Il y a quelques jours, j'ai répondu à un message privé me demandant comment faire pour obtenir un visa chinois depuis Hong Kong. Je me permets donc de le c/c ici afin que tout le monde profite de ma réponse. J'ai fait une compilation des informations les plus récentes dont je dispose.
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Pour obtenir ton visa pour la Chine depuis Hong Kong, tu dois te rendre au bureau "consulaire" qui se trouve à Wanchai. Evidemment, à l'heure actuelle, ça ne te dit rien, mais quand tu seras sur place, il te suffira de prendre le MTR (métro local) et de descendre à la station Wanchai. (Plan : http://www.fmcoprc.gov.hk/eng/zgqz/bgfwxx/)
La liste des pièces à fournir a considérablement augmenté en deux ans... A l'heure actuelle, les pièces à fournir sont donc les suivantes :
- Un passeport avec au moins deux pages vierges
- Les formulaires A et B disponibles ici : http://www.fmcoprc.gov.hk/eng/zgqz/VAF/
- Une photo d'identité. Attention : les mesures sont différentes des photos françaises. Il me semble me souvenir qu'il y a un photomaton sur place.
- La preuve du billet d'avion quittant le territoire chinois. Il y a débat sur le forum parce que certains se sont vu refusé le billet électronique et que les autorités "consulaires" ont demandé le "vrai" billet alors que pour d'autres, le billet électronique a suffit.
- Réservation d'hôtel pour les premières nuits après le passage de la frontière
- Assurance médicale/rapatriement (en général, une assurance est comprise dans les cartes bancaires françaises : il suffit de demander une attestation à sa banque). Là encore il y a débat sur le forum parce qu'apparemment, on a demandé à certains Français d'avoir un "vrai" tampon sur le document, et donc l'attestation de la banque ne pouvait pas être envoyée par internet/fax mais doit être envoyée par courrier
- L'itinéraire du voyage effectué en Chine (succinct : tel jour/telle destination)
Certains voyageurs expliquent qu'ils ont aussi fourni (spontanément ? sur demande des autorités ?) les pièces suivantes :
- Une attestation de leur employeur ou une attestation de l'école/université où ils étudient (L'attestation devait être en anglais.)
- Une preuve montrant qu'ils ont de quoi subvenir à leurs besoins financiers lors de leur séjour en Chine
(NB : Dites... C'est moi ou ça commence sérieusement à ressembler au cirque des visas américains tout ça ? ^^)
Il faut compter quatre jours ouvrés entre le dépôt de la demande (et du passeport) et l'obtention du visa, valable 3 mois. En te présentant au comptoir du "consulat", tu devras payer 200 HKD soit environ 20€.
Certains voyageurs qui n'avaient pas ces documents sur eux, ne pouvaient pas se les procurer, ou qui voulaient avoir la paix sont passés par des solutions "annexes". Il s'agit d'agences, ou de particuliers, qui bidonnent les documents et délivrent un (faux ?) visa valable uniquement un mois, sous quatre jours ouvrés.
- Les auberges de jeunesse. En particulier la Cosmic Quest House, dans la Mirador Mansion, 54/64 Nathan Road, à Kowloon. 600 HKD environ (Il y a débat sur le coût mais c'est de cet ordre-là. Elle a été "testée et approuvée" par de nombreux voyageurs.)
- Des agences de voyage. En particulier Shoe String Travel (à côté de la Cosmic Guest House), 500 HKD. Sinon la Japan Travel Agency (http://www.jta.biz/chinavisa/china_visa.htm), 340 HKD. (Je n'ai vu mentionné ces noms que peu de fois... A chaque fois, cela a marché pour les voyageurs concernés, mais je ne peux donc pas garantir leur sérieux, ni leur efficacité.)
A noter que ces mesures ne concernent pas les autres nationalités européennes...! Un vieux contentieux entre Pékin et "la France de Nicolas Sarkozy" (pour ne pas rentrer dans les détails de qui, quand, pourquoi...). Maintenant qu'Hollande a été élu, je ne sais pas si les autorités chinoises vont être moins regardantes... Qui sait, ils vont peut-être même revenir au statut de début 2010, au temps où une photo et 200 HKD suffisaient !
Voilà ! A mon avis, tu peux te présenter au "consulat" et essayer la méthode "normale". Si ça fonctionne, parfait, tu auras économisé 20€. Et si ça ne fonctionnait pas, tu pourrait essayer les agences mentionnées ci-dessus.
