Changes to Chinese, American visa policies tourists need to know

China

Travel agencies specializing in Chinese tours have confirmed that between Aug. 10 and Sept. 8 there will be restrictions on group visas as China prepares to celebrate the 80th anniversary of its victory against Japanese aggression and fascism on Sept. 3.

Nguyen Canh Linh, head of the visa processing department at Top Ten Travel, said groups applying for visas during this period must have at least five people and more and could enter only Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, and Shanghai.

Other popular cities such as Xi'an, Chongqing, Kunming, Chengdu, and Xiamen, may not accept groups of tourists during this period.

Nguyen Ngoc Tung, general director of Danh Nam Travel, said more than 10 groups scheduled to depart between August and early September for Beijing and Shanghai have had their tours canceled.

"Every year it is difficult to obtain a group visa in early October because of China's National Day."

Chinese travel companies have warned Vietnamese partners that all visa applications submitted at borders risk being rejected and advised them to submit visa applications 10–12 days in advance.

Chinese travel agencies have also issued a warning for Aug. 25-Sept. 6 saying Beijing and neighboring areas may have traffic restrictions and tourist sites may close without notice.

Official announcements are often made only a few days in advance.

United States

Foreign visitors to the U.S. will soon be required to pay a visa integrity fee of at least $250 by the Trump administration.

The fee will apply to all non-immigrant visa categories, but the implementation date and payment method yet to be finalized, CNBC reported, citing the U.S. Travel Association.

The fee will only be charged if the visa is approved.

It is in addition to existing charges such as the machine readable visa (MRV) fee, reciprocity fees and anti-fraud fees.

According to Forbes magazine, this could take the price of a tourist visa to several hundred dollars.