Canadian Passport to overseas GuangZhou - visa required?

[plucky duck]

My friend who has both a China Passport and a Canadian Passport advised me that even though I have a Canadian Passport, to go to China I am still required to apply for a visitor visa to China?? :confused:

I've never been out of country before, so would appreciate some clarification, thanks!

[asdfvcx]

Yes, Canadians require a visa to visit China. The Chinese embassy's website has some info and a good travel agent will be able to help you out as well.

http://ca.china-embassy.org/eng/lsfw/Chinese%20Visa/default.htm

[GangStarr]

I know nothing about China but wouldn't having a passport allow that person access without a visa? I am assuming GuangZhou is in China?

Passport Canada is always going to advise that you travel on your Canadian passport at all times. They said the same thing when I was going to Turkey, but the visa was MUCH cheaper on my EU passport.

You will need your Canadian passport if you ever plan to return to Canada though.

[Ebola]

I know nothing about China but wouldn't having a passport allow that person access without a visa? I am assuming GuangZhou is in China?

Passport Canada is always going to advise that you travel on your Canadian passport at all times. They said the same thing when I was going to Turkey, but the visa was MUCH cheaper on my EU passport.

You will need your Canadian passport if you ever plan to return to Canada though.


OP's friend has dual-citizenship I believe.

OP has Canadian citizenship.

Therefore OP need's a visa to enter China, and passport will mean automatic re-entry into Canada.

[omagedon]

Yup! You need a VISA to enter China, if you are staying in HK for a bit before going to China, goto one of the Travel Agency in HK to get a VISA usually takes about 2-3 business days its way cheaper than getting it here but if you are going directly to China or not staying in HK long then get it here. Saved me about 70 bucks for two visits by getting it in HK.

You can goto Macau without a VISA but Shenzhen/Guangzhou you do....for HK residents they don't need a VISA since its special so when my friend and me went to China I had to pay for a VISA but he didn't :(

[mingming]

how can u get both China and Canadian citizenship?
i thought that was impossible in Chinese rules

[devildude8989]

how can u get both China and Canadian citizenship?
i thought that was impossible in Chinese rules

Most countries (except Germany) don't check. It is fairly hard for them to know.

[Jay1234]

how can u get both China and Canadian citizenship?
i thought that was impossible in Chinese rules

The friend can enter china on his chinese passport, but if something happens, Canada will not back him up as he is technically without any canadian status on entering china with his chinese passport.



Jay

[Jay1234]

Yup! You need a VISA to enter China, if you are staying in HK for a bit before going to China, goto one of the Travel Agency in HK to get a VISA usually takes about 2-3 business days its way cheaper than getting it here but if you are going directly to China or not staying in HK long then get it here. Saved me about 70 bucks for two visits by getting it in HK.

You can goto Macau without a VISA but Shenzhen/Guangzhou you do....for HK residents they don't need a VISA since its special so when my friend and me went to China I had to pay for a VISA but he didn't :(

If you are not staying in HK this would be a great expense. The visa if you apply in Canada is only $50 CDN. If you need to arrange to stay in HK, a 2 day hotel is going to be a heck of a lot more then $50 CDN.

To get to Shenzhen, you can either take a bus from the airport (If I remember it was pretty cheap) or you can take the train to the border and walk through.

If you are going multiple times, it is a lot chaeper and easier to apply for a multiple entry visa, sometimes however they won't give this to you if you have never been to China before.

Jay

[somemale]

No, you can pay for your passport with cash if you want.

[aimfox]

I got a visa just to go to Hong Kong. i find it normal, its probably you havent cross the border for so long. the length of times you can stay in china is about 3 months or 90 days depending on your passport

[omagedon]

If you are not staying in HK this would be a great expense. The visa if you apply in Canada is only $50 CDN. If you need to arrange to stay in HK, a 2 day hotel is going to be a heck of a lot more then $50 CDN.

If you are going multiple times, it is a lot chaeper and easier to apply for a multiple entry visa, sometimes however they won't give this to you if you have never been to China before.

Jay

Man, you really need to read up on what I said LOL. I said exactly what you just complained about my post. I said, "If you are staying in HK long then do this route if not get a VISA here"

Also, multiple times I have no idea where you got that from I had no problems getting multiple entry VISA. Unless of course, if you are a business man or have no jobs..but they never asked me that.

[isom3tric]

Man, you really need to read up on what I said LOL. I said exactly what you just complained about my post. I said, "If you are staying in HK long then do this route if not get a VISA here"

Also, multiple times I have no idea where you got that from I had no problems getting multiple entry VISA. Unless of course, if you are a business man or have no jobs..but they never asked me that.

How much is the VISA at Hong Kong. My friends and I are planning to go there for 3 weeks, and my friend's dad who lives there told us we needed a visa.

If what you say is true, we technically don't need a visa to enter HK? Also if we bought the Visa @ HK, how much are we saving compared to the $50 here.

[setell]

I just got back from HK and Guangzhou so I guess I'll try to shed some light on the costs. I was in HK long enough to get my visa to enter China so I got it in HK instead of getting it here in Canada. Cost wise it's much MUCH cheaper in HK than it is here (Canada). Check out China Travel Services (HK) that will do your visa's to enter China.

http://www.ctshk.com/english/useful/chinesevisa.htm

I had to get the dual entry visa since I was going to Beijing too and we had a bit of problem getting the multi entry visa since they only allow business people to get them and not so much just tourist.

Btw how do you get two passports? a Canadian and a China passport? thought China doesn't allow dual citizenship?? but then I wouldn't want to have a China passport as there is no true benefit to having one.