Bon voyage à HK ! 🙂
La sagesse, c'est d'avoir des rêves assez grands pour ne pas les perdre de vue quand on les poursuit. ~ Oscar Wilde.
Bravo Nereya pour cette initiative!
Une grosse partie des questions sur Hong Kong concernant ce point, j espere qu ca evitera les repetitions.
Etant donne les demarches fastidieuses, le mieux reste quand meme de faire son visa en avance de France pour eviter de perdre son temps sur place.
Que ca soit les agences specialisees (celles qui fournissent des faux documents, moins galere mais plus cheres) ou la filiere officielle aou bureau des visa, il faut s attenre a perdre au moins une demi rien que pour les demarches.
Merci pour ces renseignements Nereya! Je vais essayer d'en avoir un à partir de Saigon, si ça ne fonctionne pas, je vais me rabattre sur Hong Kong, au pire des cas, je laisse tomber la chine et je vais filer vers la Thaïlande, l'Indonésie, etc. Comme je suis canadien, je pense que c'est plus facile...malgré que les relations canado-chine ne sont pas superbes!
Hi there,
I’m heading to Senegal in January for a month and was wondering if I just need my French driver’s license or if I should get an international permit?
Thanks!
JL
Hi,
I’m bringing Seresta, an anxiolytic (tranquilizer) from the benzodiazepine family,
to help me sleep.
I’ll have the prescription with me.
Will this be a problem at customs, and do I need to declare it?
Same question for antibiotics?
Thanks a bunch!
I’m heading to Laos next spring, but I have a question about the Thai arrival/departure form. I’ll be flying PAR-BKK, then taking the train to Laos (so exiting Thailand), and later re-entering Thailand by train to catch my return flight. Do I need to fill out two forms in this case?
Hi there,
I have a 9-seater passenger vehicle that I use for my business in Paris, transporting people.
I’m planning to go to Algeria with my family.
The vehicle registration lists my company as the owner.
Can I get a TPD (Temporary Admission Document)?
Will I need a KBis extract or a power of attorney?!?
Thanks for your help.
Worst case, I can add my personal name as a co-owner on the registration, but that would be a real shame!
Hi,
I’m writing to ask for some info—I’ve heard that you **must** have travel insurance to land in Zanzibar.
What’s the process, and which insurance should I get?
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Best,
Seb
Hi there,
I’m a French citizen living in Switzerland, and I set up an RV LLC in Montana, USA. Through that, I was able to register 3 vehicles (an RV, a Jeep, and a Harley) with Montana plates.
I’d like to spend 3 months in Mexico, but it seems complicated—maybe even impossible—to cross the border from the US with all 3 vehicles.
Can anyone give me some advice?
Hi, are there any travelers who’ve recently crossed the border between Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan) and Beineu in Kazakhstan?
It was closed for a while.
Thanks for any info!
I bought a one-way flight (Ryanair) and a return flight (EasyJet) to spend a week in Morocco in April.
My passport expires 3 weeks after the return date.
Some websites say the passport must be valid for 3 months at the time of entry.
However, it will still be valid both on entry and return, but its validity will only be 1 month at the time of entry (and 3 weeks on the return date, everything prepaid).
It's an individual family trip.
The consulate can't give me an answer—they're still looking into it (really!)
Last year, we stayed for 3 months in Thailand, north of Khao Lak, and were able to benefit from the 2-month visa exemption, renewable for one month by going to Takua Pa to validate a 1-month extension (1,900 baht).
This year, it’s a disaster for us—not only were we planning a 4-month stay, adding a visa run in between (which some say is quite risky), but the law is apparently changing in the coming months with the return of the 1-month exemption (plus the usual 1-month option). So, we looked into applying for a 6-month multiple-entry visa, allowing a maximum of 60 consecutive days in Thailand. However, I can’t find anywhere the minimum time required outside Thailand between two stays—do any of you have an idea?
Thanks for the info! If you’d like tips on Khao Lak and the surrounding areas, we’ve got some experience, though things change fast!
Cheers,
Bruno.
My partner, our 8-year-old daughter, and I are going on vacation to Gex.
We’ve decided to spend one day in Switzerland and another in Italy. Will we need ID (national ID card or passport)? Do we also need ID for our daughter?
Hello,
We’ll soon be moving to Madagascar long-term.
As a French national, I need to obtain a short-stay visa that can be converted to a long-stay one. To do this, I have to send the required documents to the Madagascar embassy in Paris.
