Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - China - Visa application in Bishkek

Hello again, just an update on visa application in Bishkek!

As we have been in Bishkek in beginning of August 2015 and asked around at four different agents and kyrgyz concept, when to apply, what we need and if our documents we already got were ok, it seemed that kyrgyz concept was the only agency that answers your questions quite honestly and in very good english. Kyrgyz concept headoffice +996 312903232 or +996 312906262 email office@concept.kg

We found out, that the chinese embassy changed laws in 2015 and that the tourist visa is no longer valid than one month before entry. So we had to come back after our tajik trip.

As we are driving by our own car, we need a guide and a booked tour to be allowed to drive through china. This tour we organized in advance from Germany, just before our trip started. (You can organize such a tour three months in advance from everywhere) The tour agency provided us a Letter of Invitation, the most important document despite your passport for the application in Bishkek. So, if you booked a tour or plan to book a tour through a travel agency you will definitely receive a Letter of Invitiation. You don't need one of the agents in Bishkek doing this again for you!!!

As we had booked a guided tour, we received also the travel itinerary and hotel bookings.

This may be true for all Overlanders with cars or motorcycles.
But as a Backpacker or Cyclist you have to provide a Letter of Invitation as well. Unfortunately you will get those only through an agent as you don't have to book a guided tour like overlanders.

The big issue with these LOIs is, that you need an ORIGINAL one, no copy from an email or photograph. That is, what we were told. The consul at the embassy wants to see the original stamp on it. That was the problem with ours. How to manage to get the original LOI, travel itinerary and Hotel bookings to Bishkek, while you are on the road?
Our agency send the documents by coincedence to famous Mrs. Liu and I thought "Oh no!" I read and heard so much strange things about her. But at least Mrs. Liu was a good adress to receive the original documents as we don't live and work in Bishkek. We managed to get the documents from her and were free to go without any charge.

We lodged our documents on Monday 5th of September with following doc's:

Original Letter of Invitation
Travel itinerary in chinese
Copy of Hotel bookings
Recent Application form v2013 (!!!) If you don't have the recent one you will be refused!
Passport with kyrgyz stamp of entry in it and visas of the next visiting countries (for all germans with 2 passports: you MUST use the one with kyrgyz stamp in it, otherwise you will be refused!)
2 photographs with chinese size 33 x 48 mm
a copy of the passport AND the kyrgyz stamp of entry
a copy of bank account with enough savings
a copy of our visa card

The List
Of course there is the unofficial list of somebody hanging around the night before in front of the embassy. If you apply on Monday, mostly someone starts the list the night before. You can ask the guards on the huge main entry of the embassy, where and when they expect somebody to start it. They know when people show up as it is the same procedure every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Ok. Already on sunday night a girl was starting a list at 10p.m. As we were going to sleep infront of the embassy in our car, we managed to be on position 4 and 5. We had a look on the list around 6:30 a.m. and 15 people were behind us. During the next 2,5 hours the list extented until position 50 and something. So be there very, very early, if you don't want to wait desperate to get in!

Shortly before 9 a.m. the VIPs and guards will go into the embassy. Everybody is huddling together infront of the door to the consular area. A few minutes after 9 a.m. the guards will let thorugh the first 5 persons on the list. And than the next five and so on. I don't know how it is working, because people organize themselves pretty well infront of the embassy, but the unofficial list really works! Somebody will read out aloud the names and people go as a group of five through the gates. It is ment to bring some order in the otherwise kyrgyz chaos happening without any list. And the chinese like it.

In the embassy:
1) The consul (right side after the first door, you can't miss him) will proof your documents first and problably ask about anything he might find suspecious. In our case there was no issue with the documents. We got a red stamp on most of the papers as a confirmation. If there will be something missing he will explain to you and you have to come back another day.
2) On Desk 2 we had to lodge our documents. The chinese guy behind the window can ask you about your travel itinerary or anything else. But we lodged without any questionaire. He handed us a pink receipt about 40 US Dollar for each visa (regular processing time) and adviced to pay at KICB Bank in the city centre. That's it. You can pay when ever you want before you collect your visa.
3) On Desk 1 we collected the visas today on 11th of September (after 5 days). We handed over the pink bill from monday and the confirmation of KICB Bank and immidiately got the passports with the visas back.

Yes, today on Friday was also a "list maker". This time the list started on 1 a.m. on early friday. We got there by taxi at 6:15 a.m. and have been on position 16 and 17. The list got longer until 9 a.m. to over 50 again.

It is always somebody, who starts the list, mostly a student who wants to study in China. We talked to some locals there and found out, that it can be quite frustrating during summer time as many kyrgyz students apply for the chinese visa to study abroad. Already at 7 a.m. you may find yourself behind 50 others on the list. We were lucky as the semesters abroad started and not many students applied anymore.

Just an advice to the agents.
All agents charge you for the visa, for the LOI and for their service. Mostly from 140$ to 200$ including everything. As long as you still have to go by yourself to the embassy to put your name on the list and bring your documents to the consul to proof them, there is actually no need to do it with an agent. UNLESS you need a Letter of Invitation or need an Express Visa, which is more difficult to get. If you have no time to wait it is better to be on the safe side with an agent than taking the risk of being refused.

If you already got a LOI but still want to try it with an agent, ask them very cleary, if they help you with your LOI. They will not guarantee you, that you will be successful with your LOI from another travel agency, as they provide their own LOIs which are already proofed by the consul. Quite tricky.

Mrs. Liu was the only person who would have charged us less than all other agents and said it is no problem with our original LOI. She offered us 140 US Dollar for 2 visas including her service. I think, this was a fair offer. But Mrs. Liu goes always her own way. When we finally decided to go with her through the application process due to lack of time, she cancelled everything with us at sunday night, right just 6 hours before we should lodge documents as she spontaniously got a bigger contract for monday morning.

So at least we have been very lucky being forced to try it alone at the embassy and saved a lot of many at the end!!! Give it a go if you got an original Letter of Invitation!!!

By the way: we are german passportholders, have a big lack of russian and don't live nor work in Bishkek.