Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Travelling To China. Well Almost.
I know some countries will not allow entry to people whose passports are within six months of expiring. I know this because it once happened to me, but I cannot remember whether it was Korea or China, or maybe some place else. It was no big deal at the time because I learned of the six month rule before I left the United States and I was able to renew my passport in plenty of time.
Today though I was checking to see if China has the six month rule and my Google search first led me to this excellent and fairly comprehensive US State Department site on travel to China. This site is chock full of all sorts of good information on China, ranging from locations of consulates, to visa requirements, to what to do if you are a victim of crime. I am not surprised by this as US government websites are often terrific first stops for these (and many other) sorts of things.
Anyway, if you are going to China or even if you are already there, I recommend you spend fifteen minutes reading this page as I am sure it will teach you something important or interesting you did not already know. Oh, and on that six month issue, it directed me to the Chinese Embassy website which states that at least six months must remain.
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Comments
I keep getting reminders to renew my passport. If I want to go back to China this summer I need a new one.
Posted by: Chinamatt | February 7, 2010 8:34 AM
You might want also to try the IATA Travel centre www.iatatravelcentre.org which maintains the document requirements (such as whether passport most be valid for six months) for every country in the world.
Posted by: Jon Webb | February 8, 2010 2:29 AM
Sorry, Dan, but those State Department pages are a joke. The safety information is hysterical CYA, and the visa information is often out-of-date or uselessly vague.
That's particularly true with regard to the PRC, where visa regulations change often with the political winds -- but only at some embassies or consulates. For example, perhaps a year ago, some PRC embassies started demanding, without notice, paid hotel reservations for tourist visas; then, as silently as the rule was created, it vanished.
My advice is to troll travel boards for credible-seeming and recent reports of the visa situation for people who are in exactly your situation (in terms of passport held, embassy or consulate applied to, visa requested, number of entries requested, etc.).
But relying on the U.S. government's web pages is a waste of time.
Posted by: PKL | February 8, 2010 1:28 PM