No issues with that procedure so far.
If I get this visa, once I arrive in Madagascar, I’ll need to provide the same documents to the Ministry of the Interior in Anosy. I’m trying to find an email address or website for the Ministry to check which documents I need to submit (I think they ask for additional ones).
If you have any info on this, I’d appreciate your replies.
Best regards,
M. Buisson Eric
I’d like to know if anyone has already applied for a private visa to Russia with an invitation from a Russian resident.
I traveled earlier this year with an e-visa, but since I want to stay longer, I’ll be visiting my friend who lives in eastern Russia.
For the visa application, does the invitation need to be on an official paper form issued by the Russian ministry? And most importantly, do I need to present the original for the application, or is there an electronic version that can be sent directly to the consulate in France?
Thanks for any info if you’ve gone through this process before!
I filled out the B2 form to apply for a visa, created an account on Atvis to pay the visa fees and schedule a meet-up, but every time I try to pay with my Boursobank Visa 1st card, they refuse the payment with a message telling me to check my details (address), even though everything is correct. Does anyone know why this is happening, or maybe they don’t accept Visa cards? Are you aware of this?
Thanks for your feedback!
Elisabeth
There are rumors going around about the ETA: it must absolutely be on your smartphone in the "ETA" app.
Paper documents might not be accepted.
Is this real or just a hoax?
Thanks, I’m leaving in 3 weeks. My passport is good to go and my ETA is still valid for a year, but I only printed the email I received.
Thanks everyone.
Hi there,
We need to apply for a B2 visa because we visited Iran in 2018. It currently costs $185, but they’re planning an additional $250 fee per person for the same visa—it’s been approved but not yet implemented. Does anyone know when this fee will take effect?
Thanks in advance!
Elisabeth
Hi there,
In November, we're heading off on a 4-month trip. We'll be landing in China and plan to leave the country via a land border into Vietnam.
I’ve read that China may ask for proof of exit within 30 days (flight ticket or other reservation). Since we’d be leaving by land, I’m wondering how this works in practice.
Has anyone here been in this situation recently?
Did the airline ask for an exit ticket before boarding?
Did Chinese authorities require proof upon arrival?
Is a train/bus ticket to Vietnam sufficient?
Is a cancelable or flexible reservation accepted?
Hi there,
Just a question that’s probably been asked before (though usually the other way around for my situation :))
My wife and I are heading to the US.
On her ticket, it only has her maiden name (e.g., Martine DUPOND).
On her passport, it’s written as Martine DUPOND épouse AVRY.
No issues for travel, I hope I did the right thing with the ticket?
Then for the ESTA, is just Martine DUPOND enough, or do I need to include the "épouse AVRY" part like on the passport?
Thanks in advance!
Hi there,
I’m spending a few days in San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) and would like to cross the Argentine border to make a loop toward Salta and then return to Chile to drop off the rental car.
I’ve heard that crossing the border can be tricky!
Is it possible with a rental company’s authorization? Which company, and at what cost?
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Best regards,
Arnale
I saw on the French Embassy in Peru’s website and the Peruvian Consulate in Paris’s site that the rule is to have a passport valid for 6 months *after the arrival date* (not the return date).
I arrive in Peru on August 13, 2019 (for about twelve days), and my passport is valid until February 16, 2020.
That’s 6 months and 3 days after my arrival date in Peru. In my opinion, I’m good to go.
But could I still be denied entry if they say I don’t cover the return date or that I’m too close to the 6-month mark?
I read on the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs website that it’s possible to apply for a temporary driving permit in China, valid for 1 month.
I’m planning to rent a car (without a driver) to explore part of the country next August, so I was wondering:
Has anyone here already gone through this process upon arrival?
How long do the formalities take on the spot?
Is it possible to handle these steps in advance, before arriving in China?
Hi there,
My departure is slowly approaching, and now that I’ve got my Russian visa sorted, I’m fine-tuning the rest of my trip to Tajikistan. Since the Tajik visa is no longer required for stays under 30 days (for French nationals), I’ll need to visit the Ministry of Interior (OVIR) to register within 10 days of entering the country. No big deal, though, since I had to go there anyway to apply for my GBAO permit. 😉 However, I’ve *seen* several reports from travelers (mostly motorized) mentioning that you need an entry permit for Kyrgyzstan, which has to be arranged in advance at the Kyrgyz Ministry (consulate?) in Dushanbe. Otherwise, you’re *stuck* at the Kyzyl-Art border (with no Wi-Fi, of course, to try and sort it out). The most recent report was from a year ago, so I’d love to know if this is still the case and if it’s indeed at the Kyrgyz Ministry (consulate?) where you need to go for this pre-authorization.
