The VISA Process - Australia and China

一月了，春節(jié)的腳步近了。2008年春節(jié)假期，怎么過才夠有意義夠酷呢？相信出國旅行會(huì)是不少讀者心儀的選擇之一。提起出國旅行，恐怕大部分人首先會(huì)想到大筆的旅行費(fèi)用和申請(qǐng)簽證繁瑣的手續(xù)。的確，就跟唐僧西去取經(jīng)一樣，如果少了通關(guān)文牒他還真是寸步難行。就在到處宣傳“地球村”概念的今天，人們要互相串串門仍然不是那么容易的，申請(qǐng)護(hù)照、填瑣碎的申請(qǐng)表格、準(zhǔn)備各種各樣的證明、無數(shù)次找有出國旅行經(jīng)驗(yàn)的驢友們請(qǐng)教、等待長達(dá)兩星期的簽證審核時(shí)間、祈禱簽證官心情愉快順利蓋下批準(zhǔn)大印……估計(jì)一趟折騰下來，原本飽滿的熱情已經(jīng)大打折扣了。可是無論如何，想出國，簽證這一關(guān)還是避免不了的。本期《涉外360》，我們采訪兩位來中國旅游的外國背包客，跟您分享他們的簽證經(jīng)歷。

Visa Story From Two Australians 兩個(gè)澳洲人的簽證故事

Llana's Visa Story娜拉的簽證故事

Name：Llana.

Background information: Llana comes from India， and reached Australia when she was 9 years old with her family. Since the Australian government and the British government have a reciprocal agreement where they can swap countries for two years， she moved to the UK for 18 months on a working holiday VISA. She was allowed to work for 12 of these 18 months. After she finished her 12 months， she began her traveling. She decided to travel to Italy， Poland， Russia， and China. She has been to about 150 cities in different countries like India， Mauritius， Egypt， Israel， Jordan， the UK， Ireland， Israel， and so on.

Applying for the VISA

\"To go to the UK， I pretty much had to apply to the British consulate in Australia. I had to fill out forms and everything and then they had to approve them. I had to pretty much go from Sydney to Canberra， which is the capital of Australia and apply in person. And then they had my passport and my VISA application for about 2 weeks， I think it was. And after it was approved they sent it back to me and everything was done. But they could have refused me for any number of reasons. You need to have a certain amount of money in the bank， you need to be able to support yourself because they want to know what kind of work you do， all that kind of stuff. It's a lot similar to when Chinese people try and apply to Australia to visit， I believe. When you're actually entering the country， they tell you you have to have your details， your bank details showing that you have enough money in the bank… you might even have to answer questions because they will actually interview you when you're doing customs and stuff like that. They'll say， \"What are you doing in this country and why are you coming? What do you plan to do? When are you leaving?\" They ask you all these kinds of weird questions. The process can be quite hard. A lot of people get interrogated entering England.

要去英國的話，我得向澳大利亞的英國領(lǐng)事館申請(qǐng)。我得填寫好各種表格，準(zhǔn)備好一切材料，然后等他們的批準(zhǔn)。我得從悉尼去首都堪培拉，親自遞交申請(qǐng)。在上交護(hù)照和簽證申請(qǐng)表之后的兩個(gè)星期內(nèi)，我就能拿到簽證，有了簽證就萬事俱備了。但是我也可能會(huì)因?yàn)楦鞣N各樣的原因被拒簽。簽證處需要知道你的工作類型，你還必須擁有固定的銀行存款，有穩(wěn)定的工作能夠自給自足。我相信中國公民要拿到一張前往澳大利亞旅行的簽證的話，也需要通過類似的手續(xù)。當(dāng)你確實(shí)需要入境時(shí)，你需要提交銀行存款的詳情來證明你在銀行擁有足夠的存款。如果要過海關(guān)，你還得經(jīng)過一個(gè)面談過程，回答一系列的問題。他們會(huì)問：“你要在這個(gè)國家做什么？你為什么要來這個(gè)國家？你入境之后的計(jì)劃是什么？什么時(shí)候離境？”就是類似這種奇怪的問題。簽證的程序相當(dāng)麻煩，很多人在進(jìn)入英國時(shí)都會(huì)經(jīng)歷這樣一個(gè)被問訊的過程。

I didn't need a VISA for Poland or Italy， because Australians don't need VISA's for those two countries. Russia though… I'm applying from the UK， and they have various agencies because Russia's quite hard to get a VISA for. You have to have an invitation from somebody within Russia. There's an agency in the UK called Real Russia and they did everything for me so I got my Russian VISA， Mongolian VISA， and Chinese VISA through them. Usually， it takes two weeks per VISA， but mine only took a week.

