Your Guide to Obtaining a China Tourist Visa (L Visa) in Hanoi
Hey everyone! Planning a trip to China? I wanted to share my recent experience applying for a China tourist visa (L visa) independently in Hanoi, especially with the updated regulations that came into effect on June 30th. This guide is for those of you keen on exploring China on your own!
My Visa Application Details
I applied for a 15-day tourist visa in Hanoi. Here's a rundown of what I prepared:
Required Documents:
- A passport-sized photograph (33x48 mm)
- My passport
- Round-trip flight tickets
- Hotel booking confirmation
- Bank statement showing a balance of 30 million VND
- Detailed travel itinerary
- Employment contract
Application Timeline:
Here's how my application process unfolded:
- July 5th: Submitted the online application form and scanned copies of all the documents.
- July 9th: Received feedback from the visa application center about missing contact information. I corrected and resubmitted the form the same day.
- July 10th: My online application was approved.
- July 11th: Visited the application center at 1 Phùng Chí Kiên to submit the physical documents and pay the initial fee of 725,000 VND. Note: I brought all the documents listed above, but they only collected the Visa Application Submission Certificate, my passport, the photo, and the first and last pages of the application form. The rest of the documents were returned to me.
- July 16th: Picked up my visa and paid the visa fee of $45 USD.
In Conclusion:
Here's a summary of the costs and time involved:
Costs:
725,000 VND + 45 USD (I exchanged at Ha Trung, rate 26,500 VND/$ = 1,192,000 VND) = 1,917,000 VND total.
Time:
The entire process, from online submission to receiving the visa, took approximately 8 business days. If your application doesn't require any corrections, it might be even quicker, potentially saving you 1-2 days.
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