I just picked up my travel visa for China the other day. For your information, I am a Canadian who applied for a Chinese, single entry travel visa. I did this all in my hometown of Calgary.

The process was very simple. First, for the most recent information and instructions you can go to the website for the Chinese Consulate in Calgary. They have the information here, but I did find it hard to navigate and some of the office hours seem to contract themselves. i.e. Office hours are different than the phone hours, but after seeing how busy it was, maybe there is a good reason.

You can pick up your forms and information there if you want as well, but I would not go out of my way since it is available online anyways.

The main page you will need is the Chinese Visa Instructions page on their website.

Steps to Get A Canadian Chinese Visa

1. Fill In the Application

I downloaded and printed off the chinese visa application (PDF) from the forms download page.

It is fairly simple. When it asks for your reason and destination, I just put the cities I knew I would be in and Tourism as my reason.

2. Get a Passport Photo

My wife and I got our photos from the photo booth in the mall. These have always worked fine in the past, but they didn't seem to like them at the embassy. They let it pass this time, but next time I am supposed to get the proper sized (2 inch x 2 inch) photos. Just paper clip them to your application.

3. Drop Off the Application

If you live in Calgary, you must go to the consulate to drop off your application. Otherwise, you are allowed to mail it in (I think you need to include a paid postage, return envelope too). The Chinese consulate is just west of downtown Calgary on 6th Avenue and 10 Street SW. If your drive past the consulate (6th Avenue is a one-way avenue west bound), you can take your first left and there is meter parking on the side street. I only needed a half hour, but it was only moderately busy at the time.

You need the following items:

• Completed application form.
• Attached passport size photo. Use a paper clip. Do not staple.
• Your passport. It needs to be valid for at least 6 months from the date of travel. It also needs one totally blank page because the visa will take up the whole page.
• Any extra documentation, if you think it is necessary.

Check their website, but office hours when I went were 9AM to 12PM Monday to Friday. You just walk in, stand in line, and drop it off. Do not worry too much about missing information on the form and being out your visa fee. They look at it when you drop it off to much sure everything is in order before processing. They will give you a pickup receipt for you when you come back.

Note: You have to pay when you pick your passport, not when you drop it off.

I dropped my application off on a Thursday and it was ready on the Tuesday morning (Monday was a stat holiday as well). This was the standard service in May when I applied. The cost was $50 per visa. This is your standard single entry tourist visa. You can pay more for rush service, multiple entries, extended stay, etc.

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Category: Travel

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