我去波蘭或者意大利不需要簽證，作為澳大利亞公民在這兩個(gè)國家是免簽的。不過我去俄羅斯的簽證是在英國辦的，拿這個(gè)簽證非常麻煩，但是在英國有不少代理機(jī)構(gòu)可以幫忙。你必須得到一份居住在俄羅斯境內(nèi)的人發(fā)出的邀請(qǐng)函。英國有個(gè)代理機(jī)構(gòu)叫做Real Russia，他們幫我辦好了一切手續(xù)，這樣我就拿到了俄羅斯簽證、蒙古簽證還有中國簽證。通常來說，每個(gè)簽證同樣需要兩個(gè)星期的時(shí)間，但是我我比較順利，只用了一周就拿到了。

For each VISA， we needed to prepare some material. Each VISA had a different form that I had to fill in. They ask how many days are you planning to stay， so on. All these forms are filled out in English， no matter which country it is you plan to go to， even for China.You can get the VISA application forms off the internet. Standard questions are asked in the form， like， what are you doing? Why are you coming here? How long do you plan to stay? That kind of thing. Besides this， we also need to provide an itinerary. You don't need to give them specifics. Generally they provide you with a 30 or 60 day VISA. I got a 30 day VISA this time. Last time， I was in Shanghai only for a day， and they gave me a 60 day VISA， so I could stayed for 60 days if I wanted to.

在申請(qǐng)簽證過程中需要準(zhǔn)備一些相關(guān)材料。申請(qǐng)不同種類的簽證要填寫不同的申請(qǐng)表，俄羅斯簽證當(dāng)然也不例外。他們會(huì)問一些你計(jì)劃在境內(nèi)停留多長時(shí)間之類的問題。不管你要去哪個(gè)國家，申請(qǐng)簽證的表格你都需要用英文填寫，包括中國。申請(qǐng)表格可以在網(wǎng)上下載。表格上有很多標(biāo)準(zhǔn)問題，你目前做什么工作？你為什么要來這個(gè)國家？你要在境內(nèi)停留多久？等等。除此之外，申請(qǐng)者還需要提供一個(gè)行程表，這個(gè)行程不需要太詳細(xì)。通常你會(huì)拿到的簽證有效期是一到兩個(gè)月。上次我去上海只待了一天，但是我的簽證是60天的，所以如果我愿意，我可以待滿簽證給的時(shí)間。

Reynaldo's Visa Story里納多的簽證故事

Name：Reynaldo

Background information: Reynaldo is from the Philippines. He currently lives and works in Sydney， Australia and has known Llana for ten years. They've been communicating over the internet as Llana's been working in the UK. One day， she told him she wanted to go overseas， travel to Russia on her way back to Australia. He decided to join her to Russia. He says he loves the music and the culture and the history there. He managed to get three weeks off work， and met Llana in Russia.

VISA Applying Story

\"I think my VISA application process was a little more difficult because I had to get an invitation as well. I had to actually visit the consulates in Australia. It was really hard as well because I was working at the same time， and the offices are only open between 10 and 12 in the day. So you have to get time off and all to actually go. As for the forms， they're pretty straightforward. Just give them a photo， the addresses of the places you're staying at， how long you're going to be there， what date you're going to leave， and all of your other personal details. The Chinese VISA was similar， just basically one or two pages， just asking when you want to come into the country and when you want to leave. The Russian one actually required an invitation that you have to get， which I ended up getting over the Internet. I found a site， and they can give it to you pretty much straight away for 35 US dollars. So I printed that out and it seems to work as well， but also to get a Russian VISA from Australia， I had to get a cover letter from my travel agency as well. It's almost like a letter of permission saying I am actually going to travel as a tourist and I'm gonna head to trans-Siberia from such and such and date， I'm going to be in Moscow and St. Petersburg， those are the two main cities I'm going to be in. I'm not going to go anywhere else.

