You can independently apply for a visa to China, but this procedure is not easy. When traveling on a tourist trip, for this, it is preferable to book a hotel through a Chinese travel agency, since the Chinese consulate does not recognize other confirmations of the purpose of the trip, except for its voucher.
Necessary
- - a passport valid for more than six months from the date of submission to the consulate;
- - completed visa application form;
- - one color photograph of a passport format;
- - a document confirming the purpose of the trip (a voucher from a Chinese travel agency, an invitation issued by the host through the Chinese immigration authorities, confirmation of admission to a Chinese university, work permit, etc.);
- - money to pay the consular fee.
Instructions
Step 1
As with any visa, you should start resolving the issue with booking accommodation. Although Chinese hotels are available for online booking through their own websites and the web pages of third-party operators (for example, the notorious Booking.com), the possible methods of confirming accommodation will be ignored by the consulate. The easiest way is to buy a tour or contact a Russian travel agency to apply for a visa without buying a voucher. But the second option is associated with a rather large overpayment. The only possible option for applying for a visa on your own is a voucher from a Chinese travel agency.
You can get it, but you will have to book a hotel through this company.
Step 2
Finding Chinese travel agencies on the Internet using search engines is not difficult. Most of them have English-language versions of their sites, some have Russian, as well as Russian-speaking staff on staff.
It is better to take note of several companies, find out the prices when booking a hotel through each of them, compare with the websites of the hotels themselves or verified international operators. This will allow you to give preference to the one with minimal or no markups. Be prepared to make a full prepayment for all ordered services. Usually, Chinese travel agencies work only under this condition.
Step 3
Check with the consulate for the requirements for the voucher: is it enough a fax or printout of a scan, or an original with a blue seal is required. In case of the latter option, book the hotel as early as possible so that the document can be received by mail.
Step 4
Now it remains to collect the necessary documents. The Chinese consulate is relatively liberal on this issue. It does not require round-trip tickets, proof of income and funds for the duration of your stay in the country, insurance. But it is better if at the time of submission of documents all this is with you: in theory, consular officers may wish to see additional documents.
Step 5
Take your photo, fill out and print the visa application form. You cannot download the latter on the consulate's website, but you can find it on the Internet - as a rule, on the websites of travel agencies that offer tours to the Celestial Empire or help in obtaining visas without a voucher. If the consulate is located in your city, it will be safer to go there, take a form (preferably two for insurance) and fill in by hand.
Step 6
Find out in advance what is the situation with the queues at the consulate: at the consulate itself, on tourist forums on the Internet and other sources. The Chinese consulate accepts without an appointment on a first-come, first-served basis, so during a period of large influx of people it is necessary to queue up at night. forget to take the money to pay the visa fee. In 2011, their size is from 1,500 to 4,500 thousand rubles, depending on the frequency of entries, plus, if necessary, an additional payment for urgency and extra-urgentness from 900 to 2,100 rubles.
