Visa Applications Fully Booked Until July! New Mea

Source:OT-Team(S,J), National Business Daily

Among them, the number of Exit-Entry documents applicants in Shanghai had reached a record high. Outbound travel is expected to surge during the "Labor Day" holiday.Peak of passport application, outbound tour expected to burst in MayAccording to data from the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration, since the resumption of Exit-Entry document processing for one month, citizens have been enthusiastic about applying （including renewing）for passports and travel permits. From January 9 to February 8, 2023, the Exit-Entry administration in Shanghai had issued more than 380,000 Exit-Entry documents for citizens, which hit a record high. According to CCTV news, passport and visa processing in Hangzhou has also entered a peak period. The appointments between February 10 and 20 are fully booked. Since January 8, Hangzhou has issued 40,000 passports, which is more than the total quantity of last year.

According to the official website of the Visa Application Center of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, interview appointment applications for the business visa （B1）and  tourist visa （B2） to the United States are already fully scheduled until July. For the Guangzhou visa processing center, there are neither vacant appointments available as of July 31, and reservations cannot be made for August and September yet. Applications for French visa is also soaring, as France is considered to be one of those with a higher approval rate among the Schengen countries. It was noticed that the appointments of the French visa processing center in Shanghai has been scheduled to the end of March, with only a small number of vacant appointments left, and in Guangzhou it is also scheduled to mid-to-late March.

"In addition to the United States, France, Spain and Italy are all popular countries with most visa application. Judging from the appointment situation in February and March, there are not many vacancies left." An outbound travel consultant told reporters. Among Southeast Asian countries, Philippine visas are also in short supply, and the quotas in Shanghai in February have all been booked.

On February 11, the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Toronto issued a notice stating that, in order to facilitate foreign applicants from the consular district to apply for visas to China, the following two relevant visa facilitation measures will be provided:1. Issuing long-term multiple-entry visas: The Consulate General will continue to issue multiple visas for business (M), family visit (Q2), personal affairs (S2), talent (R), for eligible Canadian applicants in the consular district.2. Speeding up processing: If the documents meet the requirements, the Consulate General will make a decision on visa issuance as soon as possible, it normally takes 4 working days (submitted on Monday and picked up on Thursday), and applicants can also apply for paid expedited service when submitting documents at the Visa Application Center. Website: http://toronto.china-consulate.gov.cn/chn/zxdt/202302/t20230211_11023886.htmAt the same time, The Consulate General will increase the number of open appointments by no less than 50% to meet the demand for regular visas (e.g. planning to visit China within half a year); and provide temporary incremental appointments for urgent needs (e.g. going to China within 1 month due to special reasons). Those fail to make the appointment, but with urgent reasons, are suggested to apply through the “Green channel” by contacting the Visa Application Centre  for China in Toronto through email torontocenter@visaforchina.org, with necessary documents and supporting files provided.