Everything You Need to Know on how to get a Chinese Tourist Visa:

Everything You Need to Know on how to get a Chinese Tourist Visa:

I am currently working as an online English teacher to Chinese students and visiting China  used to be my goal. I wanted to meet my students and friends and visit some tourist spots in China. I'd been there twice and I would like to share my experience on how to get a Chinese tourist visa. This, I hope will help travelers and my colleagues to process their application smoothly. 

The first time that I applied for a Chinese tourist visa was last October 2017. I applied personally. I am from Legazpi City, Albay, Bikol Region and traveling to Manila is quite expensive. At first I asked a friend to submit it on my behalf but I wasn't that meticulous about the details so the Consular rejected ( but not denied ) the submission of my application. Hence, I ended up traveling to Manila and applying it personally. 

This was my first Chinese Tourist visa. I was granted to stay for 14 days. First time applicants usually can stay at least 15 days.

The second time that I applied for a Chinese Tourist Visa was last December after I got denied of a South Korean visa. I was hesitating to apply since I previously got rejected. I have worries that it might affect my application. I applied with the help of the agency. The agent Ms. Camille Verde ( you can search her name on Facebook ) helped me process my application. Since it was my second time, I only submitted the form, photo and my passport. I waited anxiously for the result and fortunately I was approved ( 30 days). I opted to let the agency process my visa because the airplane ticket during that time was really expensive since it was the peak season. I was also busy working and I cannot afford to cancel my classes online.

For those who are planning to visit China,

Here are the Basic requirements:

1. Passport - must be valid for six months on the date of application
2. Visa Application Form -  fill it out completely and correctly. It should be computerized. Handwritten application form is not allowed
3. Photo- Two copies with white background. The size should be 48mm x 33mm
4. Photo copy of passport Bio-page and the back part of your passport.
5. Photo copy of previous Chinese visa , if your previous Chinese visa is in your old passport you must submit the photocopy together with the old passport.
6. Booked flight tickets

For first time applicants here are the additional requirements:

1. Bank certificate - must include the current balance, ADB , date of opening the account. Don't forget the original copy of the receipt. They need it.
2. Bank statement  for six months.  BPI can only release bank statement for two months so you may have to request it in advance and wait for 30 days. 
3. Certificate of Employment - must indicate the date of employment, annual/monthly salary, position, contact number of HR. Mobile number is not allowed.
4. ITR ( Income tax return) or  BIR form 2316
5. Invitation letter and a copy of ID/Passport .If you have a Chinese friend who can send you a letter of invitation , it'll increase your approval rate.

What should be the content of the invitation letter:

The letter of invitation  must be brief and precise. The personal information of the sender such as the ID/passport number, age, complete name, job position and company, company's address and the home address. If you will be staying with the Chinese friend , it should be the same address written on your application form.

The content of the letter must also have your personal information , complete name, address, date of your birth and passport number. The purpose of the invitation must be stated clearly and there should be an acknowledgement that the Chinese host will be responsible with the  accommodation, transportation and other things. ( If that is the case ) Otherwise you can exclude it from your letter, don't forget the target date of your stay.

How to submit your application:

1. You can submit it personally or ask a representative to do so.

2. The queue is long so you should be there earlier. Cut-off is at 11 am.

3. You can submit your application using a travel agency or someone on your behalf.

Tips on how to boost your chance of getting approved:

Applying for a Chinese visa based on my personal experience is smoother. During the submission of the application , if they are not satisfied with your requirements they will ask you some questions or reject your applications ( but not being denied with a visa) for you to polish everything on your end. 

My student's mother was my Chinese host so I included a screen shot of our  video class. In my case the mother of my student was the one who sent me an invitation and I asked her permission about those screen shots that I printed.

I have colleagues who were denied with a tourist visa but I advised them to re- apply after two or three days. Yes in Chinese Embassy you can reapply after getting rejected. Unlike in South Korea that you have to wait for six months to reapply. 

The first colleague applied personally for a visa but was denied .When she tried again with the help of an agency , she was approved!

The second  colleague applied with the help a travel agency but was denied. I told her to try again personally after a couple of days and she was approved!

The possible reason why they were denied:The passport has no  passport  travel stamped. Although there were first time travelers who were approved of a visa but this can be a possible reason. So if you are planning to visit a country that requires a visa, try traveling first to South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand etc. No letter of invitation. As I have mentioned before , although this is not a basic requirement but it can be a reason for your visa refusal specially when you are not financially stable.


The Chinese embassy requires a 6 month bank statement , so my advice is to save as early as possible. I know that some applicants borrowed money and deposit it temporarily however you should do it discreetly. It will look ambiguous if suddenly you have 50 thousand pesos deposited on your bank account.


