China tourist visa from embassy in Bangkok

[TerraplaneGuy]

Hi All,

I raised these questions in another forum but since they're specifically about BKK I'm posting here.

Has anyone recently got a China tourist visa from the embassy in BKK? Questions:

1. I understand that in Chiang Mai they no longer require a paid airline ticket and hotel reservation, just bookings. Is that the case in BKK?

2. Do they still require a bank statement? I see the embassy website has dropped that requirement from their list (as of Sept 2013).

3. Has anyone had any luck getting a double or multi-entry tourist visa in BKK?

Thanks for any information.

Cheers,

TG

[stickylies]

since one is allowed to cross into china overland i don't see any reason why u'd need a ticket...

[vicio]

I applied for tourist visa last friday, no flight ticket or bank statement required.

I will book a flight with low cost Spring Airlines and at check-in they could request to show a ticket to go out from China.

Edited March 24, 2014 by vicio

[TerraplaneGuy]

I applied for tourist visa last friday, no flight ticket or bank statement required.

I will book a flight with low cost Spring Airlines and at check-in they could request to show a ticket to go out from China.

Vicio, thanks. Did you get the visa already or is it possible they will ask you for more documents once they review your application? Also, did they require a hotel booking or an invitation letter from a Chinese national? In past they have and those items are still on the website list.

[TerraplaneGuy]

since one is allowed to cross into china overland i don't see any reason why u'd need a ticket...

I don't know the requirements for a land entry visa and they don't seem to be on the embassy website but the standard requirements are for air entry and they are posted on the website and include the air ticket. The embassy in BKK was strict about the requirement for a pre-paid round-trip airline ticket last year (but as my original post said, apparently Chiang Mai has now softened on the pre-paid aspect).

FYI here are the published requirements (see section "L" for the tourist visa requirements in addition to those at the beginning of the document).

http://www.chinaembassy.or.th/eng/lsfw/qzxk/t1072023.htm

[ekamaihouse]

I applied for a tourist visa last Thursday....I've also held a residence permit and several 1 year multiple entry visas for China in the same passport but can still only get a tourist visa!!

I think it depends upon what visa you have here for Thailand.....I took loads of stuff, some which they returned but what they kept (needed?) was hotel and flight BOOKINGS, bank statement/proof of address - photo copies of my passport main page, previous Chinese visa. As I have a non-B visa for Thailand they said they also needed a letter from my employer in Thailand which they have allowed me to fax and then bring the original when i collect the visa tomorrow.....I think I may have got away with this if I had not put down an address of employment in Thailand..

I also asked a couple of travel agents in the soi about doing the visa for me as a friend told me he got a 1 year multiple from them around 8 months ago....I asked and they both could only do a tourist visa at 4100 and 4000 baht!!! Arrived in the embassy just after 9 and took me around 2.5 hours - 112th in line...

Good luck

[TerraplaneGuy]

I think it depends upon what visa you have here for Thailand.....I took loads of stuff, some which they returned but what they kept (needed?) was hotel and flight BOOKINGS, bank statement/proof of address - photo copies of my passport main page, previous Chinese visa. As I have a non-B visa for Thailand they said they also needed a letter from my employer ...

Thanks for the info. I'm sure you're right, depending on the class of your visa in Thailand they will ask for employment letter or not, etc.

Now to be clear, when you say BOOKINGS do you mean paid bookings or were they unpaid bookings (e. g. Expedia itinerary or unpaid AirAsia booking, unpaid hotel booking confirmation etc.)?

Also, did you give them an invitation letter from a Chinese citizen? The embassy website indicates that is an alternative to the flight and hotel bookings but I believe in some cases they've insisted on getting the letter even if you have the bookings.

Finally, was yours a single-entry visa? If so did you try for a double or multi-entry?

Cheers

TG

[ekamaihouse]

I think it depends upon what visa you have here for Thailand.....I took loads of stuff, some which they returned but what they kept (needed?) was hotel and flight BOOKINGS, bank statement/proof of address - photo copies of my passport main page, previous Chinese visa. As I have a non-B visa for Thailand they said they also needed a letter from my employer ...

Thanks for the info. I'm sure you're right, depending on the class of your visa in Thailand they will ask for employment letter or not, etc.

Now to be clear, when you say BOOKINGS do you mean paid bookings or were they unpaid bookings (e. g. Expedia itinerary or unpaid AirAsia booking, unpaid hotel booking confirmation etc.)?

Also, did you give them an invitation letter from a Chinese citizen? The embassy website indicates that is an alternative to the flight and hotel bookings but I believe in some cases they've insisted on getting the letter even if you have the bookings.

