Visa Prices in Hong Kong

[Prodigal Son]

Anyone know what the current prices are for 6-month and 1-year visas in Hong Kong?

I believe that recently prices have risen slightly and some longer duration visas have become unavailable to holders of certain (American) passports, but this was over six months ago.

[pazu]

http://www.jta.biz/chinavisa/

Check this out, I believe this is the cheapest place to get a 6-month visa (multi entries) in Hong Kong . HK$450 (American can't apply the visa at JTA.). The one-year visa is still not available to most nationalities, but you can easily extend the F visa within mainland China (while you are still inside mainland China) for 960RMB, you have to send your passport to an agent in Beijing or Shanghai.

[flameproof]

Shoestring travel - 2723-2306

1 year visa, 3 day process, HK$1300 (faster is possible)

This info is from this week!

[roddy]

For which nationalities, and with what restrictions on length of stay? I haven't yet heard of 1Y multi-entry visas becoming available again, but if they are that's great news - but if they have the 30/60/90 day stay restrictions they're a lot less useful.

[badr]

no 1 year given out at the moment ( as of 3 weeks ago).

a multiple entry 6 month F would run you about 550 -700 HK$ for 1 day service.

[flameproof]

once more: Shoestring Travel has the 1 year visa. I called them a few days ago.

Other have them too, Check the classified ads at the end of the daily SCMP (near the cars and escorts)

[pazu]

Flameproof, I would like to hear some personal experience of those who got a one-year visa.

I contacted Shoestring Travel (http://www.shoestringtravel.com.hk/) in early February 2007 and they said one can get a one-year visa but a name card (a business contact in China) is required, sounds easy, but they also added that the 1-year visa cannot be guaranteed.

I also contacted Sunrise (http://www.chinavisa.com.hk/) and at the very beginning they said it was okay to apply for a 1-year visa there (about HK$2000), but after seeing a Thai passport, the staff made several phone calls and finally rejected our application.

My Thai friend finally got a 6-month visa at JTA.

[onebir]

Here's some info Shoestring travel sent me today:

Ref. to your below message, please be advised that without name cards can only apply for 06 months multiple entry China visa.

Rates are:-

UK passport:-

HKD1600.00 (same day)

HKD1400.00 (next day)

HKD1200.00 (next 2 days)

Irish passport:-

HKD1100 (same day)

HKD900.00 (next day)

HKD700.00 (next 2 days)

A bit more expensive than Sunrise & Japan travel - especially if you have a UK passport / are in a rush.

But it seems that 1y visas can be obtained with a little documentation (don't know if they check it).

[bianfuxia]

I got a 6 month F at Japan Travel last month for 450HK. Australian passport.

That method definitely works!

[Prodigal Son]

Here's some info Shoestring travel sent me today:

That's interesting, I thought US passports were always the most expensive. Are the Irish prices the standard prices for most european nationalities as well?

[onebir]

That's interesting, I thought US passports were always the most expensive. Are the Irish prices the standard prices for most european nationalities as well?

Official fees for Brits are higher than 'other nationalities' at the Chinese Embassy in London too: embassy website. But the other companies (Sunrise, Japan Travel) in HK don't seem to have so many price differences, so maybe this isn't always the case...

If you want to know about Shoestring in particular, they reply to emails quickly.

[Prodigal Son]

Has anyone recently gotten a visa in Hong Kong and found out what the situation is with the "name cards"?

I'm getting ready to go to HK soon and I'll likely get a new visa while I'm there, I'm just trying to figure out what I need to bring with me. Do I need to get some business cards printed up or something? Or have some Chinese friends who have a company give me their business card to take along?

Hmm..

Here are the prices I was quoted by Shoestring:

1). German passport - China visa one year multiple entry visa HKD1800.00 (same day collection)/ HKD1300 (next day)/ HKD1100 (+ 2 days)

2). USA passport - China visa one year multiple entry visa HKD2800.00 (same day collection)/ HKD2300 (next day)/HKG2100 (+ 2 days) -

Monday to Friday only (closed Friday/Saturday and Public Holidays)

[onebir]

I picked up a 6m F at Japan Travel last week - 460RMB, Irish passport. Curious thing about it is it was issued in Zhuhai (珠海九洲港). Perhaps this is how they keep costs down.

I didn't have an chinese exit stamp for a date after the the visa was issued - and the passport's new, so this was pretty obvious. So going through immigration control I was a bit worried, but I was allowed through as normal...

Just out of curiousity, I'd be interested if other people with visas from HK could say where they were 'officially' issued...

[roddy]

广州 (2003) 珠海九洲港(2005), 富永港 (2006) which is the ferry terminal at Shenzhen Airport, if I remember correctly. All from Japan Travel. Never been asked to explain myself when coming back - I've always come back in via ferry to Shenzhen Airport though, where I'm sure they're used to it. Not sure if you might raise eyebrows at another point of entry.

Did you ask about one year visas at all?

[smalldog]

JTA seem to get their visas at various entry points to Shenzhen or Zhuhai. Mine were issued at 深圳福永港 (August 2006) and 深圳罗湖 (October 2005).

[roddy]

You can probably track the dodgy visa officials careers as they move around the Pearl River Delta just by plotting all these points on a map

[adrianlondon]

Not sure if you might raise eyebrows at another point of entry.

Why - is there something wrong with the visa or procedure used?

I didn't have an chinese exit stamp for a date after the the visa was issued

I'm obviously missing something here ;) Why would you want an exit stamp with a date AFTER the visa issue date? Is the F visa marked as an extension and hence must tie in with another visa?

[roddy]

When you get a HK visa, your passport takes a trip over the border, the visa is issued and then you get the passport back in HK. So if anyone actually paid attention to the visa dates when you were coming back into China, it would be evident that you'd not been in China on the date your visa was issued. This never appears to be an issue though.

[adrianlondon]

Thanks. I assumed that the visas issued in HK were legit, and that they were done over the border simply because that was how it was done.

So, for a typical foreign tourist who spends a few days in HK and then wants to pop into mainland China, their visa is done a different way? In other words, there's a Chinese embassy in HK which issues visas that these agencies don't use? I guess that's the case. I get it now!

[roddy]

Yeah, that's pretty much the case. If you have all the paperwork (or don't need any) you go to the 'embassy' - except it's not an embassy because it's all one country and if it was two countries then there would be . . .er . . . a different currency. And a border. And a separate system of government . . . never mind that though - and get your visa there.