I could still remember the day when I was flabbergasted knowing I’d be flying high to Shanghai for the first time ever. It was a fine day when a bunch of members of the media in various platforms were all gathered in a prominent Chinese Restaurant in the metro for the launching of Cebu Pacific Air‘s newest international route from Cebu. The mood was generally neutral, unsure of what lay ahead of us. As part of the Chinese tradition, the service personnel roamed around to distribute some fortune cookies to each and everyone sitting around a round table with delectable Chinese cuisines. We knew then that good luck would be on anybody’s favor that day.
We were told to crack open the fortune cookies and almost everybody reacted as the host counted in mandarin “yī , èr , sān“. I opened the crunchy, folded treats with my bare shaky hands and read the note as follows “Ni Hao Shanghai! See you on April 15! #CEBfliesShanghai“. The crowd solidarily uproared in delight. Yes, we were all going to Shanghai, China! For a moment there, excitement filled the air! When everything sank in, the cheerful aura was immediately replaced by curiosity, “Do we need a visa when traveling to China?” We’re totally in for a big surprise!
To answer our own query, Filipinos with ordinary passports traveling to China generally require a visa. The Philippine Diplomatic or Official passport holders are exempted from visa requirement for temporary visits to China for a period not exceeding 30 days. The Philippine Official passport is issued to members of the Philippine government for use on official business only. This means that if your passport is an ordinary one, then you may not enter mainland China without securing a visa.
As for the type of visa, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Philippines has listed down sixteen (16) categories of visa and in this article, I will be tackling only Visa Category L (Tourist Visa). I may have a little Chinese blood in me but I’m not an expert in Chinese Visa processing, much less confident in getting one as it was also my first time applying for such coveted travel document. With this, I will share my personal experience on how I obtained my Chinese Tourist Visa (Mainland China only) in Cebu.
I. Basic Requirements
1) Valid Philippine Passport
- Original passport that is valid for at least another 6 months with at least one blank visa page
- A photocopy of the passport’s information/photo page and emergency contact page. Make sure to affirm your signature on page 3 and fill-out the last page of your passport.
- Old passport, if available, is required to be submitted; if the old passport is lost, or the applicant never holds a passport before, please make a clear statement in the item 3.7 of the Visa Application Form.
2) Visa Application Form
- Please submit truthfully completed and signed Visa Application Form of the People’s Republic of China.
- Please type (encoded electronically, not handwritten) the answer in capital English letters in the space provided. They are very strict on this, I tell you. If you don’t follow this format, your application will not be accepted and you’ll be asked to come back and comply with it.
- Do not leave any field blank. Type N/A if the item does not apply.
- Application form of minors must be signed by their parents or legal guardians.
3) Photo
- Passport size (48mmx33mm), recent photo, front view, colored with white background, 2 pieces (attach one photo on the application form and clip the other photo on the upper left corner of the form). (Specific photo requirements, please click here)
- Stapled/taped/clipped/detached photos will not be accepted
II. Mandatory Requirements for Tourist Visa
1.) Travel Itinerary
- Don’t make your daily itinerary in China too complicated.
- Your schedule of stay (containing your activities per day) matters as it affects how much budget you really need to prepare for your China trip.
- Unlike Japan Tourist visa, a round trip airline ticket is required so you cannot prepare an itinerary that is inconsistent with the number of days of your intended stay in China.
- Good thing, you don’t need to follow the “dummy” itinerary during your actual China trip so it’s best to make it simple as possible.
- Comment below if you need a sample, the one I actually used during my Shanghai Trip this year
2.) Reservation of Round-trip Airline Ticket
- Submit a printed copy of your flight ticket as provided by the airline during a confirmed booking
- One way ticket not accepted, return flight is mandatory
- Official Receipt of payment not required
- Don’t have a ticket yet, book cheap flights to Shanghai for as low as Php 1.00 (PISO FARE).
3.) Reservation of hotel (accommodation)
- You can show a booking confirmation from a hotel or any other type of accommodation in the intended place you’ll be staying at
- Proof of payment not required so you may book an accommodation with an option to cancel before travel date
4.) Invitation Letter from China and the photocopy of the inviter’s Chinese ID / Passport with Chinese Residence Permit (if applicable)
Invitation letter must contain the following information:
- Information on the applicant : full name, gender, date of birth, etc.
- Information on the planned visit: purpose of visit, arrival and departure dates, place(s) to be visited, relations between the applicant and the inviting entity or individual, financial source for expenditures, etc.
- Information on the inviting entity or individual: name, contact telephone number, address, official stamp, signature of the legal representative or the inviting individual.
- The invitation letter may be in the form of fax, photocopy or computer printout, but the consular officer may require the applicant to submit the original of the invitation letter.
- The proofs of kinship refers to marriage certificate, birth certificate, certification of kinship issued by Chinese Public Security Bureau or notarized certification of kinship.
III. Additional Requirements
1) First Time Chinese Visa Applicant – Please provide the following additional documents:
A) Bank Certificate of Deposit Balance (including the past 6 months bank statement) and the receipt for payment of this certificate
- Original Bank Certificate is required if applicant will shoulder part or all of his/her travel expenses
- Validity of Bank Certificate is three (3) months from the date of issue.
