ויזה לסין - שינויים בתקנות לקראת אולימפיאדת בייג'ינג~Visa To China - Regulation Changed Toward Beijing Olympic Games9

It’s getting more complicated to get a Visa to China as the Beijing Olympic Games are getting closer. New regulations published in April 13, 2008 make it harder to get a visa generally. It seems that getting it from Hong Kong becomes almost impossible.

New Regulations - April 13, 2008

The new regulations require:

1. A valid passport for the next six months. You should have some free pages available.

2. A signed visa form which you can get in the embassy of your country.

3. An updated passport photograph.

Tourists who request for an L type visa needs to get:

4. Copy of hotel reservation in China.

5. A return flight ticket (both ways)

Notice sections 4 and 5. Getting a return ticket isn’t new but section 4 is interesting since it requires hotel reservation. It’s not suitable for people who don’t start their journey in China, or for those who plan to stay in cheap hostels where it’s impossible to book in advance. I don’t know if this section will be enforced but as the Olympic Games get closer, it might be possible.

Visa to China From Hong Kong - Impossible?

If you planned to get a visa to China from Hong Kong, notice a new regulation from April 13, 2008. In light of the large amount of visa requests toward the Olympic Games, citizens of other countries must get a visa in the Chinese embassy of his own country. This means that you can no longer get a visa to China from Hong Kong. It’s not certain how this regulation will be enforced, but it’s obvious that the waiting time for a visa will take a lot o time.

Even if the embassy in your country doesn’t issue a visa for the period of time you requested (more than 30 days), you might be able to extend this period in the PSB offices in China. It may be possible that during the Olympic Games you will be refused.

There are reports showing that you can still get a visa in Hong Kong using local travel agencies, but not in official government offices.

Problematic Dates After The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games in Beijing 2008 will be held between August 8 to 24, 2008. The ending ceremony will be on the 24th. You should note that between September 6 to 17, 2008 the Special Olympics will be held. Its influence will be minor compared to the Olympic Games. The Mid-Autumn Festival will be on September 15. During October 1 to October 7 the national holiday will be celebrated. It will involve a huge amount of Chinese tourism which will disrupt transportation in the entire country. Prices of hotels will be higher, but most of the traffic will be during the first three days of the holiday.


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This article was published at 15-04-2008 Time: 14:54 and belongs to categories East Asia, China. You can follow comments to this article using the feed RSS 2.0. You can post a comment, or trackback from your website.