“覺得我申請(qǐng)簽證的程序稍嫌復(fù)雜，因?yàn)槲倚枰饶玫窖?qǐng)函。我要先去澳大利亞領(lǐng)事館。領(lǐng)事館的工作時(shí)間是工作日10點(diǎn)到12點(diǎn)，而這段時(shí)間我還得上班。所以如果要去領(lǐng)事館辦事的話，必須要把工作的事情先擱在一邊。至于表格，則是非常簡單的。你就給他們一張照片，填寫現(xiàn)居住的地址，需要在該國境內(nèi)停留的時(shí)間，離境時(shí)間，還有你的個(gè)人信息。中國簽證也差不多，基本上都是一到兩頁，詢問你入境和出境的時(shí)間。而俄羅斯簽證需要的邀請(qǐng)函你必須事先準(zhǔn)備好。我自己的是在網(wǎng)上搞定的。我找到一個(gè)網(wǎng)站，只需要付給他們35美元，他們就準(zhǔn)備妥當(dāng)需要的邀請(qǐng)函。我把邀請(qǐng)函打印出來，這種邀請(qǐng)看起來同樣有效。但是要在澳大利亞拿到俄羅斯簽證，我還必須從旅行社得到一份證明信。這主要是要說明我確實(shí)是去旅行，而我的行程是某某時(shí)間到西伯利亞，然后在主要城市莫斯科和圣彼得堡停留，并保證除此之外不去其它地方。

The Mongolian VISA was pretty straightforward as well. That and the Chinese VISA in Australia， I pretty much got the next day. I applied for it and I said， I'm in a bit of rush， and just for a little bit more pay， they can supply it to you the next day. To get a Chinese VISA was very easy. I mean， a tourist VISA， I'm not sure how working VISA's and all that would work. Since I will only be traveling under a month， it seemed quite easy to get.\"

蒙古簽證同樣也很簡單。我申請(qǐng)蒙古簽證和中國簽證都是在第二天就拿到了。我申請(qǐng)時(shí)就說我很著急，所以多付了加急費(fèi)用，果然第二天我就拿到了簽證。拿到中國簽證異常簡單，我指的是中國旅行簽證，而不是工作簽證。因?yàn)槲业穆眯卸疾粫?huì)超過一個(gè)月，所以辦簽證對(duì)我來說，并不困難。”

Visa， We Cannot Travel Without It

關(guān)于簽證，麻煩而又不可或缺的東西

What is a VISA?

A visa (short for the Latin carta visa， lit. \"the document having been seen\") is a document issued by a country giving an individual permission to formally request entrance to the country during a given period of time for certain purposes， usually stamped or glued inside of a passport or sometimes issued as separate pieces of paper.

Many countries require possession of a valid passport and visa as a condition for entry for foreigners， though some exemptions exist.

Visas are associated with the request for permission to enter (and exit) a country， and are thus， for some countries， distinct from actual formal permission for an alien to enter and remain in the country.

Some visas can be granted on arrival or by prior application at the country's embassy or consulate， or sometimes through a specialized travel agency with permission from the issuing country in the country of departure. The need or absence of need of a visa generally depends on the citizenship of the applicant， the intended duration of the stay， and the activities that the applicant may wish to undertake in the country he visits; these may delineate different formal categories of visas， with different issue conditions.

Some， but by no means all， countries have reciprocal visa regimes: if Country A requires citizens of Country B to have a visa to travel there， then Country B may apply reciprocity and require a visa from citizens of Country A. Likewise， if A allows B's citizens to enter without a visa， B may allow A's citizens to enter without a visa.

Common Types of Visas 常見簽證類型

過境簽證Transit visa， usually valid for 3 days or less， for passing through the country to a third destination.

旅行/探訪簽證Tourist visa， for a limited period of leisure travel， no business activities allowed.

商務(wù)簽證Business visa， for engaging in commerce in the country.

