Travelers who postpone their stay in China because of the Covid-2019 epidemic will have to apply for a new visa. Visas ordered before the travel restriction measures implemented by the Chinese government risk being lost. A visa is valid for 90 days. However, organized trips are suspended in China until March 31 at least at the request of the tour operators union (Seto). For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly advises the French to go there, unless there are imperative reasons.
French tourists who have booked through an agency are offered a postponement of dates, a change of destination or even a reimbursement of the stay (flight, accommodation, activities ...). There remains the question of visa fees. The tourist visa for China costs at least € 126. A price that can double if you choose an accelerated procedure or if you go through your travel agency or a visa ordering organization (Action-Visas, CIBTvisas, RapideVisa ...).
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Despite the exceptional situation, "the Chinese consular authorities are not considering the reimbursement or the extension of the validity of visas ," assures Nguyen Binh, director of Action-Visas, with Le Figaro . If travelers postpone their trip and their entry into Chinese territory is not more than three months after the visa is issued, there is no problem. In addition, the exit from the country can be carried out after the end of the validity of the visa within the limit of thirty days. " In the event of a new visa application, it is not necessary to re-register your fingerprints, as has been the case since July 2019. These fingerprints are indeed kept for five years by the consular authorities.
More flexibility for e-visa
Electronic visas (e-visa) offer more flexibility. Offered by certain intermediaries, they are valid for stays of 30 days maximum for groups of at least two people and do not require fingerprint registration. "In this case, the validity date of the visa can be postponed at no cost," says Action-Visas, who offers it from € 149.
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If the situation in China does not improve, travelers who already have a visa and still want to go there will need to apply for a new one. And pay consular fees a second time. An additional cost that some tour operators could exceptionally cover. "We have not yet decided on the commercial gestures to adopt for customers who have ordered their visa through us, " said Guillaume Linton, CEO of Asia Voyages . The question will arise from April, when the visas of travelers who had planned to leave in January will expire. ”