed to me and made copies, getting back at 11:25 just before they closed the door.

[Tomtomtom69]

I needed to provide copies of whatever they asked for because I want the visa - what else can i say?

I don't know about other people, but having spent a number of hours in queues at the Embassy I can say that it is not easy for any foreigner to get a visa there. I reckon that 8 out of 10 foreigners were getting 'bumped' when they got to the window and so, like me, had to come back another day with additional documents.

OK but that doesn't really answer the question of whether a foreigner that is not on a working or some other long-stay visa in Thailand can apply for a Chinese visa in Bangkok. Presumably it's OK to apply for a Chinese work or study visa in Bangkok if the paperwork says so, but for a tourist visa would you need to be resident in Thailand or not, that is the question. If applying in Chiang Mai, the answer is no. There is nothing on the Chinese embassy website, Bangkok that indicates whether non-resident foreigners can apply for Chinese tourist visas in Bangkok or not.

Were these other foreigners "bumped" due to not having enough documents to apply for their visas or because they weren't resident in Thailand? I suspect the former...