Trouble applying abroad

[Nicholas987456]

Bit of a weird one

I am a UK citizen living in Vietnam and moving to China. I got the letter for my Z visa approved by the employer in China and took it to the visa centre in HoChiMinhCity, did the process as normal, but for some reason the consulate did not issue the visa

I have lived in China before and have never had any problems with the visa or in the country, I also received a Z visa in 2020 which I was not able to use because of the travel restrictions, so I have no idea why it was not issued

My guess was that it was because I am not a Vietnamese citizen, but the employed said that they have checked and the local government said that should not matter

My only other guess is because I was issued a visa that I did not use, but that doesn't seem to make sense either

 

Any thoughts?

[Guest realmayo]

I'd always understood that there was a serious possibility of being refused a visa if you apply outside your home country (though HK being an exception) when I looked into this years ago. I notice the UK visa centre requires non-UK residents applying for a Chinese visa in the UK to provide proof of their right to be in the UK at the time of application.

[Nicholas987456]

I did get a visa a few years ago in Hanoi

The weird thing is that they didn't give me a reason