When we booked a trip to China a few months ago, I thought the visa requirements were quite basic and easy to get. However, sometime in early September, the visa issuance got strict and had listed more requirements as it had during the Olympics last year. All in all we visited the China embassy 3x to get a tourist visa!
Day 1 (3 Nov 2009)
Arrived in World Centre Building in Gil Puyat Ave. a few minutes before 10am and we got #010. The visa counter was servicing #836 if i recall correctly.
A lot of reminders were posted at the window and I read all the requirements posted carefully. Unfortunately, we are first-time travellers to China and we have more requirements to produce than usual.
We already had the basic requirements such as:
- Roundtrip plane tickets
- Hotel reservation (not sure if an email confirmation would suffice but to be sure we printed a formal document which we requested from the hostel indicating details of the reservation and contact information of the hostel since emails are quite informal)
- Application form with passport size photo (colored with white background and glued on the form not stapled)
- Passport with at least 6 months validity after duration of travel and enough blank pages for the visa
Turns out the additional requirements for first-time travellers are:
- NBI clearance valid for travel abroad (original copy)
- SSS ID and summary of contributions
- ITR / TIN ID
- Certificate of employment
- Company ID
- Bank certificate
Lacking a lot of these new requirements, we immediately left for NBI in Carriedo to apply for clearance valid for travel abroad.
Day 2 (10 Nov 2009)
After claiming our NBI clearance valid for travel abroad personally, we went to the China embassy again. Taxi from Gil Puyat LRT station to World centre cost us about P70-80. Arrived there around 9:45am.
Got #571 ticket and counter is servicing #4xx? While waiting, I photocopied most of the documents I will be submitting. The nearest photocopier is 2 bldgs away. To get there, exit from the back of the building and turn left. After the building past Starbucks, is where I was able to xerox some documents. Cost is P1.50 per short, and P2 for long. By 11am, it was already at #500. We decided to eat lunch 1st as we may still wait for another hour. We did not see much choices except the Jolli jeep and Starbucks so we decided to eat snacks at Starbucks (Later found out there is a nearby Jollibee if exiting from the back of the World Centre building and then turning right).
Went back to the embassy a few minutes past 11:30, it was still at #517! We were finally called around 12:30pm. The guy at the counter scanned the documents we submitted, and no questions were asked. Received immediately a pink slip to claim it on Fri. Whew the submission was fast. Initially feared that we might undergo an interview since it's our first time to go to China. And there were a lot of people lined up at the interview room that morning. I guess it was not necessary since we submitted sufficient supporting documents.
In addition to the requirements I had listed above, I also provided a marriage certificate. Our joint ITR was sufficient for both of us (I had provided 2 copies for me and my husband's application but they returned the extra copy). They also did not request SSS ID or contributions from my husband (he did not have one) but I provided mine. In case they would ask, I would mention that he is a government employee (the SSS equivalent is GSIS). But he has no GSIS ID yet and the agency has not provided any proof of contributions yet. As a backup, I did brought original copies of our payslips (photocopies should also be ready just in case) to show proof of contributions.
For the bank certificate we were not sure what is the safe amount to show, but I did read from other blogs or sites that it would be safe to show at least P50k in your account or have P5k / day of your intended stay in China plus extra to prove that you can finance your travel without going bankrupt. Note that banks will charge a certain amount of fee for every bank certificate request. At BPI it was P150, while from RCBC it was P250 (quite expensive for me).
We opted for the regular processing which is 4 working days. The pink slip indicated we can come back for our visa on 13 Nov. So the working day count already includes the day you submitted the application.
Day 3 (16 Nov 2009)
Since we had a deadline at work on Nov 13, I decided to come back for the visa on a Monday, 16 Nov. Instead of taking a taxi as we did previously, I commuted all the way to the China Embassy. I took an MRT to get off at Buendia Station. Then took a jeep (I think the sign board was Washington) to get to World Centre Building just across Mapua.
Arrived at the China Embassy a little before 10am. Got a number at the entrance for claiming (this is actually just for the payment at the cashier). I was seated only for about 5 minutes when my number was called. I paid the visa processing fee of P1400 each (regular 4 working days processing). Now that was fast. Went immediately afterwards to the adjacent counter for claiming where I was about 4th in line.
Suddenly got a tap on the shoulder from a man who informed me that the end of the line for claiming was actually going halfway around the Embassy waiting area! Oh my God!
So the long lines were for the claiming and there is no number being called, it was a traditional pila. Despite having a lot of vacant seats, I did not want to take the risk of getting bumped by not being in line and so I stood at the end of the line for the next hour. I am extremely irritated at this inconvenience. I haven't eaten breakfast yet but I did brought a sandwich with me. So I ate my sandwich while standing in line. I was not really sure if eating was prohibited there but I did not care anymore as I was so hungry already. Afterwards, I played some Sudoku to pass the time.
I think for this case what the embassy should have done is have everyone claiming a visa to line up at the cashier instead. Then after payment, give a number to the payee to wait for his visa to be issued since this is the one taking longer. If I just lined up standing for 5 mins at the cashier then seated for 1 hr to wait for my number to claim the visa, then it would not have been much of an inconvenience. Didn't they notice that the line for visa claiming is already going around the embassy premises already, while the cashier is vacant most of the time?
