Simple how-to for US-based travelers

As you may have read in my post about Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards points being the stem cells of rewards points from various rewards credit cards, I needed to get a visa for Shanghai on short notice. Seems like visa on arrival is much easier for everyone involved, but you gotta do what you gotta do… All that aside, here’s how to get your visa for China, quickly.

1. Make sure you meet the following requirements:

1. You have at least two empty pages in you passport. If you don’t you’ll have to have new pages added, and you might want to consider asking for a passport with 48 pages the next time you renew. Note that added pages are not valid for some visas (namely India).
2. Your passport is valid for more than 6 months from now. If it’s not, you can get an expedited renewal at a local passport office.
3. You’ve got $140 (the fee for a tourist visa, single or multiple entry) and at least 4 business days to wait for your passport to be returned to you (5 if you use an expediter, to allow for transit to your regional consulate).

2. Determine whether or not you have a local consulate

If you live in or near New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Houston then you may want to skip to step 3; all you need to do is complete the form, get your passport photos, and bring your documents to your consulate. See locations and jurisdictions here.

If you don’t live within driving distance of one of those consulates, or prefer not to take the time out of your day, then I would recommend using an expediter. I selected A Briggs and had an excellent experience with them from start to finish.

3. Fill out the China Visa Application form

Here is a link to the Chinese Visa Application form, or you can use the handy form wizard on the A Briggs site (that’s what I did). Make sure your names and information match exactly, and that you sign it in blue ink (weird quirk, I know).

4. Get your passport photos

Seems like this can be done almost anywhere these days. Just make sure they’re the required 2×2 size, and include two of them with your application and passport. If you use a remote expediter like A Briggs, then you can kill two birds with one stone by getting your photos at FedEx, then shipping your application, passport, and photos via priority overnight.

5. Ship or hand deliver your documents

At this point it’s a waiting game. The official turnaround is 4 business days from the day your application is in the hands of the the Chinese consulate. For what it’s worth, I applied for a 6 month single-entry visa and got back a 1 year multiple-entry visa within 3 business days going through A Briggs and the San Francisco consulate — your mileage may vary.

When all is said and done it’s not a particularly brutal process, but it can be nerve-wracking if you’re a last-minute traveler like me. Fortunately I had just enough time to get everything done!

My Chinese Visa – multiple entry (M) valid for one year, sweet!.