臨時(shí)工作簽證Temporary worker visa ， for approved employment in the host country.

結(jié)婚簽證Spousal visa， granted to the spouse of a resident or citizen of a given country， in order to enable the couple to settle in that country..

學(xué)生簽證Student visa， which allows its holder to study at an institution of higher learning in the issuing country.

Case one:

澳大利亞公民如何申請(qǐng)中國旅行/探訪簽證

需要提供以下材料：

(1) One completed Visa Application Form with a passport photograph attached;

(2) Your passport with at least 6-month validity and at least 2 blank visa pages.

Please note:

(1) Apply for the visa only 1 to 2months before your planned date to enter China.

(2) People born in China must provide their names in Chinese characters to column \"1\" of the Visa Application Form.

(3) Fill in every column of the Visa Application Form， using \"N/A\" if not applicable.

(4) The supporting documents will not be returned once lodged with the application. If necessary， please make copy beforehand.

(5) The \"PICK UP FORM\" you get when you lodge the application is the only proof for collection; when lost， only the passport holder himself with proper photo ID can retrieve his passport.

(6) Please be aware that no modification will be accepted once the application is lodged.

(7) Please pay for the visa on collection (Please refer to Question 11， 12 for the visa fee)， and please pay in cash， bank cheque， money order or company cheque. The \"payee\" should be CHINESE EMBASSY.

Normally， it takes 4 working days to process a visa application.

Case Two:

中國公民如何申請(qǐng)澳大利亞旅行/探訪簽證

需要提供以下材料：

1. Form 48RCHS - Application to Visit Australia for Tourism or Other Recreational Activities completed in English and signed by you;

48RCHS表格是專門針對(duì)申請(qǐng)赴澳旅行簽證的表格，填寫的時(shí)候需要用英文填寫

2. Form 54 - Family Composition completed in English and signed by you;

有關(guān)家庭成員的具體情況需要填寫表格54，填寫后要簽名以確保填寫信息的真實(shí)性

3. A valid passport

注意護(hù)照使用的有效期

4. One recent passport size photograph of each applicant

在申請(qǐng)的文件中每位申請(qǐng)人要提供一張近期的護(hù)照照，尺寸規(guī)格可以咨詢照相館人員

5. An application fee for each applicant.

根據(jù)不同種類簽證需要繳納相應(yīng)的簽證費(fèi)

6. Supporting Documents:

其余的補(bǔ)充材料還有：

a. A copy of the front page of your passport containing your personal information such as name， date of birth etc;

一份護(hù)照首頁復(fù)印件（包含名字、生日等個(gè)人信息）

b. A copy of your household registration book (hukou ben) for your entire household;

全家人的戶口本復(fù)印件

c. Evidence of sufficient funds to maintain yourself on your trip to Australia;

足夠的資金證明，確保你有能力負(fù)擔(dān)在澳大利亞的所有開銷

d. Bank statements， house ownership certificates (must include all pages) or other evidence of funds or assets. Evidence of personal savings history and income;

銀行存款證明、包括個(gè)人銀行存款記錄、房產(chǎn)證明以及其它財(cái)產(chǎn)證明，這些同樣是為了確保你的旅行可以由自己獨(dú)立承擔(dān)，而不會(huì)給澳大利亞政府造成任何負(fù)擔(dān)

e. If your trip is being paid for by your company， provide a letter from your company on official letterhead and evidence that your company is a viable business。

如果是公司資助旅行，則需要公司提供一封帶公司抬頭的證明，以及證明你和公司雇用關(guān)系的證明

f. If you are employed， a letter from your work unit authorising your leave and indicating the length of your employment， your position， your salary and full contact details of the person who has authorized the leave;

如果是你在職期間，還需要公司提供準(zhǔn)假信，還有申請(qǐng)人和公司簽訂的雇用合同，以及證明信簽署人的所有聯(lián)系方式

g. If you are retired， a copy of your retirement certificate; 如果已經(jīng)退休，提供退休證明。

h. A detailed itinerary provided by your travel agent indicating that all arrangements for your trip to Australia have been finalized (if applicable);

