china visa for Self-driving overlanders

Chinese visa is a big topic, this article mainly introduces the relevant content of overlander applying for Chinese visa. Tourists with Chinese tourist visas can travel freely in most parts of China (except Tibet). This article contains information on the timeliness of visas, the factors that affect the obtaining of Chinese tourist visas, visa applications in other countries, and past traveller experiences.

Table of Contents

Visa duration and validity

Chinese tourist visas are divided into one entry, two entry and multiple entry.

Citizens of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Argentina can apply for a multi-entry Chinese tourist visa valid for up to ten years in their home country.

Generally, tourists apply for a single-entry visa with a stay of 30 or 60 days. A single entry visa is valid for three months, and you can enter China at any time before the expiration date. For example, if you apply for a single-entry Chinese tourist visa on February 12, the visa is valid until May 12 (it will be displayed on your visa page), then you can enter before May 12 China.

The double-entry visa is valid for 6 months, which means that if you apply on February 12, the valid date will be until August 12. For double-entry visas, the duration of each stay can also be 30 or 60 days.

If it is difficult to apply for a Chinese visa in the country you plan to travel through, we recommend that you apply for a double-entry Chinese visa with a validity of 6 months in your home country before departure to ensure that you can arrive China border before the expiration date of your Chinese visa.

Letter of invitation

Road Pioneer will provide you with a visa invitation and route according to the best visa application plan.

Hotel and flight bookings

You do not need proof of air ticket and hotel booking, with our Letter of Invitation, Hotel List and itinerary you can apply for China Visa yourself or at the agency.

However, there are exceptions. If you intend to apply for a Chinese visa in a Southeast Asian country (a third country other than your own country), and your passport has a visa or entry stamp from Muslim country such as Iran or Turkey, it will be very likely be denied.

Visa extensions in china

If you need to extend your Chinese visa, you can apply for an extension to your local China Immigration Bureau 7 days before your L visa expires. You need to submit passport, visa application form with recent color photos and travel itinerary. If your application is approved, you can get an extended stay not exceeding the original stay duration on your visa.

Turkey stamps in passport

There are a large number of tourists who were refused visas because their passports had visas and arrival stamps for Muslim countries such as Iran and Turkey. Visa center will not tell you exactly why your visa was refused.

If you are a journalist, NGO staff, religious or military person, try to avoid writing on the application form. These occupations are more likely to be denied visas.

Therefore road pioneer advises you not to put all your eggs in one basket and apply for Chinese visa as early as possible. If you have reached the last stop such as Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, writing a detailed travel note about Muslim destinations, proving that you are visiting the country for tourism purposes only, this should help.

Entering Tibet from Nepal

travelers who enter Tibet from Nepal are required to apply for Group Tourist Visa, a kind of single entry visa, at the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu.

1. Tibet Tourism Bureau does not accept individual applications for Tibet Travel Permit. Visitors must apply through a travel agent.

2. Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu neither accepts individual applications. Visitors need to go through the local Nepal travel agency. We have partner in kathmandu.

3. The Visa is good for both Tibet and Mainland China. It is valid for the specified period of time which you confirm with the travel agency, usually no more than 30 days. Therefore, you should include your itinerary in both Mainland China and Tibet/qinghai/xinjiang.

4. Please be aware that the group visa is a special type of visa to Tibet. A Chinese visa obtained before automatically expires when the new one is given.

That means:

If you enter tibet from nepal, you don’t have to apply china visa in your country. The china visa you apply before, no matter it’s valid or not, it’s no use for tibet permits.

That also means:

You(or your passport) must stay in kathmandu for 4 working days.

Process: Road Pioneer will apply your travel information in Tibet Tourism Bureau – Tibet Tourism Bureau send letter of invitation to Chinese embassy in Kathmandu – you give yor passport to our visa agency partner in Kathmandu – Get your group visa in 4 days.

Guide will bring Tibet permit to border and meet you there. then you can enter Tibet with goup visa and Tibet permit.

Indian pilgrims(or just India passport holders) who will visit Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar

their travel permits can be only arranged by the Foreign Affairs Office of TAR(Tibet Autonomous Region), Tibet Military Region, Armed Police Tibet Frontier Corps and the Department of Public Security of TAR. To get the permit to kailash and Manasarover, india passport holders should travel in big group and use tibet bus/guide. Note: As an Indian passport holder, even are not a pilgrim, but still want to visit Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar or just cross Ngari(Ali ) Prefecture, they will be treated as a pilgrim. Prigrim should join in a group with government-authorized company in india.

So we don’t operate any kind of tour to Kailash, Lake Manasarovar and Ngari(Ali ) Prefecture for india passport holders.

India passport holders who will not go to Mount Kailash, Lake Manasarovar and Ali Preffecture:

Ok, they can drive to Tibet and other parts of China. We can operate driving road tour for them. They can drive to destinations like EBC, Lhasa and other parts of China except Mount Kailash, Lake Manasarovar and Ali Preffecture.

Embassy reports

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Address: Chinese Consulate General in Almaty, Kazakhstan 12, Baitasov Street 050010 Almaty Kazakhstan

Tel: (+7) 7272 700 207

Fly & Drive/Ride: Hunan-Guangxi Rundreise

Fly & Drive/Ride: Chengdu-Kunming

Visa duration and validity

Letter of invitation

Hotel and flight bookings

Visa extensions in china

Turkey stamps in passport

Entering Tibet from Nepal

Embassy reports

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Ankara, Turkey

Astana, Kazakhstan

Athens, Greece

Bangkok, Thailand

Baku, Azerbaijan

Bishkek，Kyrgyzstan

Brussels, Belgium

Budapest, Hungary

Busan, South Korea

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Ekaterinburg, Russia

Hanoi, Vietnam

Irkutsk, Russia

Islamabad, Pakistan

Istanbul, Turkey

Jakarta, Indonesia

Karachi, Pakistan

Kathmandu, Nepal

Khabarovsk, Russia

Kolkata, India

Kuala Lumpur, Mylaysia

Minsk, Belarus

Moscow, Russia

Mumbai, India

New Delhi, India

Odessa, Ukraine

Osh, Kyrgyzstan

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Pyongyang, North Korea

Singapore

Sofia, Bulgaria

St.Petersburg, Russia

Surabaya, Indonesia

Sydney, Australia

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Tirana, Albania

Yerevan, Armenia

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