Finally, was yours a single-entry visa? If so did you try for a double or multi-entry?

Cheers

TG

Both the flight and hotel were just bookings/reservations - not paid for.

I did not have a letter of invite has I was only applying for a tourist visa and stated on the application I was going for tourism to keep things simple. I'm actually going on business - will get a 1 year multiple from UK like I did previously..

I only applied for a single entry - I think you can ask/apply for a double, just make sure you have bookings for flights hotels for two separate trips....

I did apply for a multi last year in Bkk - when I did not have what they wanted to qualify as such, they simply changed it to a single so it should be fine to try

[bangon04]

As a previous poster has pointed out - it is quite normal to cross into China overland, eg from HK or Macau, so there is no logic in demanding to see an air ticket.

Only Thai logic, maybe.... ie make a simple process as difficult and irritating as possible. This must be why Thailand is considering visa free entry for Chinese passport holders.

If you are in Hong Kong you can get a Chinese single entry visa for tourism almost "while you wait". Hotel concierge offers this service.

[rhodie]

My wife(Chinese but with Aus passport) applied for a visa at the embassy in Bangkok last year.

All I can say is they are/were very strict in her case. She had to show a ticket and an invite from her parents,

with a copy of her fathers ID, who she was going to visit.

[sattahipchris]

My wife and I got a visa at the beginning of this month in BKK. They wanted, a photo, airline tickets, travel insurance details, hotel bookings and copy of our last bank statement. We did observe several people being turned away as they didn't have enough paper work with them and quite a few people who tried to argue the odds who got nowhere at all and just made the wait longer for rest of us. Take as much as you can better more than less.

[TerraplaneGuy]

My wife and I got a visa at the beginning of this month in BKK. They wanted, a photo, airline tickets, travel insurance details, hotel bookings and copy of our last bank statement. We did observe several people being turned away as they didn't have enough paper work with them and quite a few people who tried to argue the odds who got nowhere at all and just made the wait longer for rest of us. Take as much as you can better more than less.

Thanks for the information. For the airline bookings, by saying they were "tickets" I assume you mean you had already paid for them (as opposed to just itineraries). Correct? If so, were you told by the embassy staff that you needed paid tickets, or where did you get that information? As mentioned in my original post, it seems in Chiang Mai they are willing to accept airline bookings that are not yet paid and I'm keen to know if Bangkok would accept that. Same question about the hotel booking, was it pre-paid?

Cheers,

TG

[treysd3]

Hello All.

Im in Thailand on a tourist visa and need to get a Chinese Tourist or Business Visa? is this possible? I am a US citizen and have a letter from our Chinese company inviting me and a letter from my US company with my itinerary and that they will be paying for everything. I also have a flight from Shanghai back to LAX and hotel reservation.

Do you all in your past experiences expect this to be a hassle getting a visa from the Chinese consulate in Bak?

Thank you

[impulse]

Hello All.

Im in Thailand on a tourist visa and need to get a Chinese Tourist or Business Visa? is this possible? I am a US citizen and have a letter from our Chinese company inviting me and a letter from my US company with my itinerary and that they will be paying for everything. I also have a flight from Shanghai back to LAX and hotel reservation.

Do you all in your past experiences expect this to be a hassle getting a visa from the Chinese consulate in Bak?

Thank you

Recent reports say it shouldn't be a problem to get a visa.

I'd stay flexible on whether you NEED a business visa because you never know what "special event" will make one type or the other problematic. Any high profile government event can trigger a short term visa crackdown. You may have to settle for a tourist visa, regardless of what kind of documents you have. It's happened to me on several occasions, including the last time I got one from BKK a few years back. They just wouldn't issue a business visa in spite of all the documents normally required.

[onetime]

I don't want to steal the thread, but I am curious to know if anyone has gotten a multiple-entry 3 or 5 year visitor visa to Taiwan from Bangkok? If so, could you share the details of your experience please?

[taony]

I am not sure if they will give it to you unless you have some sort of residency here. Check the website, the info is pretty reliable. I got two visas here in bkk. I applied for the ten year multiple entry tourist visa each time (available to us citizens ). The first time, they gave me a 14-day one entry, second time six month double entry. You need to have reservations,depending on your ability could be a pain in the ass. At least for the air tickets to show a confirmed reservation.

I went to China for short trips in August and September to use the two entries. Then when i went back to new York in October got the ten year visa,no problem. Gave it to a travel agent in Chinatown.

Anyway, the embassy in bkk seems to have a bit of a hard-ass reputation.

Edited December 15, 2015 by taony