If you have other source of income and you received payments through Paypal, I highly advise to submit a copy of the transaction. In my case I usually receive my salary every 5th and 20th of the month and it reflects on my bank statement as remittances. You have to build your financial status to show the consular that you are capable of traveling and that you have a steady income.


If you don't have an ITR ( in my case since I am working at home) I asked a public accountant to process it for me with a fee of 2000 Php. You can also write a letter of explanation why you don't have an ITR available. 



Difference between applying  with the help of agency and personally :

1. You don't need to book a flight ticket in advanced when you apply  with a travel agency. They have ways on how to get one. If you apply personally you must have the photocopy of the round trip ticket, hence if you get denied re-booking or cancelling the flight is costly.

2. You can submit a letter of invitation from a Chinese friend whether you are applying personally or with an agency however with the travel agency - they do insist that you should send a copy of the host's bank statement ( which can be inconvenient). I don't know the reason why some travel agency insist on getting the bank statement of the host, in fact it is not included in the requirements. A letter of invitation with a copy of the ID/passport is more than enough.

3. Of course you will have to pay the visa processing fee including with the visa fee when applying via travel agency. 

Number of Entries	Single	Double	6 months multiple	One year  Multiple
Philippine Passport	1400	2100	2800	4200

Regular processing time is 4 working days. You can pay the additional fee of 1100 per visa for express service( 3 working days),  1700 Rush service ( 2 working days). Express and rush service are not applicable to first time applicants. The fee will be collected during the released of the visa. Only cash payment is accepted.

Consular Office of the Embassy of the People's Republic of  China

2nd Floor, the World Center,

330 Sen. Gil J. Puyat

Makati City, Metro Manila

Visa Office Hours: 

09: 00 am to 11:00 am Monday to Friday

   

Korean Visa Application Denied!!!

Korean Visa Application Denied!!!

My Korean visa application was denied!!!! But the thing is I got two previous Korean visa prior to this rejection. It is everyone’s nightmare to get denied of a visa. For first timers who wants to apply for a Korean visa the pressure is intense unlike to those who were approved with Korean visa previously. I remember how I felt during the first time I applied. It was a nerve-wracking moment. I am working as an online English E-educator  or better known as  online ESL teacher. It is quite difficult for us home-based teachers to obtain documents such as COE and ITR. The first time I applied for a Korean visa was last November 2016.

Here are the requirements:

1. Application form – make sure that there are no erasure and put N/A if the information is unavailable.
2. 1 piece of Passport size colored picture.  Attach it on the application form first page. In my case I always make sure that I have a white background to look more professional and neat.
3. Original Passport ( should be valid for more than 6 months )
4. Photocopy of Passport Bio-page (page 2 )
5. Original & Photocopy of valid visa/s and arrival stamps to OECD member countries for the past 5 years. If you previously traveled to OECD member countries such as Japan and Australia  or visited South Korea twice, your application process will take 3 working days.
6. Original Certificate of Employment  – must include the applicant’s position, date hired, compensation or annual salary, office address, HR landline number and HR e-mail address. Cellphone numbers are not allowed. In my case since I work as a home-based teacher, the company I am affiliated do not produce a COE but a COT ( certificate of teaching) instead.
7. Original Personal Bank Certificate ( must include account type, current balance, account opening date, ADB) – Inform the bank that you are going to use it for a Korean visa.
8. Bank statement (original or certified copy of bank statements/passbook for the last 3 months)
9. ITR (Income Tax return) or  a copy of Form 2316 – It is difficult for home-based workers to get an ITR. There are applicants who applied without an ITR but they provided an explanation letter.
10.  Copy of PRC card or IBP Card ( if applicable only )

I submitted all the requirements except for number 10. Since I have a Korean friend , I submitted an invitation letter with a photocopy of his passport.  For my bank certificate I had one hundred thousand pesos. After submitting all the documents in the embassy I was asked to come back after seven working days.  I was granted a GRATIS visa ( 59 days) which is free.

I applied personally since it was my first time and after five working days. Here is the photo of my first Korean Visa.

I went there in the winter of 2016. I stayed there for a month.

Although I stayed for a month I felt like it wasn’t enough since I really love the place. So there I planned to come back in the fall of 2017.

This time , I asked a friend to submit my application on my behalf. I still waited for 5 working days and for the second time I was granted a Korean Visa. It was still overwhelming  but I wasn’t nervous like the first time I applied.

I stayed there for a month. After this trip I planned to come back again by the end of December 2017 to experience New year in South Korea so I supposed I can apply  a Korean visa again by November after my trip in China.

