China Travel Forum

[Desmond]

dear all
there is always alot of chitchat about this visa. and now i am more confused. i was told by other u.s. folks that the visa for china is a one year multiple entry one and costs $100. no one was able to confirm for me the length of time one was permitted to stay on each entry however. i have just come from the china consul in chiang mai.

this is what i was told: the visa now costs 4650 baht which is about $140. this is true no matter what kind of visa you wish for. you can only obtain the 12 month visa with a letter of some kind from china. otherwise you get a 6 month visa. this visa runs from date of issue and lets you have a 90 day stay.

what is unclear is if you get the visa in january, enter china in february for 3 months, then leave for one month just how much time you have left on your visa. does anyone have any info on this and better yet can be clearer than i? i am confusing myself. many thanks.
Thanks.

[Aliya]

"Although a bilateral United States-China agreement provides for issuance of multiple entry visas with validity of up to one year for tourists and business visitors, Chinese consulates often limit visas to only one-entry."

Point is, notwithstanding the agreement between China and the US to issue one-year multiple-entry visas, Chinese consulates continue to do pretty much whatever they want to do.