Applying for a Chinese Visa From Tokyo

I went to the Chinese Visa Application Service Center today and they said they are only processing visas for foreigners with Residence Cards (?) because of some kind of system problem. They said they hope the system is fixed in 2 weeks time, but can’t be sure and indicated I should phone ahead to check if it is possible before returning. They indicated it usually takes about 4 days to process the application (when the system is working).

Long Post #2 on this thread: Temporary Visitor to Japan getting visa for China as of 20th June, 2017 through the Chinese Visa Application Center in Tokyo.

I was invited to visit some friends in China after finishing a two-month internship in Tokyo, and was unsure of my chances of getting a visa given how hesitant the Chinese embassy seems to give them out to temporary visitors to Japan.

Q: Can I get a visa as a temporary visitor to Japan?
A: I read on the internet that, as a temporary visitor to Japan, my chances were not that great. In reality, however, they did not seem to care at all that I was a temporary visitor. They did not even tell me that my chances are slim or that they are making an exception for me. Don’t let the admonitions on the web page deter you. My weird application featuring dual citizenship, multiple invitees, and non-round-trip flights (I plan to spend a week in Beijing before going to Bangkok, rather than back to Tokyo) seemed like a liability to me at first, given how little information is out there, but in spite of all of those things I was perfectly fine.

Q: I’m a dual citizen; what passport should I apply with?
A: Apply with whichever passport the Japanese authorities stuck your temporary visitor landing permission into. I was hoping to apply with my EU (Greek) passport to avoid the high cost that US passport holders have to deal with, but my landing permit is in my US passport, so I had to apply with my US passport (and the corresponding expensive rates). It might help to choose one passport to fill the application out with. I filled it out with both just in case, but that didn’t really sit too well with the staff.

Q: What time frame should I apply for?
A: If you hold a US passport, apply for 10 years. I chose the 90-day option and was corrected to 10 years (60 days per visit) by the application center staff, since the prices are essentially the same for US citizens. I was asked to pay 20,400 yen at pickup (I did this with cash and got change). I cannot speak for citizens of countries aside from the US.

Q: How can I get a picture with the right dimensions?
A: This minor detail really stressed me out. The 証明写真機 everywhere in Tokyo do not have the right photo dimensions for the visa application, which wants 48mm x 33 mm (I believe), with the face in a certain position, and a white background. Save yourself the trouble and take a picture of yourself in the photo booth at the visa application center (yes, there is a photo booth, for 800 yen). If you can’t find scissors or tape to stick it on, they’ll do it for you. If you have a picture and are not sure if they’ll accept it, just put it on and hope for the best. Worse comes worse, they’ll just ask you to take another picture. When you’re done, you can go straight to the front of the line of the front counter and continue the procedure (or at least that’s what they told me to do).

Q: What application materials do I need?
A: Basically, whatever the website says. Be sure to have flights into and out of China, a living arrangement in China (hotel booking or invitation form/letter by a friend including information as published by the Chinese government), photocopies your documents, i.e. passport, landing permission (if you don’t have access to a photocopier, you can use the one they have there). I couldn’t get the person who was hosting me to write an invitation letter/fill out an invitation form and send me the photocopy of their Chinese ID on time so I just had a mutual friend of ours write the invitation in her stead. It was absolutely no problem.

Q: What if I get rejected and I can’t cancel my flights?
A: This was my principal worry with applying, but my advice is to just go ahead and book. If you really want to be safe, maybe check in with the visa application center to see if their application system for temporary visitors is up and running (in case you’re applying last minute; I was applying with a lot of time to spare so it wouldn’t be a big deal for me to come back a few weeks later). As far as I understand, you need to have a really incomplete application, or something else that goes quite wrong, in order for them to even consider rejecting you. And even if they did reject you because of an incomplete application, you could probably just fix all the things they don’t like and be fine.

Q: How does the process work/how do I get there/how long does it take?
A: I arrived at Roppongi-Icchome station on the Namboku line because that was easiest route from where I was coming. I took the north exit and a bunch of escalators before being face-to-face with the Swedish embassy. I turned left after crossing the street, went straight, passed the Spanish embassy to my left and an area without a sidewalk before turning right, going down a hill on a street which curved a little to the left at the end. Arriving at the bottom, I turned right and walked a bit until I saw a Tully’s Coffee across the street, crossed the street, and entered the building it was part of. The visa application center is on the 8th floor of that building, to your right when you exit the elevator. I went on a Thursday and arrived at 8:30. The center was unlocked but no staff was there yet, and very few people waiting. By the time they opened it was at most 10 people, most of whom were picking their visa up. I honestly could’ve arrived a little later because a) the staff are efficient, b) it’s not as crowded as you think.

At first, you line up at this counter (left is new applications, right is pickup), where you show your application materials and the people there look over them to make sure everything’s in order. They then give you a number and tell you at approximately which counter your application will be handled. At the counter, they go through every detail of your application and have you fix things. Upon completion, they will give you a pick-up slip, keep your passport, and ask for a phone number with which to give you a call in the afternoon to let you know when to pick up your passport with the visa in it. I have a phone at my dorm but they seemed very willing to e-mail me in case things didn’t work out with the phone. I was out by 9:30 and got a call at around 16:00.

I went on the pickup date (Tuesday) as they said, arrived at 9:00, showed my slip to the main counter by the entrance on the right-side line, got a number, waited by the pickup counters (2, also 3 on that day) until my number was called, and was out within 30 minutes. I paid cash and they had change.

Mondays and Tuesdays are supposedly the busiest days for the Tokyo center, which is why I went on Thursday.

Q: Any other advice?
A: Rather quick and easy process. Fill out your materials right, and it should be no problem. Don’t hesitate to apply!

This is all the information I wish I had while applying. I hope it helps!

I applied today, 10 October 2017. I’m an Australian tourist on a 90 day visa exemption in Japan. I was told that I could not apply unless I was a permanent resident, due to “system problems”, similar to what happened in May, as mentioned above. I was also told to check back in 2 weeks time to see if the system is working again.

Looking at these comments I’m noticing different fees for obtaining a tourist visa. Has the price gone up in general or is there a cheaper way?
I also like to keep my travels open ended. I have booked hotels for my first and last nights in China but other than that, I don’t have anything planned. Has anyone else had a problem with semi-open-ended itineraries?
Thanks for your help!