Getting my visa in 3 hours.

[abcdefg]

@Amoat7 -- Welcome to the forum.

 

#20 -- Probably best to start a different thread. This has been kind of an odd thread from the very beginning.

 

Also, you will get better answers if you supply a little more context. For example, what sort of documents are you wondering about notarizing?

 

do i need a bank statement for the visa application if i have been given a full scholarship?

 

I would not think so. That is sometimes a requirement for getting an extension of a tourist visa in a first-tier city like Beijing or Shanghai. Should not apply to you.

[Lu]

Doesn't the embassy/visa office usually give you a list of things you need?

If the embassy/visa office can't answer your questions, or your case is so specific that you have more questions you want to ask here, then to have a chance of getting a good answer, at the minimum, people here need to know:

- your nationality

- the country you're applying for the visa in

- the kind of visa you're applying for

- any specific circumstances

I've never heard of needing a bank statement to get a visa for China (the other way around is common). But of course it's possible they changed the rules. Even then, I agree with abcdefg, I wouldn't assume you need a bank statement if you have a full scholarship for studying in China and are applying for a student visa. On the other hand, might as well bring a copy of a bank statement if you have one or can get one easily.

[hedwards]

This is a good reason to consider getting an agency to handle the paperwork when possible. They'll often times have an office in the building or next to the building where the consulate is and they'll have a lot of knowledge about how things are functioning at the present time.

 

When I went to China there was no interest from the Chinese in terms of how much money I had, but that was a Z visa so perhaps the education visas function differently in that regard.

[shuoshuo]

The visa is something he will have to apply for before he leaves for China.  There is no need for an agency because it's a simple process that he will be able to do on his own.  When he gets to China, his school will help him with the residence permit.  Again, no need for agents.

 

Agents can be so useless, they just do things that you can do yourself. Once, I was in China and I almost overstayed my residence permit (had a week left).  I needed a quick extension and every single agent I contacted told me my case was hopeless and I had to leave the country or do the HK visa run.  I went straight to the entry/exit bureau to explain my case and they sorted me out with no issues: had my residence permit extended - all done legally! From then on, I realized these agents make it seem like they've got knowledge and power beyond us 'normal' foreigners when all they do is take the bus or subway back and forth from the bureau and back for foreigners who don't care to lift a finger for themselves.

[hedwards]

Like anybody else there are good agents and bad agents, but like with anything else sometimes you do need to have somebody that has more experience. I'm guessing that the reason they told you that was because it wasn't likely to succeed. The Chinese tend to say that something is impossible if the first try doesn't work; compared with a foreign agency, I'm sure they'd give up more quickly.

 

Anyways, paying even a couple hundred dollars to an agency is far better than taking a week off work to fly across the country and then hopefully fill out all the paperwork correctly and not have to redo any of it.

[Lu]

Agents can be so useless, they just do things that you can do yourself.

Depends on what you need them for. In your case, clearly you had a lot more to win by trying everything in your power than the agency had, and so they couldn't/wouldn't help you. But if you don't have time to stand in line for three hours, or live very far from the nearest embassy/visa office, or aren't sure what paperwork you need, agencies can come in very useful.