After an hour of waiting, finally received our passports with visas. I made sure to check the visa if all the details are correct before leaving.
Day 1 (3 Nov 2009)
Arrived in World Centre Building in Gil Puyat Ave. a few minutes before 10am and we got #010. The visa counter was servicing #836 if i recall correctly.
A lot of reminders were posted at the window and I read all the requirements posted carefully. Unfortunately, we are first-time travellers to China and we have more requirements to produce than usual.
We already had the basic requirements such as:
- Roundtrip plane tickets
- Hotel reservation (not sure if an email confirmation would suffice but to be sure we printed a formal document which we requested from the hostel indicating details of the reservation and contact information of the hostel since emails are quite informal)
- Application form with passport size photo (colored with white background and glued on the form not stapled)
- Passport with at least 6 months validity after duration of travel and enough blank pages for the visa
Turns out the additional requirements for first-time travellers are:
- NBI clearance valid for travel abroad (original copy)
- SSS ID and summary of contributions
- ITR / TIN ID
- Certificate of employment
- Company ID
- Bank certificate
Lacking a lot of these new requirements, we immediately left for NBI in Carriedo to apply for clearance valid for travel abroad.
Day 2 (10 Nov 2009)
After claiming our NBI clearance valid for travel abroad personally, we went to the China embassy again. Taxi from Gil Puyat LRT station to World centre cost us about P70-80. Arrived there around 9:45am.
Got #571 ticket and counter is servicing #4xx? While waiting, I photocopied most of the documents I will be submitting. The nearest photocopier is 2 bldgs away. To get there, exit from the back of the building and turn left. After the building past Starbucks, is where I was able to xerox some documents. Cost is P1.50 per short, and P2 for long. By 11am, it was already at #500. We decided to eat lunch 1st as we may still wait for another hour. We did not see much choices except the Jolli jeep and Starbucks so we decided to eat snacks at Starbucks (Later found out there is a nearby Jollibee if exiting from the back of the World Centre building and then turning right).
Went back to the embassy a few minutes past 11:30, it was still at #517! We were finally called around 12:30pm. The guy at the counter scanned the documents we submitted, and no questions were asked. Received immediately a pink slip to claim it on Fri. Whew the submission was fast. Initially feared that we might undergo an interview since it's our first time to go to China. And there were a lot of people lined up at the interview room that morning. I guess it was not necessary since we submitted sufficient supporting documents.
In addition to the requirements I had listed above, I also provided a marriage certificate. Our joint ITR was sufficient for both of us (I had provided 2 copies for me and my husband's application but they returned the extra copy). They also did not request SSS ID or contributions from my husband (he did not have one) but I provided mine. In case they would ask, I would mention that he is a government employee (the SSS equivalent is GSIS). But he has no GSIS ID yet and the agency has not provided any proof of contributions yet. As a backup, I did brought original copies of our payslips (photocopies should also be ready just in case) to show proof of contributions.
For the bank certificate we were not sure what is the safe amount to show, but I did read from other blogs or sites that it would be safe to show at least P50k in your account or have P5k / day of your intended stay in China plus extra to prove that you can finance your travel without going bankrupt. Note that banks will charge a certain amount of fee for every bank certificate request. At BPI it was P150, while from RCBC it was P250 (quite expensive for me).
We opted for the regular processing which is 4 working days. The pink slip indicated we can come back for our visa on 13 Nov. So the working day count already includes the day you submitted the application.
Day 3 (16 Nov 2009)
Since we had a deadline at work on Nov 13, I decided to come back for the visa on a Monday, 16 Nov. Instead of taking a taxi as we did previously, I commuted all the way to the China Embassy. I took an MRT to get off at Buendia Station. Then took a jeep (I think the sign board was Washington) to get to World Centre Building just across Mapua.
Arrived at the China Embassy a little before 10am. Got a number at the entrance for claiming (this is actually just for the payment at the cashier). I was seated only for about 5 minutes when my number was called. I paid the visa processing fee of P1400 each (regular 4 working days processing). Now that was fast. Went immediately afterwards to the adjacent counter for claiming where I was about 4th in line.
Suddenly got a tap on the shoulder from a man who informed me that the end of the line for claiming was actually going halfway around the Embassy waiting area! Oh my God!
So the long lines were for the claiming and there is no number being called, it was a traditional pila. Despite having a lot of vacant seats, I did not want to take the risk of getting bumped by not being in line and so I stood at the end of the line for the next hour. I am extremely irritated at this inconvenience. I haven't eaten breakfast yet but I did brought a sandwich with me. So I ate my sandwich while standing in line. I was not really sure if eating was prohibited there but I did not care anymore as I was so hungry already. Afterwards, I played some Sudoku to pass the time.
I think for this case what the embassy should have done is have everyone claiming a visa to line up at the cashier instead. Then after payment, give a number to the payee to wait for his visa to be issued since this is the one taking longer. If I just lined up standing for 5 mins at the cashier then seated for 1 hr to wait for my number to claim the visa, then it would not have been much of an inconvenience. Didn't they notice that the line for visa claiming is already going around the embassy premises already, while the cashier is vacant most of the time?
After an hour of waiting, finally received our passports with visas. I made sure to check the visa if all the details are correct before leaving.
