Shenzhen Visa Tips,Shenzhen Travel Visa Tips,Shenzhen Visas

Ports and Customs

Regarded as the most important port city in China, Shenzhen first set up a customs house by the Shenzhen River in 1900. It now boasts the latest number of border checkpoint sand the heaviest exit-entry flow of people and vehicles in the country．In 2001，shenzhen ports handled a total of 117 million passengers and 11.37 million vehicles，making it the busiest border crossing in China．Imports and exports amounted to 58.1 million tons and total container throughput was 5.07 minion TEUs, second only to shanghai. Shenzhen serves as a major gateway to world markets. Eighty percent of the container traffic between Shenzhen and Hong Kong provide services business in the Pearl River Delta and hinterland provinces, while 60 percent of the cargo crossing the border inward and outward through 10 Shenzhen is from the rest of the country.

Shenzhen is the only city on the Chinese mainland that has air，sea and land ports.

The city now has 12 first category ports，including four land ports. These include Luohu，Wenjindu, Huanggang and shatoujiao．The seaports are at Shekou，Chiwan, Dongjiaotou，Meisha，Yantian and Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant Accommodation Port．Air transport through Baoan international Airport.

24-hour border crossing between Huanggang and Lok Ma Chau checkpoints was timed to start Jan. 27,
2003, shortly before the Chinese Spring Festival.

Transit without visa policy

Non-Hongkong citizens from about 100 countries transiting Hongkong to Shenzhen for travelling purpose can transit without visa and stay up to 114 hours in Shenzhen.

Emergency Number: (86-755) 110

Consultation and Suit Numbers: (86-20) 83119147, (86-20) 83111000 (Office Hour: 8:30-12:00am, 14:00-17:30pm)

Hotline of Exit and Entry Service: 96897 (Direct Line in Guangdong Province, P. R. China)

Consultation and Suit Numbers in Shenzhen: (86-755) 96897, (86-755) 95000100 (Automation)

Consultation Number of Express Mail Service: (86-20) 11185 (Guangzhou), (86-755) 11185 (Shenzhen)

Visa tips

Once you’ve decided on the time for your trip to Shenzhen, you’d better submit the visa application to the Chinese embassy or consulate in your own country. All the Chinese embassies in the foreign countries will, according to the principle of “warm service, strict control, simple formalities and soon issue”, properly handle your visa application within the specified working days. For more specific measures, please read the updated information of this column.

You may come to watch the Universiade Games or travel across China. In either case, you shall apply for the tourist visa. The visa applications may be submitted by the applicants themselves or handled by their consignees according to the principle of voluntary will. However, there’s an exception to the situations in which the applicants shall be present according to the related regulations or the visa officers demand the personal interviews. The applicants have the obligations to respond to the enquiries from the visa officers.

Necessary materials to apply for Chinese visa:

(1) A passport which has a valid period of no less than six months following the date of submission, and the blank visa page;

(2) One Visa Application Form of the People’s Republic of China, which is filled clearly with true, authentic and complete information and signed by the applicant;

(3) One recent, full-faced and bareheaded passport photo (the daily life photo, photo copy or digital photo printed on the ordinary paper shall not be accepted);

(4) Other related application materials according to different purposes for your trip to China;

(5) Other materials related to the visa application, deemed as necessary by the visa officer;

(6) Collecting the visa, the applicant shall pay the visa fee and the special rush or rush service charges (if chosen).

In most cases, a visa should be obtained from a Chinese embassy or consulate before arriving anywhere in China, see the China page for more information.

Certain nationalities visiting from Hong Kong can obtain a single-entry five-day Special Economic Zone Tourism Visa on arrival for ¥160-1,000. The office is at Lo Wu (Luohu) upstairs after clearing Hong Kong immigration and customs, and currently only accepts RMB as payment, so be sure to obtain sufficient cash in advance. It can be reached at +86 755 8232 7700. The visas are reported to be available for Canadian, New Zealand, and British passport holders. Note that the charge for UK passports is way higher at currently ¥469 for the 5-day Shenzhen visa). US passport holders will not get any visa and may get fined for arriving there without a valid visa! 5 day Visas can be issued on arrival at Huanggang and Shekou ferry port border offices. There is no visa-on-arrival office at Lok Ma Chau (Futian)

Beside the 5-day SEZ visa you can also get a full China visa (single and double entry only) at the Luohu border. Again, UK passport holders pay more, US passport holders are not served there.

