Last Updated: May 3, 2023
Entering China is not an easy task. The visa application is a lengthy and expensive one, even more so with children. And if you are not entering China directly from your home country it becomes a bit complicated.
The difficulty being, that the earliest you can usually apply for a China visa is 3 months in advance. As the visa will have an expiration date. So if you’re doing a world tour and are unlikely to be in China within the first 3 months of your trip, you may have the same conundrum we did in not being able to apply for it in your home country before you leave.
Disclaimer: This post should only be used as advice, we are not visa specialists and the below information is provided purely from our own personal experience. Entrance Requirements, and in particular Covid-19 requirements, can change quickly and without warning. You should always check requirements of your home country’s, Hong Kong’s and China’s official governing authorities. Whilst we strive for accuracy, some aspects may differ from when first published.
But a really good option is to enter mainland China via Hong Kong. This is the easiest method, we think, if applying for your visa for China outside of your home country.
There are other countries that you could do it from. But some are more tricky than others, we found this out the hard way!
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I’m in Seoul, but not got a Visa
Hopefully you’re singing that title to the tune of “I’ve got Soul, but I’m not a soldier” by Killers. If not then the joke didn’t work!
Anyway…
We knew we wanted to see China during our Family Round-The-World Trip, but also knew this was going to throw up the complication we’ve outlined above with the timing. As we knew we wouldn’t be in China within 3 months of leaving the UK.
We decided to worry about it when we got closer… so around 4 months later, deep into our RTW Trip, we started researching it again.
We were currently in Japan and knew we were going to South Korea next, so looked into getting the visa in Seoul. The information was not easy to come by, but it appeared we could do this. So we planned a good few days in Seoul to get it sorted.
The day of the application came and we headed to the office and queued up and proudly presented all our paper work we had collated over the last few hours to the administrator. They gladly took it, smiled and politely said ‘great, do you have your South Korean citizen card please’? I replied ‘no, we’re just tourists visiting, can we apply as tourists?’… ‘Not in here I’m afraid sir’… uh oh!
Due to the fact you have to have your in/out proof for China before you apply, we had already booked our ferry into China. Luckily that was refundable. Our flight out of China to New Zealand however, was not, and very expensive!
So we had to come up with a Plan B.
Hong Kong was actually our original Plan A, as we had already read this was a good alternative for getting in if you are not in your home country. But, whilst travelling, political unrest had unfolded in the country and Hong Kong was experiencing some relatively large protests. Hence, why we had changed to going direct from SK.
But as that went down the pan and we were much more confident we could apply as tourists in Hong Kong, we reverted back to this original plan. We headed to Hong Kong to have another go, and thankfully were successful on our second attempt!
Entering Hong Kong
It’s debateable if you class Hong Kong as part of China. But it’s best to think of them as separate countries as they each have different entry requirements.
Hong Kong was a simple task entering as a UK Passport Holder in that you can basically just turn up. You just need to have a 1 month validity from the date you intend to depart on your passport. Customs control will then give you a stamp or a slip in your passport with your exit date and that’s it!
Whilst we are UK Passport holders this essentially applies to most European, Australian, American and Canadian citizens. Although the exit date may vary (Brits get more time to stay due to the special relationship with Hong Kong). Double check your own countries governing of this before you arrive to be sure.
Most Covid-19 requirement in Hong Kong have now been relaxed and there is no need to take pre-departure tests or proof of vaccination in most cases now when entering the country. However, this can change at short notice so always check the Hong Kong SAR Government Website before you travel to double check.
Hong Kong was certainly one of the more straight forward entries we’ve done in Asia. But that is where the simplicity ends and we went from the easiest entry to our most complicated.
Types of China Visa
There are a few different types of vis you can apply for to get into mainland China, with different limitations depending on your home country. You can get the full list on the Chinese Embassy Website (link below).
If you are reading this though you are likely looking to get the Tourist (L) Visa. There are then a few types of tourist visa you can apply for with different lengths and number of entries. Depending on your home country you may be limited to which types you can apply.
The cost will vary depending on the type and your home country and they change the pricing all the time. When we did ours it was around £100 per head for the visa plus £25 per head for the admin fee for a 30 day single entry, so in total about £500 for our family of four!
Using Agencies to Apply for a China Visa
As you can see from above the cost can be significant, so we wouldn’t advise using an agency.
There are plenty about in Hong Kong if you do choose to do this and it will take away some of the admin and paper work. But as the cost is already high we don’t think they are worth the extra money.
The process isn’t that complicated or painful, it’s just a bit tedious. So as long as you are willing to endure that and take half a day out of your Hong Kong stay then it’s no drama doing it yourself.
Getting to the China Visa Office
The application has to be done in person at the China Visa Application Service Centre (CVASC) which is on the 20th floor of the Capital Centre on Gloucester Road. When you enter the building a member of staff will point you in the right direction to the lift to head up to the specific floor for the visas.
You will need to make two visits, one to apply and two to collect. You will all need to be present, including your children, to apply. Collection can be done by just one of your party.
The CVASC is in central Hong Kong so should be relatively easy to get to wherever you’re staying. You can easily get a taxi or get the metro to either Wan Chai or Causeway Bay station on the island line. Both are under a 10 minute walk away.
