Visa Application for China Visit

Iphone has proven its worth to me.

I was on the way to meet Coco's teacher for Meet-the-Parent session when I was skip-hopping-reading a Beijing travel book.

Then I saw a line that goes 'All foreign visitors must apply for a visa to visit China.'

Imagine what a great shock I received!

Immediately, I went onto my Iphone internet to search if that still stood true since books may be outdated.

Eventually, I arrived at a chinese visa application service link.

After many calls to check:
1) whether Singapore and Malaysia passport holders need to apply for visas

Singaporeans holding international passports do not need to apply for a visa as long as their visit is 15 days or less. Malaysians MUST apply for a visa, no matter which part of China you are visiting.

2) how much it cost for a visa application

It costs $75 per visa application for a single entry within 3 months.

3) whether I could apply for my parents' visas on their behalf

Yes, as long as the passport holders are in Singapore while the visa is being processed.

(Actually, the passports are withheld by the Consular Service during the application period, so it is not possible to travel out of Singapore without a passport)

4) what documents to bring along to apply for a visa

Passport (with at least 2 blank visa pages and valid for at least 6 months beyond the date of application), Identity Card, a photocopy of IC, a recent passport-sized photo with all features shown, the filled-out application forms downloadable from here.

5) what time the visa application service stops

According to the lady on the phone, it ends at 2pm, although the website says it is 3pm. 2pm, according to the website, is for express application.

6) how long it takes for the visa to be ready

4 working days (including the application day) for regular application. There are express (3 working days) and urgent service (2 working days) as well but the charges increase accordingly.

I was home by 11am to collate the documents and fill up the application forms. By then, I had also called my parents to inform them about the visa application matter. Fortunately, for some reason, all of us had a spare passport photo waiting to be used so the hassle was more of the searching and collating.
 
By 12pm, everything was ready. I met my parents at an MRT station to get the application forms signed and my father and I went down to Royal Brothers Building to submit the application.
 
The Chinese lady at the Consular Service Centre was kinda cocky, but nevermind, the gracious me continued to be humble and polite in my dealings with her.
 
I missed out on the 5th and 6th pages of the application form as I'd thought they were Student Visa Application. We were given the last two pages to fill out. Fortunately again, my mother's signature was easy to forge and so I signed on her behalf.
 
We are asked to collect the visas on this coming Monday. Payment will be made together with the collection
 
We left the Consular Service Centre at 1.50pm.
 
Phew!
 
How to get there:
China Visa Application Service Centre
9th Floor, Royal Brothers, 22 Malacca Street.

Enquiry: 62262358 / 62262439.
Website: http://www.visaforchina.org/SGP_EN/

Nearest MRT:
Raffles Place and exit at A, B or D