Has anyone used this visa agency?

[ILikeBigWalls]

This visa agency (chinavisa.org.cn) tells me I can post my passport and visa application to them in Guangzhou and they will post it back to me after 20 days with a new visa inside.  Of course it is very expensive but I don't have to go to Hong Kong.  But before I send my passport away I thought I would ask if anyone has any experience with them?

 

[roddy]

A fun game to play with these sites is to pick one of the testimonial images at random. Let's start with the first one of "Riaz Ahmad". Then you copy the url of his photo and pop on to images.google.com - LOOK, Mr Ahmad has a remarkable double life as Joseph S Nye of the Harvard School of Government.

 

Not sure what your circumstances are, but I would be thinking 'I can go to Hong Kong and avoid giving my passport to some random agency for three weeks' rather than 'I can give my passport to some random agency for three weeks and avoid going to Hong Kong. Time, money and ability to get your actual visa independent of an agency are all factors - if you offer more details we can maybe advise...

[ILikeBigWalls]

wow, ok, point taken.  Thanks Roddy.

[roddy]

I wouldn't completely rule them out based on that, mind. You could have a perfectly decent business with a marketing guy who set up a shoddy testimonials page. BUT the combination of 'expensive', 'three weeks' and sending your passport off (presumably to go to Hong Kong, where the entry and exit stamps will make it clear you have stayed on the mainland) would make me very very wary. For me this'd be a last resort if I couldn't get the visa myself and couldn't find a local agency I trusted. 

 

Like I say, if you tell us what your circumstances are...

[ILikeBigWalls]

When you say "where the entry and exit stamps will make it clear you have stayed on the mainland" I am guessing you mean the lack of entry-exit stamps would reveal that I never came to HK if anyone was to look closely???  Am I understanding correctly?

 

My circumstances are not so inflexible that I couldn't go to Hong Kong myself.  For now I am here on a student residence permit.  It is just that I have never made the trip to HK and at the moment I am not looking for adventure.  Plus this agent is offering me a business visa (M? I think), 2 years multiple entry, 90 days stay, as part of the recent changes for USA/ Canadian passports.  (The other option being 10 years, 60 days stay.)  If I go it alone then I probably end up with a tourist visa.

 

So maybe I go to HK and use one of the agents there....

[roddy]

Yes, I guess it's the lack of stamps...

 

Hong Kong's a fantastic place and well worth visiting. Doesn't need to be as expensive as you might think (maybe even cheaper than Shanghai, depending on your lifestyle). I used to love my visa runs. Quick Google suggests that the 10 year visas at least are being handed out in Hong Kong even if you don't ask for them. Maybe email a couple of the HK agencies, they're often very responsive. 

[somethingfunny]

I applied for my visa through an agency in person in Hong Kong.  The very first thing they did when I walked into the office was take my passport and staple the little Hong Kong entry slip into my passport.  I don't understand how you can get a visa without being in Hong Kong in person.

[roddy]

Could well be that they don't send it to Hong Kong, that was just a guess on my part. But even then, do you want to be living in Shanghai with a visa issued elsewhere? Even if you're not up to anything, it LOOKS dubious if you come in for any scrutiny. 

[ILikeBigWalls]

I have some new info concerning this. The process is something like this....I post my passport, and visa application with photo to the agency. My passport then goes to the U.S. and comes back with a visa issued from Washington DC. I then need to exit China before my current visa expires and re-enter with the new visa. The new multiple entry visa will be L or M (whichever I want to pay for) and 2 years/ 90 days or 10 years/ 60 days.

I also checked with FBT (Forever Bright?) agency in HK. They are offering the same. So I guess it is legit, but also quite expensive. But I would be without a passport for 3 weeks at least.

I guess this is only useful info for those with American passports, possibly Canadian as well.

[889]

Of course it is not legit.

By the book, a Chinese embassy/consulate will not issue a visa if the passport holder is still in the Mainland. Indeed, there's a specific question on the visa application regarding your actual present location.

The exceptionally high charge also speaks volumes. Subtract the US$140 visa fee plus Fedex charges. You're left with a number that leaves much to go around.