After submitting the application two months ago, I only received my Chinese tourist visa at the last minute.

Tourists check in at Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang Ancient Town. Photo: Duy Hieu .

Two days before her trip to China, Ngoc Huyen (30 years old, Hanoi) finally received notification that her visa had been approved, after nearly two months of waiting despite having visited the country many times before.

"It was my own overconfidence that put me in a passive position," she told Tri Thức - Znews.

Huyen had thought that the visa application process would be as straightforward as before, taking only about 7-10 days, but unexpectedly, this time it took unusually long.

Last minute

Huyen and her group of three planned their trip to China starting in June, intending to experience the December snow season in Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing. Confident that the procedures would be quick, they only submitted their applications at the end of October through a full-service company, costing 2.5 million VND per person.

Initially, the service provider said the results would be available in about a week. However, it took almost two months for the entire group to receive their visas.

In the first round of applications, two people were approved, but Huyen was rejected despite having entered China many times for business and tourism. Without receiving any explanation, she had to resubmit her application online and continue waiting until the day before her flight.

"If we hadn't received the visa on time, we would have considered postponing our flights, canceling hotel reservations and sightseeing tickets, as everything had been booked well in advance," Huyen said. Although she eventually received the result, she said this was a "nail-biting" visa application experience right up to the last minute.

Vietnamese tourists exploring Fenghuang Ancient Town in May 2023. Photo: Duy Hieu.

Similarly, Nguyen Thuy Trang, 31, also recently experienced the most challenging self-application for a Chinese visa. Like Ngoc Huyen, she had previously applied for a full-service visa application. However, unexpectedly, her application was rejected.

Trang withdrew her application, researched and learned how to apply for a visa on her own. She filled out the online application on November 24th on the "Chinese Visa Application Service Center" website following the detailed instructions. The application process was lengthy and required absolute accuracy, especially regarding personal information and hotel details.

On November 30th, she received an email requesting that her passport photo be corrected because it was "not straight." After correction, the system recorded the application submission date as December 1st.

Having already booked a flight to Harbin on December 19th, Trang sent an email explaining her situation and requesting prompt review on the afternoon of December 3rd. That same afternoon, the female traveler received a notification that her online review was "completed."

On the morning of December 4th, she brought her original documents to the visa application center and was scheduled to receive the results on December 9th.

"The process took 16 days, saving me a few hundred thousand dong compared to using a service, but it was much more strenuous," Trang said.

Vietnamese tourists riding camels in the Wangyin Desert (Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China), 2024. Photo: Quynh Trang.

I submitted my application 12 times and still got rejected.

According to Nguyen Linh, a professional Chinese visa service provider in Hanoi , the overwhelming number of visa applications in Hanoi has led to stricter processing times.

Even those who register for "VIP" services (accepting the exorbitant extra cost) or "expedited" services are not guaranteed to receive their visas on time. Many applications reach the processing date but are not granted, causing many people to miss their travel plans, flights, and hotel bookings.

In some cases, applicants submit online applications 10-12 times in a row and are still rejected without explanation. Many families apply at the same time, but "the children are approved while the parents are rejected," or groups of friends travel together, but one person is denied a visa without a clear reason.

Even those who have traveled extensively may still be rejected, while those with a "blank record" (never having left the country) may get approved on their first try.

Linh said the reason was not explained by the authorities, and even those working in the field couldn't predict which applications would be approved.

For service providers, this is a stressful period as clients constantly urge them to expedite the process, while the number of applications approved on time is "countable on the fingers of one hand".

Fenghuang Ancient Town used to be a top tourist destination for Vietnamese visitors in China. Photo: Duy Hieu.

From a business perspective, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Hong, CEO of Bingo Travel, a company specializing in processing visas for Japan, South Korea, China, Europe, Australia, and the United States, stated that the end of the year is one of the peak seasons for tourism in China.

Cheap airfares and numerous promotions have reduced the cost of some round-trip flights to just 5-6 million VND, with round-trip tickets to Guangzhou even reaching 3.15 million VND at times. In addition, China is entering its autumn foliage season and preparing for its popular ski season.

She said the number of clients applying for Chinese visas at her company has increased by 30-40% compared to the same period last year. However, the biggest challenge comes from the changes in the application process effective July 1st.

Instead of submitting paper documents directly as before, all applications must be submitted online to the Embassy's system for pre-approval. Only after acceptance on the system can applicants bring the original documents to the Visa Application Center.

Online visa approval typically takes 5-7 days, followed by an additional 4 days for processing original documents. Therefore, under favorable circumstances, applicants may need to wait 8-10 days for their visa.

Vietnamese tourists choose dishes at a traditional eatery near Fenghuang Ancient Town in May 2023. Photo: Phuong Lam.

However, for more than a month now, there has been a continuous stream of online visa rejections for unknown reasons. Ms. Hong believes that the "passing and failing" process is purely "luck" and difficult to explain. This situation mainly occurs in Hanoi, while the visa application review process in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang remains normal.

Not only regular applications, but also urgent applications are facing the same situation. The CEO of Bingo Travel stated that the urgent service requires a high fee, but the processing time is still 5-6 days as usual and there is no guarantee of visa approval.

There have been cases where customers registered for VIP services but still had to wait for a whole month. As a result, many people became discouraged, gave up, or had to cancel their trip when the whole family had received visas but one member was rejected.

According to Ms. Hong, the only way to reduce risk at this time is to apply for a visa as early as possible. Chinese tourist visas are valid for three months, so travelers only need to have a preliminary plan to apply in advance.

"Don't wait until the last minute or only 10-15 days before your flight to apply for a visa. This period is very unpredictable, so applying early will save you money and avoid risks," she said.

Source: https://znews.vn/nop-ho-so-2-thang-phut-chot-moi-dau-visa-du-lich-trung-quoc-post1610541.html