Embassy reports: China visa from Tbilisi

[kunibald]

Good news and bad news here.
I was able to apply for an tourist visa last week (german passport holder) without residence permit, but with questions asked regarding my stay in georgia. Today I got my visa, so that worked out. The bad news is, contrary to ArbitraryAmbitions and other peoples experiences, they changed their policies again and only give 30 days single entry for tourist visa. I had an itinerary and bookings for 2x50 days, but no discussion. Three month turnaround. Same for other applicants.
They also wanted to have that proof of employment either in english or translated with validation from notar (my diploma would have worked as well, but I wouldn't count on that). One picture, bookings, plane tickets, proof of employment, filled out form, 61 Lari. Everything was checked carefully. Prepare a story why you are employed in your home country while being a resident in georgia, because that can cause confusion.
I arrived at something like 7:50, and there were already something like 50 people. No waiting line, but the system works as following: You ask for the last person that arrived, make contact, and then watch out for the next person to come. This will be your place in line. If you don't do that, you will probably have problems of applying, since most of the people follow this system. Nevertheless, some tried to skip and finally entered the embassy without being the one in line and things got heated up to a point where people stormed the embassy and security had to step in. Therefore I would advise you to be there around 6 AM or even earlier, to have a safe place and get out before the crowd gets nervous. Usually, they close at 12, and the people still waiting can try again the next day.
The system for pickup works similar. Arrive early and get your place in the pickup waiting line. Once inside, you have to pay the money at the machine and then wait for your passport to be prepared.

[grahammb_315]

March 2019: British guy successful application for double 30 day entry tourist visa in Tbilisi embassy, valid for 6 months. Go to their website, fill out form fully and bring required documents (including LOI which I requested from a hotel). I also provided flight itinerary (not bought tickets, just as far as the flight website let me go without paying), bank statements and hotel bookings. Go to embassy early. No residence permit. No questions about Turkish stamp in passport. 3 day turnaround cost 90 GEL.

[dave_nidda]

May 2019:
Handed in the same documents as Graham in March 2019 but only got a single entry with 3 months validity. They said that you only can get a single entry if it is the first time you visit china.. Makes no sense to me..
No residence permit needed. Just said that I can stay in Georgia for 1 year and plan to live there. No questions about any passport stamps.
Applied on friday, picked up on monday. 100GEL.
Italian citizen.

[olig]

Hi Dave,
you also had to bring a LOI ? which Chinese ho(s)tel(s) would you recommend to ask for?
I am on my way to Tbilisi so very interested by your feedback!!
cheers,
oli

[dave_nidda]

I don't know whether the LOI was necessary but i handed it in... Just try to book some hostels/hotels on booking, that you can cancel for free. And ask for a LOI. Took me several tries, but the 5th did send me one

[alarencontredumonde]

Hi! Just to sum up our experience on chinese visa in Tbilisi:

Two canadians passeports. There were a lot of people on Monday. We arrived at 9h40 (it opens at 9h30) and entered the embassy at 11h20 (it closes at 11h30). The english speaking girl was not so friendly. She first asked us if we were resident in Georgia. We said that we were staying for a long time. She asked for proof of residency. We said we didn't have one. Then a chinese guy seemed to tell her that it was ok. They asked us for proof of employment, bank statement, booking hotels (we booked one in the first city, and one in hong kong to justify double entries), flight tickets, itinerary (we specified hotels for every city), photo x1 and the form. No letter of invitation. Our itinerary was quite simple (didn't mention Xinjian and Tibet). We asked if they preferred a Georgian address or canadian one in the form and they asked for the Georgian one. They prepared a bill: 180 Laris for each visa. 2 x 60 days, 6 months before it expires. They told us to come back on Friday. Almost nobody was queuing last Friday. We arrived at 10 am and had our visas at 10h30.

It seems to me that they could change their mind very easily about delivering visas to foreign passports... But it is just a feeling... A friend of us had try a week before us. American passport, 240 Laris for a one year visa multiple entries. He said that it is the only thing they wanted to give him there.

Hope this is helpful!

Good Luck!

[ArnoAgape]

Thank you for your update alarencontredumonde! I will go tomorrow for my visa. I will go to China from Kirghizistan so maybe I don't have to mention it. Do they accept card or only cash? Thank you!

[alarencontredumonde]

You're welcome!

We plan to go to China from Kirghizstan too, but we didn't mention it in our itinerary. As suggested by Caravanistan.

Good luck!

[Tinman]

Another Canadian. My application for a Chinese tourist visa was refused this morning. I was first in line, arrived at 5.30am. All of my documents were in order, with a 3-page itinerary. The sole reason given by the front desk woman was that I lack a Georgian residence permit. Given what others have said here, and what transpired at the Consulate, I doubt she was being honest.

My suspicion is that I was refused because I am self-employed and the documents I provided, although entirely legitimate, were not satisfactory to the Chinese administrator. The woman went through my documents at the window and she asked me about my business papers. I had documents of incorporation, my business licence, business bank account information (including an account statement), and a photocopy of my business card (and the physical card). The licence identifies me as the business owner.

Unfortunately, the incorporation document identifies a woman as the "Director" and this caused confusion. The woman named is a high-level Government of Canada official who, at the time I incorporated in 2014, "certified" the incorporation of my business. The woman at the Consulate thought that this document said that this woman, and not I, was the owner of the company. I showed her my licence (identifying me as the owner), which seemed to clear things up. The reason I had included this document of incorporation was to prove that I am incorporated; however, on reflection, including it was not necessary. Nevertheless, I'm not so sure this confusion was what led them to refuse my application.

She went on to say that I could only have a single entry visa because it's my first trip to China. However, I explained to her that my itinerary includes a trip to Hong Kong and that I am already booked on a departing flight from Shanghai. I asked again, politely, if I could have a double entry visa. She told me to sit down and wait for the Chinese administrator to discuss whether I can apply for a double entry visa.

While I waited, she pointed me out to the administrator and he looked at me several times from behind the glass. Eventually, they called me up and she asked again for my papers. The only document she showed him was my business licence and he immediately rejected my application. When she returned, she asked me again whether I had a residence permit (she already knew that I did not) and then cited that as the reason for rejecting my application. I tried to lobby on my behalf, but she denied that anyone received visas without a Georgian residence permit and the Chinese administrator, who was standing next to her and who only seemed to speak Cantonese, was aggressively motioning for me to leave, which prompted the security guard to point me towards the door, so there wasn't any real opportunity for me to make my case.

So yeah, I just lost a lot of time and money. At least the beer in Tbilisi's cheap.

Does anyone have suggestions on how, or where, I can go (other than Canada) to secure a Chinese visa?

[ArnoAgape]

Same for me... I went to the embassy some minutes ago and they didn't accept my application because I didn't have a Georgian residence permit. I am self employed like Tinman, I am from France but it doesn't matter. Do some people know how to have a residence permit in Georgia easily? If it's too complicated, I will go to Tehran, as it works for the moment.