This page on the Chinese Embassy in Dublin explains that one has to apply in person in the Dublin office, or send somebody else. In other words, the postal system here is considered so undependable by the Chinese authorities that they're not going to risk using it!
Holiday visas last for 3 months from time of issue. This means that in order to get the visa for myself, my wife and the two kids, we're going to have to head up to Dublin within two months of departing Ireland. What a pain in the ass!
5 comments:
Conversation in a French post office this week:
Wife: "How many days will a registered letter take to get to Ireland"?
Postal Worker: [Shocked] "It could take up to a month, they wait until there is a sufficient amount of mail before they send out the Postmen, and besides the don't have postmen because it's all privatised"
Wife: [Laughing]"It's not like that"!
Postal Worker: "oh es we have" ...
So...
The Chinese embassy in Poland has the same policy about
collecting passports in person as
does the Mauritanian in London, the Mali in Brussels and many of the others.
On a larger theme if the prospect of going an easy 160 miles out
of your way to visit the so-called capital city because of some
bureaucracy is seen as a pain in the ass then you need to reappraise what you're letting yourself in for.
DF
Hi Dave,
Very true and point taken with suitable humility.
On the other hand, this way of doing things compares badly with other countries (such as Australia - more on this soon) and I feel I'm operating within my terms of service, so to speak, to point out these limitations where I see them, so that others who are planning similar trips may take note.
Have you compared the cost of visas according to the nationality of the applicant?
There were some pretty wild price variations on the border between Hong Kong and mainland China, with British passport holders considered well worth milking. IIRC the Irish were made to feel very welcome, paying about half. Maybe there was even some two-for-one deal going or extra points on the MiddleKingdom loyality card but I think I missed out.
I've read that it does depend on nationality alright. I've never tried to milk a British passport holder. I'm not quite sure how I'd go about it. Warm my hands up considerably, I guess.
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