*Edited March 14 2016 with hat tip to Mike Mason
The Chinese Visa Application Service Center has moved, as of Sept 2015. The new address is now 5th loor,1550 Thanapoom Tower, New Petchburi Road, Makkasan, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, Thailand, 10400. Visa / Passport photos are available on the 2nd floor, as are computers for printing out forms or documents. It is located at the Petchburi station on the Metro.
Applying for a Chinese Visa in Asia and especially in Bangkok as a foreigner can be troublesome. After a quick search through related forums can even increase the level of headache as everyone seems to give different advice. It doesn’t help much that some of the information is dated back couple of years.
There seems to be a discrepancy regarding what documents are required for Chinese Visa application. Looking at the information on Chinese Embassy Bangkok website it seems like an easy process, but reading comments online makes the whole thing quite a lot messier. Calling the Chinese embassy service isn’t much use either. I tried 3 times: morning, after lunch and before office closing without any luck. The last frontier seemed to be just to go on-site and see how it all goes.
We arrived after 9am Monday morning at the Chinese embassy gates in Ratchada Soi 3, nearby where I used to live years ago. The Visa section is located in the building on the left hand side opposite to the embassy gates. They had a handheld metal detector device and a metal detector gate, which both beeped literally for everybody, when walked through, but along everyone else we were told to just go ahead. The meaning of the whole thing remained a mystery along with a number of similar encounters in the past. I guess they just support employing locals. Go figure.
Inside the Visa section we were given application forms. The four pages long document was quite standard to any visa application, but went into details perhaps more than other countries visa application forms. They have a photo service inside, which seemed to be fairly priced. Printing service was 20 Baht per page and copy service 3 Baht per page.
On the website it states that to apply Chinese Visa the following documents are needed:
- Passport & copy of Passport data page
- 1 x colored passport photo
- Application form
- Copies of previously issued Chinese Visas
Then for different Visa classes additional documents are needed (listed here: http://www.chinaembassy.or.th/eng/zgqz/sqzn).
For business visa the only mentioned document is an invitation letter from the inviting company in China.
At the visa section they however have slightly different information. They have a big sign on the entrance stating in English that the basic requirements are:
- Airplane ticket
- Hotel reservation
And below that it says: please arrange the following documents:
- Form A and B (there is only one form, so don’t worry)
- Photocopy of passport data page, Thai visa, last Chinese Visa (if you have it, if not don’t worry)
- Letter of Employment (seems strange for foreigners, but apparently it’s needed)
- Invitation letter (for business visa – on the website it says it is needed for other visas as well)
- Bank statement
So, we prepared all the documents above and printed it out. Our queue number was 165 and we had a hefty 100 people in front of us. Luckily I asked from the security guy where the toilet was and he was kind enough to hand us the queue number 141 when I came back.
At the counter it finally was revealed what documents were needed for Chinese Business Visa (at least this is what they took from the whole pile of documents we had printed out):
- Passport copy of the data page and re-entry stamp page (might be a good idea to prepare the visa page and entry stamp & T.M6 departure card, although they didn’t require it this time)
- Copy of work permit in Thailand (only if you are on a business visa in Thailand)
- Application form & 1 x colored passport photo glued to it
- Original invitation letter (we just color printed it)
- Letter of Employment (and company certificate, which we had printed out just in case)
The rest including hotel reservation and flight confirmation was not needed. Also they didn’t ask any bank statements. Also the express service was not available, so the process took four days. The price for single entry visa for non-US citizens is 1200 Baht and US citizens 4560 Baht (apparently the US charges more for Chinese than others to enter as well, so fair play, I guess).
When you pick up the visa there are two queues: one to pay the fee and another to collect. Pay the fee first and then collect. Pickup time is 9:00am, but the queue was cleared out around 10-10:30am, in case you feel that waiting in the queue isn’t your time well spent.
For tourist visa document requirement, I would follow what they stated in the photo below (taken October 2014).
hi!
thank you for information, but i did not understand if you went for a business visa or a tourist visa, because you say follow what thay ask in the picture but you were not required for tickets and reservations.
it’s really hard for me to understand if it’s possible to get a chinese visa in bankgkok without reservations and flight back.
blogs like this deserve an award!
Hi, thanks for the comment! We went for a business trip and therefore did not need flight or hotel reservation. The key for us was the invitation letter from a local company. For a tourist visa you need to show flight and hotel reservation. It’s just a reservation, so if you’re in doubt just make bookings that have free cancellation terms. I think the mood at the embassy overall was that everyone was getting their visas, so if you got everything in order, you’ll get it. They usually check that you have all The needed documents before they take application in. Good luck!
