Traveling to China - Which Visa?

I would avoid the J visa unless you need it to get into some kind of officially restricted area, or to work officially as a journalist. otherwise, you’re just going to get a shorter period of stay, and lot of hassle at the consulate.

I concur Teru, I heard to get a multi entry 1 year tourist visa in the US is a piece of cake, where as a J visa will be a lot of jumping through hoops.

im interested in this issue as well

on the L visa application, what do you put for occupation? do you put “photojournalist” or “photographer” or something else? in other words, does putting “photojournalist” make the visa application more arduous?

best

kenneth

definately DO NOT put photographer, or photojournalist. even “artist” is likely to be a problem.
Carpenter, english teacher, computer programmer, bicycle mechanic, etc are all good career choices. This goes for countries like china, india, and similarly uptight bureaucratic regimes. another issue is if your passport is clean — Does it already have other J visas in it, or visas for suspicious countries like iraq, afghanistan, etc? I carry two passports — one with J visas, one with tourist visas.

thanks teru

good info

best

kenneth

Thanks guys, glad to have the info.

Stephen

Try to avoid lying on the apps though…. in worst case scenarios it will come back to haunt you.

Nelson does have a point there a South Korean photojournalist, friend of mine was arrested and spent a year in jail while documenting North Korean refugee’s in China. He was caught along with the refugee’s, accused of being a broker, when he said he was a journalist they asked why he didn’t have a journalists visa, blah,blah, blah.
However South Koreans, journalists or not don’t carry much wait in China. Americans, Canadians, Europeans on the other hand can generally get away with a lot more.

I am curious -

Teru, you mentioned you have two passportsone with J visas, one with tourist visas.
Can you legally have two US Passports? Do you ever have to carry both at the same time?

Thanks for the info,
Logan MB

for my last trip to china i said i was a visual consultant thereby explaining if asked- computers and gear. if you are not doing politically sensitive work- a j visa is not always needed. in the end it would have to be your call.

as for passports- u.s. journalists are allowed to have 2 passports because of the necessity of getting 2 visas at the same time and having visas from countries at war in the same passport is dangerous. you can find this information at the passport web site.

best,

ron haviv

When applying for a visa to China the best possible one to have is an “F” visa for business or research. I have heard from folks in the Shanghai expat community that they are quite easy to get through HK and they provide the least amount of official hassle while in country, though I haven’t yet tried the HK way myself. The F visa represents $$$ and foreign investment to local authorities, which are most likely going to give you problems. Here’s some more info on getting the visa: http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/Article106.phtml

I am a Chinese photojournalist. If you need more suggestions please let me know. Generally speaking, I agree with Ron that if you are not photographing extremely sensitive issues and in officially restricted areas, then J visa is not necessary. And even if you got J visa for sensitive issues, it does not really help that much.

a few months ago when i was in china, i bought a visa from kathmandu and they officially wrote that they would issue any visa’s to journalist, media people etc.

all the best rich

In August I got into China through Hong Kong. Seems like everywhere you turn there is a licensed visa agent. All you need to do is pay the money in the morning and you’ll have a visa that night. Following advice elsewhere on lightstalkers, I used Forever Bright Trading Limited and got a 3 month tourist visa; no problems at the agency, no problems at the border; anytime they asked for occupation I said “consultant” “graphic designer” or “small business owner.” The only times my bags have been xrayed or inspected was at the front door of train stations or going through security at an airport, and nobody batted an eye at the equipment. Knowing your work, Steven, you’ll probably have some lights which is more than I travel with, so you’ll likely have a different experience.

One thing to worry about with a tourist visa, however, is that you’ll probably need to leave the country after 30 days and re-enter if you have a visa good for longer than a month. I’ve heard it’s possible to get visa extensions, but I don’t know if that is for the 30-day limit or the entire length of the visa.

I would avoid the J visa if possible, you may be restricted in travel, or have other issues. Also visa controls are getting stricter in China with the upcoming olympics, especially if you are an american passport holder. How long will you come for? if under 30 days then a Tourist L visa should be fine, but an extension is possible once you are in.

sorry i meant would not issue any visa to journalist, photographers or media people.

all the best rich

I currently work in China as a photographer with a work permit but used to have an ‘F’ visa, which is in effect a business visa, and that has worked pretty well. If coming from the US, it’s rather easy to get a 1 year multiple entry visa which allows you to stay a maximum of 60 days per entry. Hong Kong is also a good place to get an ‘F’ visa and the ‘worse case’ scenario is a tourist ‘L’ visa. AVOID the ‘J’ visa at all cost despite the Chinese government proclaiming a relaxation on control of foreign journalists. Tibet, for example, is one place where the government is very wary of the presence of journalists. Nick is right about tighter controls with the upcoming Games. Police has been known to question foreigners in residential areas and demand to see identification papers, etc. Good luck!

