China Travel Guide II

[iluvescadasport]

^ohh... wala na siguro.

[aranses]

we booked them twice(one for my beijing trip & the other one for xiamen-guanzhou trip with relatives). reliable company naman sila pati chinese visa ko sa kanila ko pinapaayos..

^i called Panda yesterday, the one who answered my call said they don't have huangshan tour. just the shangahi 4d expo tour daw. i browsed online and saw this site and their package http://www.greatwalladventure.com/ChinaCityTour/Shanghai-Expo-Huangshang-Tour.htm

anybody here tried getting/booking with them? legit kaya ito? this 6d tour is just perfect for me.

[nutata]

Pavent lang.  PARUSA ang Chinese visa ngayon, lalo na sa first timers, kahit through agency pa.  Our agency submitted our documents on September 3, Friday.  Flight out to Beijing is next Tuesday (21).  TINANGGAP.  Monday this week embassy tells us na may kulang daw na docs.  Hello, may checklist kami!!!  Tatawagin ba daw silang sinungaling? But fine, imbes makipag away, advice ng agency namin ihabol since nacheck na naman daw.  Come Thursday, update samin is that the embassy is now requiring PERSONAL APPEARANCE for SOME people, so heads up daw. Fine. Friday today.  Follow up ulit.  WEDNESDAY (22) na daw marerelease ng embassy ang passports namin.  Apparently madami daw di nakakaalis on time dahil sa bagal ng visa ngayon.  Na-aaprove nga, pero pahirapan!   Ano ba naman diba?

[coldsiren]

^^ i also had my visa processed thru a travel agency.
I submitted the application form with picture, nbi clearance for travel, bank certificate, itr, certificate of employment with approved leaves, sss list of contributions, hotel vouchers, eticket, new and old passports to uni orient last sept 3. Last sept 9 they informed me that my visa got approved and it was ready for pick up that same day.
 
Like you it's my first time to go to mainland china.  i've been to hk, macau and other asian countries  but not in mainland china. Maybe its a case to case basis or maybe its the travel agency that processed your visa that caused that delay. Most likely the embassy received our documents at the same time. Sobra naman bakit hindi pa narerelease yung passport nyo. Sana marelease na yung passport nyo before your trip..
 
I guess i'm lucky that the embassy didn't ask for other documents. Lahat ng documents sa list ng mga natanungan kong travel agency hinanda ko kahit hindi naman hiningi ng uni orient sa akin.
 
I'm leaving for china this sunday and will stay there for a week only.
San mura mag shopping? Sa beijing or shanghai?

[nutata]

^Siguro nga, but never kami nagkaproblem with the agency before.  Maayos lagi.  China lang talaga.  And may US visas kami.  Di kaya may kinalaman dun?  Ewan.  Hassle lang talaga.  We're pushing that they at least release the passports Monday naman.  Nakakainis.

[coldsiren]

^^ hindi naman siguro dahil sa US visa yun kasi may US visa din ako.
Sana maayos yan agad.

[nutata]

^Onga, thanks.  Mejo kalmado na ko ngayon.  Hassle lang talaga kasi ang hirap magrebook ng tickets, and sobrang mahal ng fees.  Yung iba pa samin naka leave na. Sana man lang nagmake up sila for their incompetence.  Pagreceive nila, kumpleto docs (we sent the same ones you did), tapos bag balik ng agency for release biglang kulang na?  Hay.  If ever, kahit makuha pa namin yung passports, useless na kasi fully booked na yung mga dates namin na pwede sa airline. 

[iluvescadasport]

Pavent lang.  PARUSA ang Chinese visa ngayon, lalo na sa first timers, kahit through agency pa.  Our agency submitted our documents on September 3, Friday.  Flight out to Beijing is next Tuesday (21).  TINANGGAP.  Monday this week embassy tells us na may kulang daw na docs.  Hello, may checklist kami!!!  Tatawagin ba daw silang sinungaling? But fine, imbes makipag away, advice ng agency namin ihabol since nacheck na naman daw.  Come Thursday, update samin is that the embassy is now requiring PERSONAL APPEARANCE for SOME people, so heads up daw. Fine. Friday today.  Follow up ulit.  WEDNESDAY (22) na daw marerelease ng embassy ang passports namin.  Apparently madami daw di nakakaalis on time dahil sa bagal ng visa ngayon.  Na-aaprove nga, pero pahirapan!   Ano ba naman diba?

did the checklist came from the Embassy or just from the agency? if it came from the Embassy mismo, pwede mo yun icomplain or itanong sa visa officer. If it just came from the travel agency, walang magagawa kasi hindi naman sila yun embassy.

and kaya nga tayo nahihirapan kumuha ng visa kasi nga China isn't our country. The fact we're applying for a visa means we're asking permission from the chinese gov't to enter their country. Kung Chinese tayo (as in chinese passport tayo) tapos hindi tayo pinapapasok sa china, doon lang tayo may right magreklamo.Pero the fact we are Filipinos and holding Philippine passport holder, meaning wala tayong karapatan.kahit na mga taong meron hawak na "first-world country" passports, wala silang karapatan magreklamo kasi hindi nila bansa ang China (parang nung nakita ko na nagwawalang American sa embassy last time). kahit na mayaman tayo, meron US visa, meron schengen and whatever visa, kung gusto tayo ipaprovide ng madaming documents or ayaw tayo papuntahin ng china, wala tayo magagawa.  kung biglang magpatigil ang china na magpapunta ng mga tourist sa bansa nila, wala din tayo magagawa. and sa panahon ngayon, sa reputation ng mga filipinos, wag na tayo magulat na pinapahirapan tayo sa pagkuha ng visa, any visa. Kahit nga mga landing visa, pinapauwi pa rin ng pinas. kahit may visa, pinapauwi pa rin ng pinas.

