No visa application possible in The Hague Netherlands

[Silent]

I know there are more Dutch people around so I post this info here.

 

At this moment it is not possible to apply for a Chinese visa in The Hague, Netherlands. I was turned away as I had no appointment. They told me that since the 24th one should have an appointment. The first possible date to make that appointment is september 30th.

 

It looks like Dutch nationals can still apply in Brussels, Belgium with some additional paperwork (werkgevers verklaring). According to my info this route is not possible for non Dutch nationals residing in the Netherlands.

 

Rumours are, but I could not get confirmation from the visa office, that things will relax again after september 15. They did however confirm that the recent policy changes have to do with the g20 meeting.

[imron]

I was turned away as I had no appointment.

So it is possible if you have an appointment then?

 

China appears to have outsourced its visa processing to a third party, and for example, for at least the last few years in Australia, you can only get visas through that third party and you also need an appointment.

[Silent]

Indeed, but it's not possible to make a new appointment before september 30th. So effectively for the time being you can't apply unless you already made an appointment before. 

 

If you have an appointment there are still a few hurdles to take. If you have a passport issued after 1-1-2014 you need your old passport. Most people won't have it as they take it by default when a new passport is issued. Only on request they return the old one. It seems there is also a good chance they reject the application. E.g. if you've been to the middle east including Turkey and Indonesia (so I guess they look at islamic countries), if you request multiple entries, and maybe other things. I understand these are also issue's if one applies in Brussels.

 

As they recommend to apply only a month in advance many people (including me) are likely to have an issue. I'm specially at risk as my old passport contains several stamps of islamic countries including a very controversial one though apart from Kosovo all before 1-1-2014. I'll look at the developments and see what's possible. If things don't improve shortly after the 15th I'll cancel my trip. (Planned to fly the 25th of september). I think I prefer to cancel my trip above a real rejection of my visa application as that likely results in extra scrutiny in the future as then you have to tick that you have a previous application rejected.

[Silent]

For those interested an update. Since last week things are relaxing again. It is possible to apply for visa again. Last week it was possible again to apply and by now also agencies are again able to apply for visa. Since today old passport is only needed when new passport is issued after 1-1-2016. (instead of 1-1-2014).

 

Last week they still wanted to have a lot of info. My list of hotels for the entire 7 weeks was not sufficient and they wanted a day to day planning what I was going to do every day. After two long waits and producing such a day to day planning I was able to apply. Many people however were turned away and their application was not accepted. Including the application of a woman with an official invitation from the government to visit a conference but with plenty of middle eastern stamps in her passport.

 

Today I picked up my visa, there were no other people in the queue to pick up visa so it was a 5 minute affair. It was extremely busy with people applying. Waiting room was full, many had no seat and some people were in the hall way. Guy in the elevator told me there were 50 people in front of him. Not sure what documentation they require now to apply, As far as I can judge in the couple of minutes I was there it looked like there was less discussion then last week suggesting less rigidity.

[LinZhenPu]

Since today old passport is only needed when new passport is issued after 1-1-2016. 

What about those who've never had a passport issued before 2016? And what about those whose previous passport was lost/stolen?

[Silent]

The same as before with the 1-1-2014 guideline. Bad luck, no visa application possible.

 

In general this is an issue for almost everyone with a new passport. By default the old passport is taken if you get a new passport unless you actively request the old passport back. 

[LinZhenPu]

What? So Dutch people in The Netherlands with no residency in any other country who have never held a passport cannot go and apply for their first passport and apply for a visa for China? I find that very hard to believe. Surely there must be some provision for people who have never held a passport previously.

[Silent]

With the right guanxi without doubt there are ways around it. I don't think there are any real loopholes apart from apply at a different location.

 

This however is already a big improvement compared to the situation a couple of weeks back at the peak of the g20 madness when completely no visa applications were possible and I suspect things will improve further. I've read somewhere that there was a specific terrorism threat from the Netherlands. Though the resource didn't look credable to me, it might be an explanation why the Netherlands is so badly targeted in restricting visa applications.

[Angelina]

The Hague ruling on the South China Sea dispute, perhaps?

[Silent]

Not sure, maybe I'm naive, but this is a ruling of an international court. Though located in the Netherlands I would not expect them to attribute the ruling to the Netherlands. Also, I think the original ruling was already a couple of months ago but maybe they just waited for an excuse (g20) to execute payback.

[zhouhaochen]

Any recent experiences of anyone applying for Chinese visas in the Netherlands? Any good agencies anyoney could recommend?

[zhouhaochen]

Or experience in which other countries a Dutch citizen would be allowed to apply for a visa? I know the embassies in the UK or Germany do not allow other nationalities (unless one is a resident there) to apply for Chinese visas there, but not sure if it is like this in all European countries?