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Q: Can I get aTourist Visa when I arrive at Bejing Airport from London
Going through an agent in England will cost me RMB 900 /£85. Can I get one when I arrive in China and save money?
nope, you gotta get it before you fly here. There is no visa upon entry here.
robinhood:
I suspected that, some do, some don't.
I was hoping China did The actual cost of the visa .is £30, processing the paperwork costs £60,postage £11. If I go to London in person, it's an extra £200. Just trying to save a few quid.
NO. Most airports will check to see if you have a valid visa before they give you your boarding pass. But assuming they're incompetent and give you your tickets, you don't want to sit on a plane for 16 hours only to get stopped in immigration. They will not let you enter the country.
Buy your visa in your country and then MAYBE you can renew it for cheaper in China. Depends on where you go.
Uh, dude... it takes about 2 minutes to fill out the paperwork for a visa on your own.
Xpat.John:
Sometimes it isn't about the cost. In the US, I would have to fly from my home in Las Vegas to San Francisco to personally hand over the paperwork. Then I would have to come back a few days later to pick it up.
Flight: $100ish
Hotel: $250ish (2-3 nights at a cheap motel)
Food, etc: $150ish
VS.
Pay an agency: $50ish
Agency wins by a landslide for me.
robinhood:
I've already done the paperwork, the Embassy in London appoints a Chinese agent who charges for processing it. I just wondered if it would be cheaper to have the process done in China on arrival. Some countries do,some don't. I'm hoping that China is one of those that do.
nevermind:
How is the UK government allowed to dictate how China does its visa?
robinhood:
Our Government only dictates when it can go into a foreign Embassy and arrest people.
China is not a place that you can get a visa on arrival. As was said before, they won't even let you have a boarding pass without a proper visa.
And the 900RMB price you are being quoted is very close to what you would pay in China for a renewal.
robinhood:
Thanks for that. Not worth taking the risk of being sent back on the next flight then.
robinhood:
What about this for an idea - I don't need a visa to enter Hong Kong cos I'm British. Do the tourist bit in Hong Kong then apply for a 90 day tourist visa for China. Kill two birds with one stone,so to speak.
Xpat.John:
You could do that, but it would end up costing you about the same. At most you would only save about 10 quid, if that.
robinhood:
Fine,so much for me trying to be clever. Thanks for your help.
littlemick:
If you go to Hong Kong, and do the tourist bit, cost of hotel for few nights, food, any other expenses, cost of visa and then flight to where ever your going in china, please do the maths, this is going to be way more expensive.
This is not Africa..
WhiteBear:
Answer is not strange. African countries do not verify You before arrival - just collect money, but China veryfies. That is why they have to have some time to do basic checks.
Thank you for your rather strange answer, you'll be pleased to know that I have my visa for 90 days and will be in China soon.
Xpat.John:
Congrats on getting the visa. Hope you enjoy your trip here.
The strange answer means "In most of the African countries you can get business or tourist visa on arrival" but in China you cannot get visa on aarival.
can't mate.....this is china..get a visa pre-arriving here.......this is not a place that we have the authority to get a visa upon arrival.....sorry it seems like i said what the previous guys said....but your question have a definite answer and that is what everyone have posted
you can get a visa on arrival on a few factors.
1. Urgent business related matters. F visa
2. Expert technician (engineering etc) that only you can fix. F Visa
3. Urgent family matters (funeral, or sick relatives). L Visa.
4. Urgent trade matters (only if you are a diplomat).
I have heard people arriving in Shanghai using the 48hour visa free thing they have and getting it extended while in Shanghai. **This I cannot verify but only here say***
Thanks everybody for all your answers and advise.
I've got my visa now. It cost me about RMB 1000 in London.
I'll enquire about the 48 hour one when I arrive in Beijing next week
brisguy:
The 48hr visa is only for Shanghai not Beijing. And the countries allowed to do this are: Australia Austria Canada Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Iceland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand Norway Portugal South Korea Spain Sweden United States