Does anyone have any recent info on this?
Thanks in advance!
Hi everyone.
I’m leaving for almost 3 months in the Philippines (11 weeks total) starting in early May.
I already have my round-trip ticket.
The problem is, I don’t have time to get a 2-month visa because the process takes nearly a month.
From what I’ve read here and there, I need a return ticket valid for less than a month when I arrive in the Philippines to prove my good faith.
After that, I can apply for a 30-day extension at the immigration office.
I’m planning to either buy a fully refundable ticket to the nearest country or a fake ticket.
For 3 months, I’ll need to extend my visa two more times before my return date to France.
My question is this:
Will immigration ask me each time I extend my visa by one month to show proof of an exit ticket matching the new visa extension date?
Is it possible to extend directly by 2 months before the initial 30 days expire?
Thanks in advance for your experiences and tips! 😊
I’ve been to Thailand several times, but it was about 20 years ago…
There’s a new system in place now, it seems.
TDAC – Thailand Digital Arrival Card.
Before arriving, I apply for a TDAC, okay.
If during my stay I cross the border to spend a few days in Malaysia and then re-enter Thailand,
do I need to submit a new TDAC application?
Do I use the same TDAC as when I first entered the country?
Or do I initially have to pay for a Thai multi-entry visa?
Thanks in advance for your insights—I can’t find the answer online.
My partner (Mexican) entered France on January 21st as a tourist. She was therefore entitled to stay for 90 days in the Schengen Area. She’ll be leaving for Mexico on April 16th, so she’ll have “used up” 86 days.
She plans to return to France on July 18th. According to the European Commission’s Schengen calculator, this new stay “may be authorized for a maximum of 90 days.” That’s not very clear ("may be," "for a maximum of").
The text of Article 6 of the European regulation (2016/399) states that for a stay planned in the territory of the Member States, not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period, one must examine "the 180-day period preceding each day of the stay." That’s not very clear either.
My partner wants to return to France for a 90-day period starting on July 18th. Is this possible?
There are two ways to look at it:
1) The first day she spent in the Schengen Area was January 21st. That day will drop out of the calculation 180 days later, on July 20th.
From July 20th, she’ll get back 1 day of possible stay; on July 22nd, 2 days; and so on. All the days from her previous stay (January 21st–April 16th) need to be outside the 180-day rolling window.
The last day of her stay was April 16th. Looking 180 days ahead, that brings us to October 13th. From that date, she’ll be able to return for a full 90 days.
2) The number of allowed days is calculated for each day of the new stay. In other words: the 180-day window is recalculated every day, not fixed at the entry date.
If she re-enters France on July 18th, she’ll only have a “credit” of 4 days. But with each day of her new stay, one day from the previous stay (January–April) will drop out of the calculation. The rolling window allows her to “replace” days from the previous stay with those of the new stay, without ever exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period.
In this case, my partner could stay in France for 90 days starting on July 18th.
The Prefecture doesn’t provide any information, nor does Air France, and in the forums I’ve checked, opinions are divided. Thanks for any insights you can share!
Hello,
We’re planning to travel to Indonesia (Sulawesi with family) next July and August for a stay longer than a month (about 6 weeks).
I’ve seen that it’s possible to get a 60-day visa before departure, but I’ve also read about people having a lot of trouble getting it (some even didn’t manage and had to leave without it).
We absolutely need to have these 4 visas BEFORE leaving because once we’re in Sulawesi, I’m not sure we’ll be able to go to an embassy to request a visa extension after 30 days.
In short, how can we **100% guarantee** that we’ll get our 4 60-day visas before our trip this summer?
Hello, HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026!
We’re heading back in October for a trip through Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
I have a question: for our route, we’ll need to cross the Zambia and Zimbabwe borders twice each. From experience, I know we won’t have any issues with Botswana.
But for the other two countries, I can’t find a clear answer.
All your tips are welcome!
I’m currently a student on a gap year, and I don’t plan to go back to school right away. That said, traveling really interests me. But I’ve been wondering: does being a student come with any perks when you decide to go abroad? The real question is whether I should re-enroll in a program just to keep that status without actually attending.