- Payroll account and joint account are fine (as long name of applicant also appears in the bank certificate as account owner)
- Opening Account Date and Average Daily Balance (ADB) is required, must not be a freshly-baked account with one-time, big-time deposit just intended for visa application purposes
- Unlike the 3-month requirement for a Korean Tourist Visa for Bank Statement, Chinese Tourist Visa requires that it must show the transactions of your account for the past six (6) months. For BPI, the branch can only provide at the time of request up to three months (processing time takes 7 working days for the six-month statement to be requested from main office in Manila). If pressed for time, you may print the other half (3-months not provided by branch) of Statement of Account from your BPI account online.
In connection with securing Bank Certificate, how much money is really needed for Chinese Tourist Visa application? I don’t really have any concrete idea. For the minimum fund for bank certificate purposes, Chinese embassy did not specify the range. But for some reason, Chinese Embassy would like to know whether a certain traveler has the capacity to tour around China and has enough funds to cover the cost of his/her trip. According to my research, the safe amount is Php 10,000 per day but for increased assurance, I secured a bank certificate from BPI with a balance of Php 50,000 for a 24-hour Shanghai Trip (Php 200 processing fee). A friend of mine just had a balance of Php 30,000 in his account and his visa was also approved.
B) BIR-stamped Income Tax Return (BIR Form 2316)
- Photocopy is allowed as long as it is clear
- Checked by BIR with stamp or supported with a notarized sworn declaration that submitted DVD-R (alpha listing) conforms to the conditions/specification requirements set by BIR
- Must be signed by the taxpayer and authorized representative of the employer
- Make sure that your income reflected in ITR is not too far off with your bank balance, say you have 1 million in your bank account but your annual income is only 100,000. This may raise a red flag to the Embassy.
- If you don’t have an ITR, you can make an explanation letter why you don’t have one. You may refer to my Japan Tourist Visa Guide on my ITR experience ~ I submitted an ITR, agency discarded it and told me to submit an explanation letter instead. It worked!
C) Certificate of Employment
- Current-issued COE, detailing the salary, position and the length of employment
- Printed in the official letterhead of the company and signed by an authorized signatory (with the company’s official seal)
- If a government employee, show proof that your leave(s) is(are) approved (may also be used for immigration purposes)
- If not currently employed, write an explanation letter detailing the reason (e.g., you just resigned, still looking for a job, freelancer, etc.)
D) Business Registration Certificate (if you are the owner)
- Certificate must be issued by Department of Trade and Industry or Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission
E) Professional ID/Student ID (if applicable)
- ID must be valid, not expired nor not duly validated
F) Other relevant documents proving the applicant’s economic condition/ employment/study, or supporting the applicant’s travel to China, or explaining the travel purpose (if applicable)
2) Previous Chinese Visa – If you had obtained a Chinese visa before, you should submit a photocopy of the visa, and if the visa is on your old passport, you should also submit the old passport.
How to Apply
1) Visit the Chinese Consulate-General Office at the 25th floor of Mandarin Plaza Hotel (Archbishop Reyes Avenue corner Escario Street, Cebu City)
2.) An applicant may submit his or her visa application in person or entrust someone (immediate family member/household staff/co-worker) or a travel agency to submit on his or her behalf.
3.) No appointment is required. Mail applications will not be accepted.
4.) Visa Application Schedule: Open daily (except holidays and weekends) from 9AM to 11AM. Visa Pick-up Schedule: M-F 2PM to 4PM
5) If necessary, the consular officer may require the applicant to provide other proof documents or supplementary materials, or require an interview with the applicant.
Tourist Visa Fee, Processing Time and Mode of Payment
Visa Fee for Philippine Passport Holders varies per number of entries, to wit:
- Single – ₱ 1,400
- Double – ₱ 2,100
- Multiple (6 months) – ₱ 2,800
- Multiple (over 6 months) – ₱ 4,200
1) Regular processing time is 4 working days (for example, apply on Monday and pick up on Thursday)
2) Express service (third working day release): an additional fee of ₱ 1,100 pesos per visa will be charged. Rush processing is currently suspended until further notice.
3) Rush service (second working day release): an additional fee of ₱ 1,700 pesos per visa will be charged. Rush processing is currently suspended until further notice.
4) Express and Rush service is not available to the First time Chinese visa applicant/ X1, X2 and Z visa applicant, please apply in advance.
5) Cash payment is not accepted in the Chinese Consulate Office. Applicant must deposit payment to Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Payment Notice and bank details will be provided by consulate after application)
6) Present and surrender the validated deposit slip and claim stub upon claiming passport and visa at the releasing counter (release date)
Other Important Information
1.) The Cebu Chinese Consulate will only accept applicants holding Philippine Passport. Foreign passport holders should apply their visa at the Chinese Embassy in Manila.
2.) The application materials must be authentic and complete. Forged and incomplete applications will be denied.
3.) The consular officer will decide on whether or not to issue the visa and on its validity, duration of stay and number of entries in light of specific conditions of the applicant.
4.) According to the relevant Chinese law and regulation, the consular officer is not required to give reasons for refusing the issuance of a visa.
5.) Please check the visa after obtaining it. Should there be any discrepancy, contact the Visa Office immediately.
There you have it Juanderers! Hope this beginner’s guide will somehow help you address your inquiries on how to get a visa for travel to Mainland China. Are you now confident to apply for a Chinese Tourist Visa? Always remember to comply truthfully with all the requirements and pray for a positive result. Enjoy your China Trip soon!
If you have further clarifications or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below for others to refer as well. =)