Your Guide to Self-Applying for a China L30 Visa in Ho Chi Minh City – Updated Post-June 30th Regulations
Many of you have been asking about the visa application process after June 30th, and since I've just received my passport back, I'm excited to share my personal experience with self-applying for a tourist visa (L30) in Ho Chi Minh City. This guide is based on the latest regulations.
Visa Type: L30 – Tourist Visa, Financial Proof via Employment Confirmation
This visa category is for tourism, and I used my employment documentation to demonstrate financial capacity.
Required Documents:
- 33x48mm photos (digital file + 1 printed copy)
- Passport (scanned copy of information page with signature + old China visas, if any)
- Round-trip flight tickets (PDF file)
- Hotel booking confirmation (PDF file)
- Proof of Residence (Although my household registration is in Hanoi, I have temporary residence in HCMC. I obtained this document from the BCA public service portal. Some mention needing the household head's information, but in my case, I designated myself as the head of household, which eliminated the need for landlord details.)
- Detailed itinerary (including personal information of the applicant)
- Employment Contract + Employee Confirmation Letter + Leave Request Letter (all bearing the company stamp)
- Appointment confirmation slip (printed from the center's email confirmation)
Visa Application Process:
- July 8th: Submitted online application form.
- July 10th: Received an email requesting two additional items (old China visa and applicant's details in the itinerary). I resubmitted these online.
- July 14th: Online application approved.
- July 17th: Submitted original documents to the Visa Application Center for verification and paid the fee of 725,000 VND. The process involved the center staff checking the necessary documents before entering the submission area and issuing a queue number. The counter staff then verified the original documents. They retained my passport, one photo, the visa application form (first and last pages), the appointment slip, and the 725,000 VND fee.
- July 28th (8 working days after submitting original documents): Received my passport and paid the additional fee of 45 USD.
In total, the cost for self-applying was just over 1.9 million VND. The processing time from online submission to receiving the visa was 15 working days. If your online application is accurate from the start and you submit your original documents immediately after online approval, you could potentially shorten the processing time to around 11-12 working days.
Personally, I found self-applying in HCMC quite convenient. The visa center operates through lunch, and both my visits were during the lunch break. The submission and collection times were swift, only about 5-10 minutes, with virtually no waiting. This approach also gave me the flexibility to manage my personal schedule effectively and stay updated on my application status. I hope this sharing helps answer some of your questions if you're considering applying for your visa yourself.