I agree with Ron. “Consultant” is the all time thing for anything official in non-democratic states. It can mean anything an so you are not lying.

I recently got a tourist visa for China at the Embassy in DC. When I told them I was a photographer (I did not say photojournalist), they made me write a statement on a piece of paper saying that I would not work while in China. I wrote that I would not work but that I would take pictures for myself.

totally agree with katharina – only get a J if you need it. i go to china as a construction worker and always with a tourist visa. if you get a tourist visa now (got one in nyc recently) it’s $100 for one year with multiples entries. which means you can come/go as much as you like and i believe max stay at one time is 2 months…

Get a tourist visa. I’ve been two times and spent a few months traveling through Guizhou province with an M7, 5D, laptop, 200 rolls of 220 film, lightmeter, wires etc. No hassels and btw, film will be hand checked if you ask.
If you like, please feel free to ask more about shooting and what to be aware of.

Hey John, I’d be interested to hear about that “what to be aware of” you just mentioned.

I have travelled to China twice with a large amount of camera gear and both times on a L-Visa. I seem to attract more curiosity than anything else such as why I’d want a Maglite [torch] hanging from my belt! Never had any problems travelling around, photographing almost anything and everything. Visa restrictions are very tight this year ²⁰⁰⁸ though having a Chinese wife and being able to provide a suitable reason of visiting relatives did help acquiring the visa this time round. Contrary to the earlier advice, I hve always put down ‘photographer’ on the Visa application, though this time I did put self-employed, rather than freelance, and added wedding/commercial. One will have to wait and see if there are any differences to the behaviour of customs and officials when I arrive in July. Of course anyone wanting to cover official events and hard news such as the Sichuan earthquake would find that without a J-Visa photography would be highly restricted, if not impossible. Even accredited journalists and crews in Sichuan found problems with authorities. Additionally, obtaining a J-Visa is probably impossible as a freelance. One would probably need to prove employment with an organisation or paper. Though if anyone has acquired a J-Visa as a freelance I’d be very interested.

DO NOT get a “J” stamp in your passport if at all possible. This will only open up a can of worms that you don’t want now and in the future when you go to apply for another visa. If you do need a “J” visa then I would concur with others and suggest you get a second passport. But even with that they will know who you are, trust me. I find I can do just about everything needed with a mulit-entry tourist visa. Unless you are going to photograph heads of state, military operations or other sensitive issues you wont need it and trust me you wont want it. “J” in your passport only makes you a marked man and you’ll be watched for sure. Also, just a heads up, you should double check with your travel agent regarding visas until after the olympics. From what I have heard China has stopped giving out multi-entry tourist and business visas until after September when the olympics are done. You’ll most likely be able to get a single entry tourist visa and that will be good for 30 days only. I have also heard that with your application you will need to provide round trip ticket information along with proof of hotel reservations…this is something I have never had to do in the past, and would be interested to hear if this is true. Good luck!

Applying right now, and yes, it’s true, you either need to give them a copy of your ticket or the confirmation of the travel agency if you go through one. Also you need to fill out the exact travel itinerary on the application form. But for what I know/read, written on the papers, a single entry tourist visa is valabel for 3 months.

Make sure you read the fine print on that time frame. The visa might be good for 90 days and must be used within that 90 day period but once you get into China you are only allowed to stay for 30. Let us know if that is any different. Cheers, DPM

No fine print, I’ll ask at the embassy, thanks for the heads up (in my case it doesn’t really matter as I’ll stay a shorter time), but perhaps it’s something others haven’t been aware of.

David, you were right. No fine print, but very clearly stated in the visa, which we got in less than one week: one entry, and valid for 30 days after the entry.

Can anyone help. I am just beginning the process of attempting to move to Beijing and work as a photojournalist there. My boyfriend was offered a position and a two year work visa for a Landscape Architecture firm in Beijing, however his visa does not include me. I am attempting to find a way to get myself there, stay, and also find work. I am not sure how to find someone to sponsor a visa for me or where I might find work opportunities all together. II am also concerned with details such as health insurance and the basics that go along with a move of this type. If anyone has any suggestions, I would be forever grateful.

I lived there four years ago and at the time it was very easy to go in on a tourist visa and then buy a multi-entry business visa via a shady ad in the back of an expat magazine. I have heard that those grey market visas are much harder to get now, so prob best to hold out for more recent information. That was my experience though… good luck.