如果能提供一份詳細(xì)的旅行計(jì)劃，表明申請(qǐng)人在澳大利亞的所有旅行細(xì)節(jié)則會(huì)為簽證順利通過加不少分

Case three:

如果申請(qǐng)?zhí)接H訪問簽證，需要的材料還有：

1.A letter of invitation from your relative or friend in Australia providing their full name， date of birth， and contact details;

一封澳大利亞親屬或者朋友的邀請(qǐng)信（包括他們的全名，出生日期和聯(lián)系方式）

2.Evidence of your relative's or friend's status in Australia (i.e. a certified copy of their Australian passport， citizenship certificate or Australian visa) This certified copy can be made at any office of a Justice of the Peace in Australia; and

申請(qǐng)人的親屬或者朋友在澳大利亞的情況

3.A notarized relationship certificate (only if you are visiting a relative. Not required if you are visiting a friend).

提供你和所探訪親屬的關(guān)系證明

另外，如果你的親屬或者朋友將提供經(jīng)濟(jì)方面的支持，還需提供：

1.Confirmation of that offer in writing; and

書面邀請(qǐng)確認(rèn)信函

2.Evidence of their ability to provide the level of financial support being offered.

任何他們能夠提供該水平經(jīng)濟(jì)支持的證明

對(duì)于不滿18歲的申請(qǐng)人則還需要提供：

1. 孩子跟父母關(guān)系的證明，比如出生證明或者關(guān)系公證書。如果適用的話，還需要結(jié)婚/離婚/死亡證明

2.不同行的父/母親的關(guān)于本次旅行的許可。包括由不同行的父/母親親筆簽名的旅行許可，該父/母的詳細(xì)聯(lián)系方式及其身份證復(fù)印件

3. 孩子登記入學(xué)的證明

What Does It Mean? 看懂簽證 （下面有給美編做參考的設(shè)計(jì)圖片）

1．審準(zhǔn)簽證處名稱

2．申請(qǐng)人姓名，你申請(qǐng)所包含的其它家庭成員的姓名。

3．與簽證有效相關(guān)的材料，包括：

簽證批準(zhǔn)日期

進(jìn)入澳大利亞的期限

簽證有效期內(nèi)入境次數(shù)以及允許居留期限

4.簽證種類

5.簽證所附的條件：

8101——不允許工作

8201——學(xué)習(xí)最長期限為三個(gè)月

8205——如果學(xué)習(xí)超過四個(gè)星期，需要胸部X光檢查

8503——不得逾期逗留（持此種簽證，不能在澳大利亞境內(nèi)申請(qǐng)其他種類簽證。）

根據(jù)申請(qǐng)人條件，可能還會(huì)有其它限制。

Other Information for Visa Application 申請(qǐng)簽證你還需要了解：

1.中國人申請(qǐng)澳大利亞的旅游簽證（Subclass676）費(fèi)用是510元。費(fèi)用可以通過信用卡支付，也可以通過郵政匯票支付。一般來說，通過郵政匯款的話，錢到三到五天之后才會(huì)到帳。領(lǐng)事館會(huì)在收到申請(qǐng)費(fèi)之后開始審理簽證。

2.簽證申請(qǐng)材料可以自己送到領(lǐng)事館，也可以通過快遞遞到領(lǐng)事館。如果你希望領(lǐng)事館通過快遞而不是掛號(hào)信將你的護(hù)照和簽證寄回，別忘了在支付簽證費(fèi)用的同時(shí)要多加20元快遞費(fèi)。

3.一般來說，簽證辦理需要十個(gè)工作日的時(shí)間。向上?？傤I(lǐng)事館遞交簽證，可能需要十五個(gè)工作日才能夠完成辦理手續(xù)。

4.一般來說，沒有特殊情況申請(qǐng)簽證時(shí)不需要提供健康證明。

5.戶籍在廣東、福建、湖南、廣西、貴州和海南七省的居民需要向廣州總領(lǐng)事館申請(qǐng)簽證，其它省市居民需要向上海總領(lǐng)事館申請(qǐng)簽證。

6.關(guān)于簽證申請(qǐng)的詳細(xì)資料均可在www.china.embassy.gov.au上查詢。