Five olympic cities stopped issuing business visas

According to the South China Morning Post report today (24 July), five Olympic cities in China - Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao, Shengyang and Qinhuangdao - have stopped issuing invitation letters, which are necessary for a foreigner to get a China business visa.

This is confirmed by the local authorities of all five cities. The Shanghai authority was quoted as saying that the only exemptions would be given to work-visa applicants and those who need to go to Shanghai in “emergencies”.

The only other Olympic city that denies that such a restriction is in place is Tianjin, where preliminary soccer matches will be played.

The lack of transparency in Chinese policy is once again demonstrated in this case. A Beijing official admitted that Beijing has had such a restriction in place for two weeks, but thus far without any public announcement.

Thus, do expect that China visa applications will not get back to it normal course until Sept 20, when the Olympics is over.