China Visa???

[BarbaraP]

We are thinking of booking an Asian cruise which has only one stop in China, Shanghai for 8 hours. My question is, if we do not get off the ship do we need a Visa:confused:

[Philob]

We are thinking of booking an Asian cruise which has only one stop in China, Shanghai for 8 hours. My question is, if we do not get off the ship do we need a Visa:confused:

 

I'll let someone else answer this.

Edited October 19, 2013 by Philob

[bonsai3s]

We are thinking of booking an Asian cruise which has only one stop in China, Shanghai for 8 hours. My question is, if we do not get off the ship do we need a Visa:confused:

 

...the correct answer will come only from the cruise line you are sailing with. At embarkation, the cruise staff will look at your passport and check if you have a valid Chinese visa. These employees are often instructed not to allow passengers onboard without a valid visa. Perhaps you can call the cruise line, let them know you are not planning to get off the ship, and obtain advance authorization to travel without the visa. (Yes, we know the visa is quite expensive and time consuming to obtain...by mail or going to the Chinese Consulate directly.)

 

Not sure if you've ever been to Shanghai...if you haven't, it is one of the most fascinating cities in the world. Taxi's are cheap and drivers honest. Just make sure you have the correct change and have someone write down (in Chinese) where you want to go and your ship's name so you can make it back. Hope this helps and happy sailing! :)

[Ashland]

Can't imagine being in Shanghai and not getting off the ship...one of our favorite cities...and one you will be sorry if you miss...please reconsider ;)

[Keith1010]

We are thinking of booking an Asian cruise which has only one stop in China, Shanghai for 8 hours. My question is, if we do not get off the ship do we need a Visa:confused:

 

Ask your cruise line.

 

In our case, we are required to have a visa for China regardless of whether or not we sail there as our cruise line requires that and most other cruise lines do too.

 

Do not rely on feedback on this site on this question because it is too important to get messed up and history means nothing.

 

I realize this is something that people don't always think of but remember should you get sick and need medical attention you would need to get off.

 

Again, check with your cruise line.

 

Keith

[Ine]

Yes, most likely you will need visa. Remember the port is in China, whether you stay on board or not.

[Philob]

To the OP, unless your cruise line has made special arrangements with Chinese authorities, you will need a visa as you entered China when your ship enters its territorial waters. If special arrangements have been made I would print out paper copies of any email between you and the cruise line that clearly states that. Hate to see you denied boarding for lacking a visa.

 

Chinese authorities mucks up the answer by allowing 72-hour visa free transit travel to/from the following cities Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chendu, but ONLY for air travelers from 45 countries. Air transit travelers must advise their airline in advance for immigration purposes and stay within the city limits. Perhaps someday they will expand it to cruise ports.

Edited October 20, 2013 by Philob

[little_nasty]

I'd do the visa paperwork even for those 8 hours :D

 

[2ashevillesailors]

Can't imagine being in Shanghai and not getting off the ship...one of our favorite cities...and one you will be sorry if you miss...please reconsider ;)

If you plan on getting off of the ship you definitely need a visa, is that correct? I guess if so, do you google it to get the forms to fill out? We will be on a Celebrity cruise.

[2ashevillesailors]

To the OP, unless your cruise line has made special arrangements with Chinese authorities, you will need a visa as you entered China when your ship enters its territorial waters. If special arrangements have been made I would print out paper copies of any email between you and the cruise line that clearly states that. Hate to see you denied boarding for lacking a visa.

 

Chinese authorities mucks up the answer by allowing 72-hour visa free transit travel to/from the following cities Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chendu, but ONLY for air travelers from 45 countries. Air transit travelers must advise their airline in advance for immigration purposes and stay within the city limits. Perhaps someday they will expand it to cruise ports.

We fly into Hong Kong and will be there for 3 days and we end our cruise in Singapore and will be there 2 days. So I assume from what you saiy we will have to have a Visa?

[Philob]

We fly into Hong Kong and will be there for 3 days and we end our cruise in Singapore and will be there 2 days. So I assume from what you saiy we will have to have a Visa?

 

US citizens are not required to have a visa for Hong Kong (or Macao) for tourist visits. This goes back to when HK was British territory.

 

However while in HK and you wanted to go to Shenzhen for a day trip and see your iThingys made or pickup a couple of "LV" bags, you will need a Chinese visa. If your cruise visits another Chinese port you will need a Chinese visa.

 

Also if your cruise visits more than one Chinese port you may need a "multiple entry" Chinese visa. Its been debated here about the need for multiple entry visas, but I would get one as the cost is the same. BTW if you visited Shenzhen on your own and cruise to a Chinese port you will need a multiple entry visa.

 

US citizens are not required to have a visa for Singapore for tourist visits.

[Philob]

If you plan on getting off of the ship you definitely need a visa, is that correct? I guess if so, do you google it to get the forms to fill out? We will be on a Celebrity cruise.

 

You can Google to get the forms, but eventually you'll need to get them to a Chinese Consulate BEFORE your trip to get the visa. China does not issue "at the border" visas. There are visa services that can do this for you if you can't get to a consulate.

