Pre-trip preparations can either be fun and exciting, or annoying and time consuming. Getting your visas generally falls into the latter category
To get a Chinese visa you have to personally go down to the Chinese embassy and stand in line (in a small room with no air conditioning!) and drop off your passport, then return 3 days later to pick it up along with your shiny new visa. My story, however, went more like this:
Day 1. Parked way further than needed. Stood in line for 1 hour on one of the few sweltering days we had in Toronto this summer. This day also happened to be when Toronto was in the midst of a garbage strike – smelly and sweaty. Handed my passport over and off I went with my receipt.
Day 3. (pick up day) Headed down in a good mood, until I saw a massive swarm of people in front of the Chinese embassy in protest. Once I made my way through an officer thankfully told me that I could walk right in. Once I got to the front of the line I realized my receipt was in my other bag. Instead of panicking I rationalized to myself that if I had forms of ID there was no way I wouldn’t be able to pick up my passport. That was when the passport lady told my that without my receipt there was no way I would be able to pick up my passport. Drove home in a bad mood.
Day 4. Drove down in a rush because I had forgotten the embassy closes for an hour and a half during lunch. Once I parked I had exactly 2 minutes before noon and I have never run so fast in my life. I wanted this visa situation to be over, and if that office closed before I got there I was going to kill someone. When I sauntered up to the windowed desk hyperventilating, I passed my receipt through the hole and in return finally received my visa.
Tip 1. Do NOT forget your receipt.
Tip 2. Bring water if you are going in the summer. (and an iPod for the long wait)
Tip 3. You will need a full page for the visa (see picture)
Tip 4. You will need the $50 payment in cash.
Tip 5. Have your passport style photo already taken, and ALL fields filled out.
Tip 6. There are a few types of Visas you can get. We got the 1 month single entry tourist visa, but make sure you research the options.
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