Letter to the editor: New requirements for Chinese visas

Our office was informed in March 2013 of the new requirements for obtaining a tourist visa to China.

The new requirements added are:

• An invitation letter from the company/operator in China, which has to state the passenger’s name, surname, travel dates, cities the client intends to visit as well as passport number. The letter has to be an original and bear the company stamp.
• A letter from the bank to state that clients have enough funds (at least R1000 per day) to sustain themselves while in China (this is additional to the three months’ bank statements needed).

While the invitation letter from China is not a problem for Wendy Wu Tours to obtain from our operators/office in China, it seems that they are not being consistent with the information that has to appear on the letter or what is needed for the visa, and are making it even more difficult for clients to apply for the visa.

We would like to know if other operators/travel agents are also experiencing this and if we can get some answers from the Chinese embassies in Gauteng about why they are becoming so strict and being unreasonable with their requirements. What has changed? Don’t they want South Africans travelling to China?


Alet Steyn, business development manager Wendy Wu Tours