IMHO lang =)

Support local tourism na lang =)

[nutata]

^Siyempre the checklist came from the agency.  When you use an agency kasi, siyempre di basta basta bigay yan ng requirements. When they get it from you/when they give it to the embassy, they "check" it off a list of requirements, parang Received Form kung ano talaga ang natanggap nila.   Obviously san nila makukuha yung list of requirements but from the embassy.  After more than a week (at the date na dapat releasing), nagulat yung tao ng agency kasi may kulang daw. Sinabi ng tao na pano nagkakulang e kumpleto nga nung binigay, tapos dun siya hiniritan ng person sa embassy na tinatawag ba silang sinungaling.  Feeling namin nawala nila or something sa kaguluhan at sa dami ng ginagawa nila.

Relax lang sis. Ganyan naman talaga for everything, hindi lang visa.  But if we want something, whatever it is, the "to each his own" attitude will get us nowhere.  Kaya nga we submitted na lang the documents ulit, and try makiusap na marelease ng maaga.  Kung hindi, ganon talaga, rebook na lang.  Kaya it's a good thing also to have multiple copies of all the requirements, just in case.

[iluvescadasport]

^not really. There is one agency who gave my sister's mom-in-law a list of requirements na hindi naman tama. She's holding Canadian passport, and requirements lang is hotel voucher and roundtrip ticket. pero ang list na binigay ng travel agency ang haba. buti her mom-in-law went to the embassy to clarify. kaso haba pila haha

yun hawak ng agency na pink na parang claiming stub (parang receipt ata), meron na ba date na nakasulat? or sinulatan lang to be informed?

[nutata]

Sis, beyond na kami the sisihan point.  We did our research well and sobra sobra pa requirements namin na prinepare para sigurado.  We've also been working with that agency for years and with many many travels kaya we know that they did their best.  Napagkataon kami ng universe na madelay.  Intay na lang talaga.

[iluvescadasport]

ah ok. balitaan mo kami pagkuha niyo ng visa niyo

[nutata]

Confirmed na.  Wednesday talaga yung release ng visa namin.  We'll probably rebook na lang to a different date.

[roseydosey]

Booked a flight to Shanghai for Christmas Dec 22 to 27. We still don't have our visas yet. We are 5 in the family, my mom and us 4 sibs. My questions are:

1.) When's the safest time to apply for a visa?

2.) Do we still need to go to an agency or we just do it by ourselves? Disregarding the hassle, is it really a plus or is the probability higher if we apply thru an agency?

Travel history:
Mom - Extensive travel history to US, Europe and almost all of Asia including mainland China and Japan
Me - HK, Shenzhen, Macau, South Korea, Bangkok, Singapore, Malaysia
Sib1 - HK, Taiwan, Austria, Germany
Sib2 - HK, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore
Sib 3 - HK

Thank you!

[nutata]

As long as your requirements are complete, you'll be fine.  An agency is good if you have no time to go to the embassy.  Same same lang naman.  When you say hassle, what do you mean?  Kasi if hassle sa requirements, that's your part na.  Wala silang say sa visa.  Pag hassle sa time and pila, sulit ang agency. Travel history is irrelevant

[wickedbone]

so it's always a guarantee that you're going to get approved as long as your requirements are complete and you've never committed any offense in the past?

[roseydosey]

As long as your requirements are complete, you'll be fine.  An agency is good if you have no time to go to the embassy.  Same same lang naman.  When you say hassle, what do you mean?  Kasi if hassle sa requirements, that's your part na.  Wala silang say sa visa.  Pag hassle sa time and pila, sulit ang agency. Travel history is irrelevant

Thank you. I've read in the previous pages of this thread and other threads that if we have traveled abroad we only need to submit our passport, 2x2 picture and application form? Is that correct? Or we need to submit everything talaga?

[coldsiren]

^^ if you've been to mainland china you only need your passport (old and new), 2x2 picture and application form.
but if you've been to other countries except mainland china, you need to submit all the requirements.

[nutata]

Thank you. I've read in the previous pages of this thread and other threads that if we have traveled abroad we only need to submit our passport, 2x2 picture and application form? Is that correct? Or we need to submit everything talaga?

The main thing is, you need to have a sticker visa.  Kahit you've been to mainland China but with a stamped visa, you still have to give all requirements.  Same if it's your first time applying for a Chinese visa in the Philippines.  Yung sticker visa ang hinahanap nila.  I wrote about it here: 

http://nutatafish.blogspot.com/2010/09/chinese-visa-application.html

[roseydosey]

My mom already has the sticker visa, but she will be sponsoring our trip. Does she have to prepare all the documents pa like ITR, Bank cert, etc?