If you take an interest in statistics, it turns out that the Russians, Ukrainians, citizens of Kazakhstan and Belarus prefer to visit Egypt, Turkey and ... China in their overseas trips. The rich culture and history of this country is of interest to tourists, and you can travel here all year round.
The Chinese direction is far from seasonal. This country has a long border with Russia, and residents of neighboring regions also massively visit cities and villages "on the other side." And besides, China is a good springboard for business. It is also considered a suitable venue for various kinds of business meetings. What is the best way to prepare for such a trip, what documents are needed, whether visa to china and to whom - briefly we will try to give answers to all these questions in this article. Of course, it will be interesting to read to people who plan to travel independently.
Difficulties in obtaining entry permits
It is in connection with the popularity of trips to the Celestial Empire that many residents of countries that were once part of the Soviet Union are interested in the question of whether a visa to China is needed. Yes, of course - it says the correct answer. Unless you are a happy owner diplomatic passport. As with any other country, you need to submit a package of documents to the embassy in Moscow.
Do I need to get a visa to China there? Not. There are consulates, which also have the right to give their desired permission. They are located in St. Petersburg, as well as in the Far East of the Russian Federation. But there are not so many places like that — just three. These are Irkutsk, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. Not only do you need to collect a lot of papers, so the Chinese are still quite picky about the order in which they are composed. But they also make various kinds of concessions for Russian tourists.
Required documents
First of all, of course, you must have a valid passport for at least another six months to travel abroad. True, unlike European countries, it can only have one blank page, and not two. It is necessary to fill out a questionnaire, with particular attention to accuracy. Blots and corrections can lead to failure. Fill out the questionnaire in block letters, so it is best to type the text on the computer. Need a photo taken according to certain rules. A document from a hotel in China or a travel agency of this country is required. This should be the original with a seal, and red.
Additional requirements
For all the time that you are planning to spend in China, you must have reserved accommodation. Health insurance for at least fifteen thousand dollars is also included in the required package of documents. Like listing electronic tickets. Well, if you are going to the country for the first time, you should present a certificate of employment. Do I need a visa to China for children? Yes, and in order to receive it, you will have to fill out a special form. And if the child travels only with dad or mom, then you also need an appropriately executed power of attorney that the second parent is not against such a trip.
Types of group visas
Often, tourists are still interested in this question: is a visa to China needed only for one person or can it be a group one? Yes, one entry permit can be issued to several people if they are going to cross the border together through the same crossing. Moreover, such a group visa is divided into two types. The first view is a tourist permit.In such a group should be at least five people.
The second type is a business visa. Then the group must consist of at least nine people. Documents are filed in a somewhat simplified form. For example, to apply for a group visa for tourists, you need to have an invitation from a Chinese travel agency. It must have a license for its activities and be officially registered. Then you need to submit a list of tourists with the data of their passports (including number, name and surname, date of issue and validity of the document, and so on). It is required in triplicate. But you do not have to fill out questionnaires and take photos too.
Some features
Do I need a visa to China for transit? That is, in the event that a Russian citizen is at an international airport, and he has a long wait for the next flight. Not. If you want to go out and take a walk around the city, then almost anywhere you can do it without special permission. Twenty-four hours visa-free transit is possible at any airport in China. And in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Wuhan and some others, you can leave the landing site and stay in the country without a visa for up to seventy-two hours.
Only in the first day you will need to register with the police. True, there is one feature. If you want to exercise this right, you must first inform the airline whose plane you are flying about, preferably in three days. In order to leave the transit zone, you must have tickets to your destination and a passport with a visa of the country that is your final destination. You also cannot leave the city to which the airport is assigned. In any case, the decision to let you out is made by the border officer.
Arrival visa and specifics of visiting certain regions
If you have an urgent invitation or you must visit China in concise terms, and there is not enough time to complete the entire package and go through other bureaucratic procedures, then there is the opportunity to obtain permission to enter the airport. However, this is rather an exception to the rule. You will have to present very strong evidence of special circumstances in order to meet you.
Is a visa to China necessary for Russians who travel to Hong Kong and are not going to be in this special administrative area for more than two weeks? No, as for the citizens of Ukraine. For the rest, a visa is needed. If you want to visit Macau, then permission is issued to you right at the border. True, difficulties arise in issuing visas in this region. For example, the border service may ask you to present cash and demand that you have at least two thousand dollars per person. Young unmarried women may also have problems entering.
Hainan
Some regions of the country are also quite popular resorts. First of all, we are talking about the southern islands. Do Russians need a visa to China (Hainan)? Theoretically, no, it can also be issued upon arrival. This is done at Sanya Airport. For this you need to present a passport and a color photo. As a rule, the local border guards are quite liberal and they rarely even ask for hotel reservations and return tickets. The entry permit itself is valid for fifteen days. But there are some practical difficulties.