The Chinese Visa Application Service Center has moved, as of Sept 2015. The new address is now 5th loor,1550 Thanapoom Tower, New Petchburi Road, Makkasan, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, Thailand, 10400. Visa / Passport photos are available on the 2nd floor, as are computers for printing out forms or documents. It is located at the Petchburi station on the Metro. The staff was great, helping, and friendly,
I am going to visit China for a week in December but not sure how to apply for Chinese visa, your information help make it easy for me.
Thank you very much!
Miki A.
Hi there. For the payment method, you only pay after you get (or not get) the visa by cash? I am confused. Other sites say payment must be via credit card.
Thank you.
Michelle
Hey Eetu,
Thanks for the detailed info.
I am required to travel on business to China. Its only been some 5 months that I am in Thailand and I have my workpermit and can obtain all paper work (employment letter, Invitation letter) etc.
However the embassy now informs that a foreign national (not thai) needs to be in thailand atleast 6 months before appying from their Bangkok Embassy. Furthermore If the application at their bangkok office is for the first time, then the foreign national needs to get a Govt letter from China for the invitation.
This is a catch 22: it means I can never travel to china is it? for I cannot get the visa from the embassy in my home country, as they ask for employment letter and will reject my application saying that my employer is not in the country where I apply!
o you have any idea about this starnge rule??
Hi Travellor,
First of all, apologies for my late response. I have not heard of such conditions. It sounds very strange, as it means basically that they are not accepting any new applicants, who have not lived in Thailand less than 6 months. It sounds ridiculous that they would require a letter from their Government, as they are representing the Government in a foreign country… Has anyone else had a similar experience?
I’m sure this comes late to you, but one way around this is of course traveling to Hong Kong and applying the Visa there.
I have had very positive experience with the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok. Unsure mixed feelings while applying, but successful every time.
Eetu
My situation.
I am traveling on an Australian passport.
I have an invite to go to China.
I am in Thailand on a single entry, 60 day, tourist visa.
Does anyone know if I can get a Chinese Tourist Visa from the Bangkok Embassy. Or do I have to return to Australia!
I would plan to present Air tickets proving onward travel. While I would intend to return to Thailand (and get a new Visa while in China), would I be better off showing that I will return to Australia rather than Thailand on the tickets.
Your thoughts will be helpful.
Nick
Hey! Thanks again for the great info :).
I have a little situation.
I arrived in Bangkok with a single entry (60 day+30 days British passport) tourist visa (April 2016). And I’m planning to head to Shanghai for a week in June. Before then ( maybe end of May) I will go to Laos to apply for another 60 days.
Will I be able to apply for a Chinese tourist visa in Bangkok,even though I’m not a citizen of Thailand but a citizen of the U.K with a tourist visa.
Thanks again for the help :)
Kevin.
I am literally in the exact same situation so, how did you get on and have you any advice? Whole thing seems really daunting. Cheers
You’ve just given me the info I was searching for.
Hello
now days m in Bangkok but my company in hongkong i want to apply shanghai visa nov will be start shanghai world expo exhibition , we have booth over there i want to apply for business visa ,
which Document you have to need
I just got a single entry business visa last week and was given answers to several questions by the Chinese guy behind the window:
1) For a single entry business visa, you need a letter of invitation from the company who invited you
2) For a multiple entry visa, you need a letter endorsed by a government dept.
This seems to be a waste of time as I was told that the Chinese Embassy in
Thailand are not permitted to issue visas for more than 2 entries.
I have had four previous 1year multiple entry visas issued in France but I now
live in Thailand. Even though I’m getting an invitation letter from the Chinese Government for 1 Year multiple entries, they say they will only give me a visa for 2 entries. That means that I will need to apply 4 times to do the job the Chinese want me to do – it is quite ridiculous.
3) I looked at applying in Singapore but was told that temporary visitors must apply in their country of residence.
ANY ONE TO INFORM ME IF POSSIBLE TO GET AN (L) TYPE TOURIST VISA TO CHINA ?AND IF POSSIBLE TO ISSUE MULTI ENTRY VISA FOR A WHOLE YEAR ?
I AM GREEK AND HOLDER OF AN OFFICIAL GREEK PASSPORT
THANKS YOU IN ADVANCE
JERASIMOS
Hai,
in december I will be going to Bangkok. TO arange a S2 visa. What papers do I need?