So now for the third time I prepared all the documents I needed to be able to get a Korean visa. Once again I asked a friend to submit the application. I was identified as a frequent traveler so the result will be released after three days. I was too confident I will be granted since it is my third time but to my dismay ….. 
I was denied.

I even thought that my friend was just doing a prank on me, but no it is really happening, I was really denied! What went wrong?  My heart was broken and honestly I cried a lot. If that was my first time applying I can grasp it easily. However it was the third time!

They gave a piece  of paper inserted and stapled at the back of my passport informing me that my application was denied. The reason was “YOU FAILED TO QUALIFY FOR THE VISA CATEGORY THAT  YOU HAVE APPLIED”

I have already booked the ticket and I even had my winter outfit ready but oh no things happen…

I sent an email to the Korean embassy and asked whether if I can have an appeal. They replied and told me that there is no way to appeal and I have to wait for six months. So yeah I gave up and accepted the fact that I was denied on my third attempt. I already threw the piece of paper that they stapled together with the passport but at the back of my passport they put a stamped. This stamped impacted my entry to Jeju Island ( you can read my next blog )

Now after what happen I began thinking what went wrong.  So the following are the comparison of my application for Korean Visa.

1st  Time 

1. The money on my bank certificate was 100 hundred thousand pesos.
2. I applied personally.
3. I put a specific address. The place that I really stayed in Incheon.
4. I applied with an invitation letter from a Korean friend.
5. I applied in November 2016
6. I indicated  on page 4 of the application form section 10 (FUNDING DETAILS) that my Korean friend will shoulder  the accommodation and transportation and I was the one who paid for my flight ticket.
7. Country that I visited prior to application. ( Malaysia 2015 and 2016 )
8. RESULT – APPROVED /GRANTED.

2nd Time

1. The money on my bank certificate was 50 thousand pesos.
2. I asked a friend to submit the application on my behalf.
3. I applied with an invitation letter from a Korean friend.
4. I put a specific address. The place that I really stayed in Daegu.
5. I applied in August 2017. Seven months after I traveled in South Korea.
6. I indicated  on page 4 of the application form section 10 (FUNDING DETAILS) that my Korean friend will shoulder  the accommodation and transportation and I was the one who paid for my flight ticket.
7. Countries that I visited prior to application. (S. Korea, Singapore,Taiwan, Malaysia 2x)
8. RESULT – APPROVED/GRANTED

3rd Time

1. The money on my bank certificate was 30 thousand pesos.
2. I asked a friend to submit the application on my behalf.
3. I applied without an invitation letter from a Korean friend.
4. I did not put a specific address, I just wrote AIR BNB accommodation.
5. I applied in November 2017. A month after I traveled in South Korea.
6. I indicated  on page 4 of the application form section 10 (FUNDING DETAILS) that I will be the one who will fund my travel this time.
7. Countries that I visited prior to application. ( China, S. Korea - 2x , Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia -2x )
8. RESULT – DENIED

Since they are not obliged to explain why they denied my Korean visa application so I came up with my own analysis. The reason indicated on the piece of paper was “YOU FAILED TO QUALIFY FOR THE VISA CATEGORY THAT  YOU HAVE APPLIED” So I deciphered every details.What went wrong?

1.  I don’t have an invitation letter from a Korean although nobody can claimed whether this option can impact your application well in my case it did. Why?
2. My money was only 30 thousand pesos hence, it is not enough to cover my trip and no one can help me with my finances in South Korea.In the funding details I wrote down that it will be me who will finance everything. So I assumed that it impacted my application.I just traveled from China when I applied for the third time. I was thinking it doesn’t make sense if I have more than 50 thousand on my bank account  so I was honest enough to submit a bank certificate with 30 thousand pesos.
3.  Although they said that it is fine that you don’t have a hotel or a guest house reservation yet, but the fact that it was there in the application form ( asking the place you will stay ) it makes sense and it matters. So on my third application where I wrote only AIRBNB  it really mattered.
4.  I applied too soon. I just visited South Korea in September 2017 and I want to go back in December 2017, there might be a suspicion why I want to keep coming back.

The reason why I kept coming back to South Korea because I wanted to experience the four seasons. I also  want  to grab the opportunity to get a multiple visa ( if you visited South Korea four times within two years ). I intentionally applied without an invitation because I wanted to be independent.  I have more or less two months to apply for a Korean visa again and I am looking forward to it.

Now I learned my lesson. I overlooked some information and details that can hinder my application. I was clumsy and too confident so I forgot to carefully check the requirements and the procedure.  I cannot guarantee that your application for Korean Visa will be accepted but my advice is to be EXTRA careful with the requirements. Don’t miss out small details. Like what other people say nobody can guarantee your approval. It is the consular’s decision and they will decide based on the requirements and your purposed of visit.