For example, the airline may refuse to board your flight even if you have a ticket, if you do not have confirmation that you will be required to open a tourist visa in Hainan. Therefore, those who are going to this resort are still recommended to apply for a Chinese visa in advance in order to avoid problems. But this is for independent travelers. Those who visit Hainan as part of tourist groups pass without a visa on special, pre-approved lists. The duration of stay on the island in this case is the same fifteen days.
Tibet
This mysterious and at the same time rebellious region of the country has its own characteristics for entry. Do I need a visa to China for Russians who wish to visit Tibet? Yes, if they want to get there. But that is not all. In addition, you need special permission from the travel agency in this region. And it gives them only to groups of tourists (no less than the same five people). Although quite often recently such visits have been formally treated, and the acquisition of a group tour guarantees even the possibility of an individual trip.
In principle, such trips can be arranged in China itself (in Beijing, Shanghai, and other large cities where the Tibetan travel agency has offices), in Nepal, as well as in the USA and Japan. Some Russian agencies specializing in such trips can also arrange a similar visit for you. If you try to get into Tibet without such permission, then you may be detained by the police at any checkpoint, of which there are many.
Dates and prices
Visas to China are issued within a week, but the procedure can be expedited for an additional fee. Then you get permission in three days or even one. The fee (consular fee) for a visa ranges from one and a half thousand rubles for a single entry to four and a half thousand for multi. But this is in the case of individual permission.
Group visas are usually single-entry and cost one thousand two hundred rubles. If you take permission to enter Hong Kong, then it will cost you nine hundred rubles. This visa is double-entry, it opens with a three-month “corridor” and guarantees a stay in the region every two weeks. The documents for her are the same as for the Chinese. Hainan entry fee is thirty US dollars. Do I need to get a visa to China exclusively at the Embassy or consulates? No, this can be done in numerous visa centers. But then the cost of registration will increase.
Is a visa to China necessary for Ukrainians?
Between the two countries signed international treaties. They stipulate a visa regime. In order to get to China, citizens of Ukraine must have a corresponding invitation from the “other side”. A firm, agency or company, in turn, must have accreditation at the Chinese Embassy in Kiev. The package of documents includes the original invitation (wet printing is required). A visa application form for a trip for citizens of Ukraine is filled in electronically. You need a certificate from work or from the bank, so that it is clear that you can pay for the trip. In addition to the document for traveling abroad, you also need an internal passport. Among the types of visas that Ukrainians travel to China, are popular not only tourist and business, but also workers.
Do Belarusians need a visa to China?
There are two answers to this question. No - if Belarusian citizens come to China as part of organized tourist groups. However, Chinese firms accredited in this country (and this is a necessary condition for issuing a permit) do not actually exist. Therefore, all such trips are organized by Russian or Ukrainian intermediary tour operators. And they do not have the right to carry out activities on organized trips to China.
Therefore, in practice, visas are still issued. If we are talking about individual trips, then, of course, we need it. The requirements for issuing entry permits are typical - an invitation from acquaintances, relatives or a travel company, a passport, a photograph, a certificate of employment (although the salary should be at least six hundred dollars a month) or a bank statement. Do Belarusians who wish to visit Hong Kong need a visa to China? Yes, they need two entry permits at once. The first is to mainland China, and the second to Hong Kong. However, the consular fee is paid only for the first visa.
Citizens of Kazakhstan
For residents of this country, a standard package of documents required to obtain an entry permit also includes a copy of an identity card. Do citizens of Kazakhstan need a visa to China to visit the country for a short period? Yes, but in this case, a one-time electronic entry permit is opened for twenty-five days of stay. Such a visa is obtained upon arrival in the city of Urumqi.
To issue it, you need a group of people (at least two people) with round-trip air tickets, and hotel reservation. Citizens of Kazakhstan also open other visas to China. Very popular, for example, is an annual permit to stay in the country (the so-called driver). Student visas are also popular. If tourists visit Hainan as part of a group, then they can fly there without special permission, according to group lists. However, they are all required to register with the police in Sanya within 24 hours.
2015 news
This year has brought some innovations regarding visas to China. For example, in February, the country's consulates in the Far East of Russia even complicated the rules for issuing entry permits because of fears of the Ebola epidemic. Additional health questionnaires were introduced. But at the end of the month, these new requirements were canceled and returned to the old system. And how is a visa to China issued for Ukrainians now? 2015 did not bring much change to the usual system of tourist and business trips. Only increases the possibility of obtaining a visa upon arrival at the airport in case of visiting exhibitions, which are held in this country constantly. The cost of this design is about a hundred dollars.
