There've been reports that Chinese Z-visas can no longer be done in SE Asian countries (such as Thailand) for expats who are not citizens of that country.

Hongkong has been recommended as the only alternative to the passport country.

Has anyone successfully gone to Hongkong and been issued the 30-day Z visa since the October holiday?

I will need to do this soon and want to confirm that it's still possible.

Thanks in advance!

Resurrecting an old thread here. Does anyone have any good ideas for activities during the October holiday which don't involve long lines at bus/train stations and/or toll booths?

When I came in 2010 I opted to do the health check in the US to facilitate arriving on a Z visa. After arriving I (think) I still had to do the Chinese health check anyway.

Of course the visa process has changed since then, but if it's possible to do your visa work after arriving you'll save a few hundred dollars worth of checks by doing the health check after you arrive.

@jj123 It's trouble either way; getting a US visa in the Chinese passport is troublesome too (trip to Chengdu/Guangzhou, etc.)

As I understand it, the expectation with the pro forma visa is that it is only done once, and that the individual subsequently returns to China on the US passport, which we don't want to do.

Call me paranoid, but I prefer for neither side (US/China) to have occasion to "see" the other passport.

@Ocean The US does allow a visa (for the US) in a second passport (called a pro forma visa) but I'm not sure if this can be done more than once. (I've not done it, but have friends who have.)

For my children (Ch. and US passports) we've opted for the middle-country passport-switch since we're mostly based in China.

As was noted here, this does 'not' allow for a connected int'l flight to the US, but requires a visa to a 3rd location (Hongkong, Thailand, etc.) so that the child can be "Chinese in China (exit/entry)" and "American in America (exit/entry)."