Applying for a Chinese passport

[Davros]

Hello from a new member from the UK.

I was wondering if anyone here could provide me with accurate, up to date information regarding what is required for a Chinese national, living in China, to apply for an ordinary Chinese passport. I contacted the Chinese embassy in the UK some time ago, but they haven't replied as yet.

I have a friend in China, who would like to visit me in the UK for a few weeks. Maybe something is getting lost in translation, but some of what she is telling me sounds a little iffy to say the least, so I'm trying to find out what's necessary myself, and cut the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. If I have knowledge of the facts, I can weigh up what she is telling me better.

A few pertinent questions...

Which supporting documents are required? (Photos of course, Hukou document I'm hearing about?...anything else?)

What is the cost of an ordinary Chinese passport? (A set price? Or does it vary depending on where you live in China, or for some other reason?)

How do you apply? (Is it similar to in the UK - fill out the form, provide photos etc, pay the current rate, and wait for it to arrive?)

Do you apply by post, in person, or both? Where to? (My friend lives in the Guangzhou region)

Is it relatively simple to obtain one? From what I have read, I gather applying for a UK Visa is more likely to be problematic.

Any advice on UK Visa requirements would be helpful too, but I expect I can find out about that from the UK Border Agency.

There is no hurry - I simply want to try and make sure it's all done correctly, and in a cost effective fashion.

If anyone has any relevant information...the more detailed the better, I'd very much appreciate it.

Cheers.

[roddy]

Where's her hukou registered? She'll need to take a trip back there, and I'd imagine the process might be different in different places - at the very least middle-class Shanghai will see more applications than back-of-beyond Gansu and things are probably more streamlined.

[fanglu]

I have a vague recollection of someone telling me it costs 300rmb, but it may have been 200. I'm pretty sure the cost is the same everywhere.

What did your friend say that sounds 'iffy'?

[jbradfor]

I contacted the Chinese embassy in the UK some time ago, but they haven't replied as yet.

No surprise. By definition, the Chinese embassy in the UK would never handle this situation.

but some of what she is telling me sounds a little iffy to say the least

Anyone else think she might be looking for a face-saving way to not go?

Slightly off-topic: at some point in the past I recall that it was very difficult for Chinese citizens to get permission to leave China to travel. [separate from getting a passport.] How much of an issue is it now?

[roddy]

Permission to leave the country isn't a problem. It's getting permission to enter other ones.

I think certain people - employees of SOEs maybe, or just certain types of them - need a letter from their employer, but pretty much anyone can get a passport.

[Davros]

Thank for the replies and info....all food for thought.

She has told me her hometown is in Hunan, so that's presumably where her hukou is registered. She has said she lives in a city, although I don't know which one. It's the minefield of online dating, and we have been corresponding for around four months. We've talked about her coming over to the UK for a visit, and she is keen to, but says she doesn't earn very much (as a call-centre worker), so I'm considering helping out with some of her travel costs.

I asked her how much her passport and UK visa would cost. She said it was better to go through a 'travel operator' and told me the cost would be $480 for her passport, and $570 for the visa!!! I told her those figures were ridiculous, and that a new British passport along with a single entry Chinese visa would come to less than $200 in total - I have travelled to China myself and know the costs involved from here. I can't believe that the equivalent documents in China cost over five times more!!! After that she said that I was correct, and that her passport alone would be $220 instead...so $780 would be enough for both documents....which still seems way too high, and makes me start to think she's touting for as much as she can get. Am I being cynical, or just rightly very cautious?

Right now I'm not sure if she's trying to con me, or whether she's being conned by these 'travel operators' she mentions. She has seemed genuine so far over other things, but all this has aroused my suspicions, and made me more determined to find out exactly what the requirements are. I may be completely wrong too, and be oblivious to how these things work in China.

Her last message as increased my concerns when she said... "Do you think it is easy for me to get it (her passport), without making some offer to the immigration staff?" Almost as if she regards a passport at something obtained on the black market for a random wad of cash, rather than an official document of her identity, with a set fee. Hmm. There should be no reason why she can't simply apply in whatever the normal way is in China, for the going rate.

Yeah jbradfor, I have also read that it is much easier for a (for example) UK citizen to visit China, than it is for a Chinese citizen to visit the UK. (for example) I gather it's partly to do with it being more likely someone like me would return home after my visit to China, whereas with a Chinese person there is a higher risk that they might instead try and stay in the UK (or elsewhere) illegally. (for economic reasons) It is easier if they can provide proof that they have the financial means to support themselves while they are away and a definite return date, or a letter from their sponsor abroad helps too.

