China visa with less than 6 months ARC

[batrenee]

I just wanted to warn others about my experience recently.

I booked a Beijing tour, and although I have less than six months on my ARC, my travel agent told me that I could just pay a little more money for a Chinese visa. After I paid for the package, the travel agent then told me that because my ARC is BLUE and has less than 6 months before it expires I cannot get a Chinese visa after all.

Apparently one can only do the 'pay extra' option if your ARC is the older green type.

Does anyone know why the colour of your ARC is important? Or why having less than 6 months on your ARC matters anyway?

[jackoneill87]

Batrenee, I feel your pain. My boyfriend and I have already booked tickets to Beijing - we wanted to see China before going home. We felt confident we could get visas because we'd read many times that it was possible, but that you just had to pay a little more. Now we've contacted travel agents who tell us it isn't possible anymore, the Chinese government has really tightened up on this issue. My boyfriend's co teacher even called the immigration office to ask them to extend our ARC cards - but to no avail. Serves us right for not checking with a travel agent before booking I suppose.

You could look at flying to Hong Kong and getting a visa there before entering the mainland - you might still be able to do the tour!

As for 'why' I think it's because they think you want to work illegally as an English teacher - which I know has happened in the past. But it is totally ridiculous. Anyone from an English speaking country coming from anywhere in the world might want to do that. Someone leaving Korea at the end of their contract will have more time and money to spend on tourism. Their loss. But I'm pretty pissed off. It's kind of quelled my curiosity about the country so I might just see about booking a connection from Beijing to somewhere else in Asia. Maybe it will work out cheaper than from Seoul anyway.