Hi Ozbargainers,
We got the deal here in Ozbargain and just landed Hainan today. We thought we could get a 15 days visa and planned our trip accordingly (to the mainland) but turned out that we can only get 7days visa. The customs officer said we need to extend it in Hainan. We are at Sanya atm, where can I extend visa in Sanya? Where can i get help in English
Thanks a lot :(
Thanks for timely response. We will go there first thing in the morning.
Hi @duluxe2000. I was under the impression you could get a 14 days Visa on Arrival (VoA) as an Australian passport holder at Haikou airport (and you're saying, as a tourist, you were only approved for 7 days initially)?
Can you please let us know why your 15 days was not fully approved, and how things went at Fenghuang Road for the 30 day extension?
Best of luck, we'll be learning from your experience!
I arrived into Haikou 3 weeks ago and got 14 days as a lone traveler. I had a copy of my outbound flight details to support it (and passport photos and hotel booking etc)
@JBOT: did you stay only in Hainan island? I highly suspect that if you only stay in Hainan, you can get 14 days. But if you plan to go to mainland, you will get less and forced to extend.
Out of interest would you recommend Hainan to visit. Is it cheap? Does anyone speak English?
I did not find Haikou itself to be very enjoyable, maybe Sanya is better. No-one speaks any English in Haikou, including at the train station at the airport - be prepared with Chinese language addresses etc
Its cheap, but it depends on how you like to travel.
Its not catered towards western english speaking tourists.
So to book tours you would have to brave travel agents who most likely would onlny speak chinise, and use a phone translator.
I would download bai du maps and use it for transport.
I stayed in low end places, I imagine larger chain hotels would be more equipped for travelers.
I stayed at hostels and just got lucky a chinese dude showed me around.
Please post through reviews after you come back to Australia. Have fun and Thank you very much in advance.
Hi OP, what a hassle. I'm wondering why others got 14 and you got only 7. Were you traveling on an Australian passport?
I'm wanting to visit Sanya from HK (Australian passport).. Does anyone know if I need a visa or can I get a 7/14/15 day VOA?
Any idea on cost?
I've read so much conflicting info online.
Yes you can
No you can't
Need to book via hk/China agency
Need five or more people etc etc
Need 1 photo but bring 2 just in case.
Cost was around 170 RMB. I think I was charged 180 but didn't want to bring it up with customs.
Be prepared for a 2 hour wait, (this was with only 6 other people in the line)
They need to call your hotel to confirm booking, so have the hotel phone number/address ready.
Due to all the hassle, we've decided to just spend a few days in Macau instead.
Hi all, I arrived on 30-Mar and only got 7 days visa with Australia passport. This is a matter of fact which happened to me. When asked, the officer answered it "changed" recently.
I disputed this but couldn't change his decision.
Anyway, the fact remains the same: there is NO OFFICIAL channel that Australia passport can get 15 days or 7 days. So be prepared.
Right now im still at lost since I landed on Friday night and visa renew office does not work on weekends and it takea a few days to renew it :(
Everything I've read on this post (and on the net) leads me to believe:
- With hotel bookings, passport photos and 6 months+ remaining on passport, there is no hassle (aside from 1-3 hour line) obtaining a 14 day Visa on Arrival (VoA) when flying direct from Sydney to Haikou.
- Your challenge is the fact you wanted to hop across from Hainan to Mainland China, hence you were awarded 7 days only.
Does the above sound right?
It might not worth the risk to get voa. We had to waited for 1 hours for a few visas issued. The officer will check your hotel bookings and call them to check. I saw a couple with Airbnb and the host didn't take the call….
If you plan to travel to mainland and need more than 7 days. GET your visa in SYdney plus the SIM cards
No one in Saya speaks English, btw
To clarify, this risk is when travelling to Hainan AND Mainland China. There is no need for OzBargainers to panic for up to 15-days travel limited to to Hainan-only. VoA rules here:
Nationals of Australia can obtain a visa on arrival at Haikou (HAK) for a maximum stay of 15 days. They must have a passport valid for at least 6 months on arrival and 2 passport photos.
Payable in cash and local currency only.
source (after filling in form): https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/CN-China-passport-visa-heal…
Please confirm this "Urgent Help" thread is due to the fact you had a complex itinerary that included the mainland (rather than staying on the tourist island only). Thanks.
I hope you are right mate. I thought I had all information before i go. If it is not, have fun dealing with Chinese officers…
Btw, if you stay only on the island. Extending a visa is trivial, just look up the information above. Give the tax driver the address in Chinese
Hello again,
I don't know how to update the original post so I write a comment here:
Anyone travels to Hainnan recently on VOA and comment?
Yes there's another thread on OzB about that.
It is usually possible to extend a tourist visa for an additional 30 days. Visitors should apply for extensions at the Public Security Bureau’s Visa Department at Fenghuang Road.
http://en.sanyatour.com/about/key-facts/visa-information/