The office opens at 9.00am and you should arrive as early as possible to give yourself plenty of time. You can make appointments be we just turned up with no issue.
Documents Needed for a China Visa
Before you head to the CVASC you will need to ensure you have the below with you as a hard copy. Or have it digitally ready to print on arrival.
- Passports and copies – With at least 6 months validity on your passport from the date of entering China.
- Printed proof of your transport in and out of China – We had a train ticket in and a flight out.
- Printed proof of your accommodation for your stay – This is a pain, we like to plan as we go and only having the first few nights accommodation is not enough, it has to be for the whole stay. But there is a workaround on this. You can just book hotels for your stay with free cancellation, once you have your visa approved you can then cancel them. Once you’re in you can then book hotels as you go, they don’t cross check with your visa details.
- Passport style head shot photos of you all, including your children.
- Your children’s birth certificates and copies.
- Octopus Card (with credit).
- Snacks and things to do for kids (it’s a looong wait!)
There are photo copying machines/printers and a photo booth to get all your documents together in the centre. Just ensure you have an Octopus card before you get there as this is what is used to pay for the printing.
An Octopus card is a pre-paid card used in Hong Kong for the metro system and buses as well as being used in some shops and other establishments. You can buy them in most metro stations and a lot of convenience stores.
The photocopier/printer has a slot on the side where your Octopus card will go and then you just follow the instructions both written on the wall and popping up on the display.
The Application Process for a China Visa
Different centres have different ways of applying. For example in South Korea we were able to fill it in online and then print it off when we arrived (even though it ended up being useless). But in Hong Kong the whole thing had to be done by hand (sigh). So this really took a long time and if you make a mistake you usually have to do the whole form again so take your time!
You can collect the forms to fill in when you arrive, then just find a quiet spot and prepare yourself for some hand cramps, especially if you are filling them out for the whole family.
The process is lengthy, but very organised. Once you have all your documents and filled in application form, you’ll need to first go to the administrator at the front desk for them to do a sense check of your documents.
Then you will go to the waiting area where the actual visa is processed. The system is very systematic, with lots of signs, areas and a ticketing systems to call you up to a certain booth when it is your turn.
When you get called up to the booth they will go through your paper work in more details and may ask some questions about your stay. But it is relatively painless and usually takes under half hour, bar any complications.
Once you have gone through the paper work with the visa officer in the booth and handed it all over you’ll be given a receipt. This will have a date/time to return to collect your passports and visa, providing it is successful (it’s still not guaranteed at this stage, although the hard bit is over).
Your passports are taken for a few days so make sure you don’t need them for anything before you hand them over. And don’t lose the slip as this is what is needed to get them back!
It usually takes a minimum of 4 working days for the visa to be processed, this doesn’t include weekends or bank holidays so ensure you bake this into your time. Best to have a few buffer days as well in case of any complications.
You can pay extra for express services, but it is already expensive so try to just have more time in Hong Kong as it is a good excuse to stay in this great city anyway. Maybe take a trip to the Dragon’s Back for a walk one day.
As the application takes a long time from start to finish (after filling everything in, photocopying, printing, waiting and then sitting at the actual application booth) it’s a good idea to take something to do for your kids and some snacks (there is a drinking water machine inside). I did most of the paper work and admin whilst Nadia entertained the kids until the last stage where we all had to sit at the window.
Collecting the China Visa
When you return only one person needs to collect so no need to all lug yourself down there again. I drew the short straw on this, but collection should be a simple 15 minutes, providing no complications. I managed to slip the collection into a self-guided day walking tour of Hong Kong.
You go into the same building/floor and get a ticket, but this time for the collection section of the office rather than the application area. Then you will be called over and they will check through the passports/visa with you to ensure you take the right ones. You then pay your bill, collect the passports with visa inside and you’re done!
It’s not quite over yet though, currently most people entering China do still need to take a lateral flow/rapid antigen test within 48 hours of entering the mainland. You must then declare the results on the China Customs Website along with some other information. Also keep the physical test as customer may ask to see it when you enter.
Be mindful that if the test is positive. you may be denied entry, despite having an approved visa.
Covid-19 requirements can be updated regularly and quickly, so always check the Chinese Embassy Website before you leave to verify the above information.
Taking the Train into China from Hong Kong
One of the best things about getting your visa in Hong Kong for the mainland is you’re pretty much already there. You can easily get into China once you have the visa on the train.
This is only route permitting of course. If you’re heading to the Xinjiang province for example, a train might not be the best, but you can get all the way to Beijing from Hong Kong in a day on the highspeed train!
We were doing a sort of semi circle route and our first stop was Guilin which was only a 3.5 hour train from Hong Kong. You can see our detailed itinerary for mainland China post for the full route and details.
Going in through train from Hong Kong is a nice and simple way to enter. You actually do the exit from Hong Kong and entry to China in all in one go at the Hong Kong train station i.e. you go through Hong Kong’s passport control and get your exit stamp, walk a 100 yards then go through China’s passport control and get your entry stamp!
That means when you’re on the train you’ve technically already entered China, even though your still on Hong Kong soil. It also means when you get off the train you just exit the station like a any other station so no customs or potential complications half way or at the end of your journey.
It does mean you have to give yourself some additional time at the train station, essentially treat it like you’re going on an international flight at an airport an give yourself a couple of hours.