[Keith1010]

We fly into Hong Kong and will be there for 3 days and we end our cruise in Singapore and will be there 2 days. So I assume from what you saiy we will have to have a Visa?

 

If you are only staying in Hong Kong, no visa will be required.

 

Keith

[Ashland]

If you plan on getting off of the ship you definitely need a visa, is that correct? I guess if so, do you google it to get the forms to fill out? We will be on a Celebrity cruise.

Yes...If you use a visa service you will need to mail them the completed forms correctly filled out, your passport and a passport picture in addition to the one on your passport. We easily got this taken at Costco. The whole process took less than 2 weeks and when our passports were mailed back to us they included an affixed visa for China inside on one of the pages.

[Keith1010]

US citizens are not required to have a visa for Hong Kong (or Macao) for tourist visits. This goes back to when HK was British territory.

 

However while in HK and you wanted to go to Shenzhen for a day trip and see your iThingys made or pickup a couple of "LV" bags, you will need a Chinese visa. If your cruise visits another Chinese port you will need a Chinese visa.

 

Also if your cruise visits more than one Chinese port you may need a "multiple entry" Chinese visa. Its been debated here about the need for multiple entry visas, but I would get one as the cost is the same. BTW if you visited Shenzhen on your own and cruise to a Chinese port you will need a multiple entry visa.

 

US citizens are not required to have a visa for Singapore for tourist visits.

 

I was just thinking of the debates that have taken place over the multiple visas.

 

As part of a long voyage we are on starting early next year we have one stop in mainland China in Shanghai. More recently we had several stops a couple of years ago on same cruise ship. Anyway, we used the cruise lines visa service and the nice thing is they give you an example of how to fill out each form including information that is very helpful. Even for the one stop they advised getting the multi entry visa which we did and the cost is the same as you correctly noted. When we filled out our visa applications and checked multi visa I was thinking about those debates from earlier this year. :)

 

Keith

[maxsevend]

We are thinking of booking an Asian cruise which has only one stop in China, Shanghai for 8 hours. My question is, if we do not get off the ship do we need a Visa:confused:

 

Effective Sep 1, 2013 no visa is required if you are transiting any Chinese port to another country.

 

http://ph.china-embassy.org/eng/lsfw/visas/t960523.htm

 

Do I need a visa?

No visa is required if you belong to the following categories:

"2.Hold connected passenger tickets and are in transit to a third country or region by an international aircraft, ship or train via China, will stay for not more than 24 hours in China without leaving the port of entry."

 

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/transit.htm

 

So if the ship's stay is less than 24 hours and is going to a third country, you do not need a visa

 

Hope this help

[Philob]

Great news :)

 

Hope this information gets down to the call center and embarkation counter PDQ :cool:

[Keith1010]

You need to check with the cruise line.

 

Keith

[timtam2]

Better to be safe than sorry, I would probably still get a visa....just in case of any unforseen circumstances

[Philob]

Better to be safe than sorry, I would probably still get a visa....just in case of any unforseen circumstances

 

Very true, but there has been much discussion here about the cost of a visa and whether a single or multi is required for a cruise.

 

If there are pre & post cruise stays then obviously a visa is required.

 

Then again someone may want to argue (discuss);) the viability of a visa-free visit to China by arriving at one of visa free transit airports and immediately transferring to the cruise ship, all within 24 hrs :eek:

 

And to that someone: Try it and let us know how it went ;)

Edited November 18, 2013 by Philob

[Keith1010]

I would still check with the cruise line. You don't want to make a wrong assumption and keep in mind that China changes rules rather quickly.

 

Keith

[Gunner22aa]

Contact them. They will have the difinative answer for you. When we did Asia I did exactly that and while the cruise line said we needed a double entry visa the Consulate in Calgary told me a multiple entry one was required. I went that route for the few extra dollars it cost and had our passports back the next day. Next day service should have cost me $35 each but they waived the fee.

[chrispb]

Effective Sep 1, 2013 no visa is required if you are transiting any Chinese port to another country.

 

http://ph.china-embassy.org/eng/lsfw/visas/t960523.htm

 

Do I need a visa?

No visa is required if you belong to the following categories:

"2.Hold connected passenger tickets and are in transit to a third country or region by an international aircraft, ship or train via China, will stay for not more than 24 hours in China without leaving the port of entry."

 

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/transit.htm

 

So if the ship's stay is less than 24 hours and is going to a third country, you do not need a visa

 

Hope this help

 

I didn't see anywhere that it says anything about transiting by ship, only seemed to refer to airports?? Did I miss it? Transiting usually means airside only which cannot apply for cruise ships.

[chrispb]

Sorry, only clicked on first link:o I'd still get a visa to be on the safe side. I thought Shanghai was an excellent port of call (we had multi entry visas).

[dalgirl]

Does anyone know how long it will take to get the multi-entry visa stamp? We will be filing in Houston. Also, how long is the visa stamp valid? I am concerned because we will need a visa for Brazil in Jan 2015 and will travel to China April 2015 - want to make sure we have plenty of time for the stamping.