China Tightens Visa Requirements

China recently announced more strict conditions for applying for tourist visas (L visa).  Applicants for visitor/tourist visas must present an invitation letter from an “authorized tourism unit,” person or company along with their visa application.  And they must provide copies of their round-trip tickets and hotel reservations.

This flies in the face of typical travel advice: Never buy your plane tickets until you have your visa!  Consider buying only fully refundable tickets if you have any concerns about getting the visa, timing (will you get the visa before your flight?!), or you could be seriously out-of-pocket on such expenses.  Make sure your hotel reservations can be cancelled with a full refund if there's any visa hassle.

China – like so many other countries – is cracking down on illegal immigration, visa abuses and violations.  With over 7 billion people on the planet, many seem to think “the grass is greener on the other side of the border.”  And some of these have more greed than sense, more disdain for laws than respect for others.

Here’s the official Chinese website of their US embassy: http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/adr/.  Official Chinese embassy websites for Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, etc, have also been updated with these new requirements.  Check out their website for complete details.

Know before you go – check official government websites of the country/ies you are headed toward.  Visa requirements are undergoing a lot of changes in a lot of countries now, and you need to stay current.  For example, these requirements have been instituted at some point since the first of August.  No sign of prior announcements, either!

May your road rise to meet you!

Ann