Note that the visa office has different opening times from the border and you may have to wait if you arrive very early, late, or during their lunch break.

Getting a tourist visa in Hong Kong now takes 3-4 days and costs HK$150-1100. A list of costs is available. The old approach of arriving in Hong Kong and immediately applying for a visa is no longer worth the cost as you may be forced to pay expensive hotel bills in Hong Kong until your visa is granted. Macau’s visa office is less crowded and the hotels a bit cheaper, but it takes just as long. In general, only single and double entry visas are granted to visitors without HKID cards, although foreigners with previous entries into the mainland or Hong Kong student and work visas have been known to be approved for multiple entries.

You can get a taxi van that will take you from HK Airport to Huanggang border crossing, through customs and immigration, for HK$150. Well worth it if you have a valid visa. The drivers and or desk staff will speak good English.

Administration of the Exit and Entry of Foreigners

Shenzhen has introduced the sticker visa practice and green card system into its administration of the exit and entry of foreigners. Foreigners to visit Shenzhen can obtain relevant information through the following channels:

1.Log onto the Web site of the Division of Exit-entry Administration of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau: http://www.sz3e.com.

2.Call the information hotline: (86-755) 95001000

3.Go to the Division of Exit-entry Administration of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau for information (4018 Jiefang Road, Shenzhen).

23 Mar. 2010

It is best to get a Visa while in Hong Kong. You can pick up the issued visa after three to five days. However, you can pay for an express service which will have your visa ready the following day around 5pm. The visa is good for 30days and with one entry. The cost is 1,400RMB per visa from India Passports (but can’t know what the price will be in 2011) The 5 day visa issued at Luo Hu directly is not for Indian Passport holders.

It is very easy to get a China tourist visa or China business visa in Hong Kong. I will tell you exactly how to do so in this short guide.

How to Get a China Visa in Hong Kong

For a China Business Visa – Prepare at least two business cards, a visa photograph, and your passport. The business cards should have your name, the name of the business or company you are a part of, an address, phone number, fax number, and email that are all based in a country other than China. Do not try to apply for a China business visa with a business address in China!
For a Tourist Visa – Prepare a visa photograph and your passport.
Go to Tsim Tsa Shui in Downtown Hong Kong – Scout and/or ask around until you find a somewhat legitimate looking tourist/visa office. To get your passport and visa back the same afternoon, you should arrive before 8:30 AM or so. To get it back the same day, anytime before 11:00 AM should be fine. If you turn in your passport later than this, you will probably have to wait until the next day to get your passport back.
Update: China Travel Services – If you’re running late (won’t make it downtown until after 11:00), go straight to the China travel services (中国旅行社) main office at the entrance to Wan Chai station on Hong Kong island. I got a visa application in at 12:00 there once.

That’s it! It’s very easy to get a visa for China in Hong Kong.

Info on China Business Visas from Hong Kong

This information may be outdated by the time you read it, but a business visa from Hong Kong obtained in the manner proscribed above will take one of two forms. The first two times you get a business visa for mainland China in this manner, it will be a two-entry visa with each entry limited to 30 days. This visa should cost about HK$1350.

After you have used up two of this kind of visa (the third time you go for a business visa to mainland China), you can get a six-month, unlimited entry visa for HK$1600 or so. As an American, my visa has a restriction of 30 days for each ‘visit’ to mainland China (although I live here on a pretty much full time basis). People from other countries seem to get a China visa with no time restrictions besides the full six months of the visa.

Also note that if you get a different type of China visa at any time, you must start this process over again (first getting two two-month visas before you can get a six-month business visa).

Hope this helps someone out there get a business visa to China! People who are not part of a legitimate business have been known to get visas in this way, although I am not recommending this!

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Filed under: Shenzhen

80 Responses to “Shenzhen Visa Tips,Shenzhen Travel Visa Tips,Shenzhen Visas”

Anne

My family and I are planning to travel to HONGKONG early this year. Among our itinerary is a sidetrip to Shenzhen for a day tour. We are planning to visit Shenszen’s Window of the World, and Happy Valley, and if time permits, do some shopping in the MIXc.

I am wondering if we need a Visa for this Shenzhen visit and will we have enough time to do these trips in a day? What time should we start travelling to Shenzhen.

BY the way, I am from the Philippines and I will be travelling with 3 other families. travellers will be between 10 – 15 persons including children.

Thanks, more power….

Anne

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