Hmm...I think I need to weigh her up a tad more, before anything is decided.

[nickpellatt]

Its really easy, probably easier and definitely cheaper than getting a passport in the UK is. When I was in China I encourage my Gf to get a passport. She had to take her hukou to the passport office, fill in a form, pay 200 RMB and give some passport photos. She got a call in a week and collected it. That was in 2008. It is really simple, but of course ... if you work in Beijing and you hukou is registered in Hainan, it does mean a bit of a trip.

Its a lot harder to get a visa for the UK. My GF and I looked at getting a tourist visa, and it was just a headache with no promise of success. You wont get much info from the border controls and they dont reveal their points scoring system etc. For example, I dont believe they reveal how much you need to have in ready cash etc.

[imron]

Tell her to avoid the travel operators and do it directly - at least for the passport. As others have mentioned, it's simple to apply, everyone can do it, the service is relatively fast and shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred RMB.

Also, are you sure that when she says $200 she doesn't mean 200 RMB?

Getting the visa will be another matter altogether.

[fanglu]

According to this site the visa fee is £70. She will have to pay more if going through an agent.

I recommend using an agent as they will know the policies the border agency uses to decide whether to grant the visa (eg required bank balance, how to show sufficient connection to China etc).

[nickpellatt]

TBH - this sounds like a total scam, and Im not sure why you are still bothering. Avoid this situation, get out, do not ever offer her, or him, money.

You do not even know what city he/she is in, and yet are considering paying for him/her to visit you?

Even if this was a legit 'relationship' the odds on him/her being granted a UK tourist visa is pretty slim. If the applicant has very little money, or poorly paid job, and is obviously coming over to visit a 'sugar daddy', a visa is unlikely to be granted as she/he will quite likely overstay and abscond.

You are seriously asking for trouble, and entertaining this idea is a bad move. Sorry, but I call it how I see it. General advice to foriegners who are in China, and dating, is to be very careful and cautious, multiply this by 1000 when you are doing it online!

If you decide to persist...go to visit her...I would say travelling so far, and spending so much would still be crazy but its a far safer bet.

[roddy]

Sorry, but if you meet someone online and they ask you for money - or even if you end up in a situation where they need money and you might want to give it to them - then it's best to walk away. Four months and you don't know where she lives?

It's possible that she's a bit naive or being poorly-informed, but . . .

[cababunga]

There was a news article on this topic just a few days ago.

http://www.techspot.com/news/42583-man-pays-200000-to-save-fake-girlfriend-in-online-scam.html

[Davros]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts - I'm now more confident about what the requirements and costs are from within China. Forewarned is forearmed eh?

Yeah, she definately meant $200, as she also gave the 1300 RMB equivalent. Waaaay too much!

The scam theory has already crossed my mind. The usual form is you strike up a friendship with someone online, they pretty soon ask you for money for something or other, you tell them you don't have any to spare, and surprise, surprise, you never hear from them again. Been through that many times.

I've been around the online dating scene for a while now, and have met two women in the flesh - one when I first visited China a couple of years ago, and another in London. Both were genuine enough, and nice ladies as far as I could tell, even though nothing developed further for different reasons. I had a plan B with the previous Chinese lady - that it if didn't work out, or proved to be a scam, then I could still have a nice holiday in Shenzhen/Hong Kong. Which I did. I don't think I would go again myself unless I was very sure about her, or it was a particular region I'd like to go for a holiday too, so I'd have my backup plan again.

You do have to be ultra cautious though, as there are a great many chancers out there, just out for what they can get. I think I'm a pretty decent judge of character on the whole, and the alarm bells have started ringing with my recent exchange with her over the price of a passport and visa. I'm beginning to lean away from paying for anything, but I'll keep corresponding with her for now. There are people with very little money everywhere, but it doesn't automatically make them all scammers.

Some are easier to spot than others. I had one woman who wanted me to rescue her from a refugee camp in the Ivory Coast, and help her claim her dead father's $30 million fortune, and start a new life in the UK with her and the money. She even sent me photos of her father, alive and in his coffin!!! Needless to say, I didn't reply!

Sorry, I'm going way off-topic now. Thanks again for all the advice about passports and visas.