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Lines for visa applications to China have reached a recent high, with the line for appointments reaching nearly 200 people on the morning of Apr. 11.
Intersection to intersection
A reporter for Shin Min Daily News visited the China Visa Application Center on Robinson Road at 8am on Apr. 11.
There they encountered a long line of nearly 200 people waiting their turn in a line that stretched from the visa centre at the intersection of Boon Tat Street to the next intersection at McCallum Street.
They also encountered a 63-year-old self-employed man, surnamed Zhuang, who said that he had left his home at 3am that morning in order to join the queue at 4am.
But this was actually his second day in the queue, having arrived at 9am the previous day, but had been unable to attain an appointment.
Zhuang had previously purchased a flight to China as well as booked hotels for his trips after travel had resumed earlier in the year.
But a friend reminded him that while travel to China had resumed, the 15-day visa-free travel arrangement between Singapore and China had not yet resumed.
This means that Singaporeans who are intending to travel to China as of today will need to obtain a visa.
However, Shin Min reported that visa appointments are full until May.
Zhuang also told Shin Min that if he had known his trip would have required a visa, he would have opted for a different destination.
Restore flights and connections
Shin Min, in a separate Facebook post, reminded travellers to apply for visas well in advance of their date of travel.
Not only are visa application appointments difficult to obtain right now, there are also multiple tiers of visa applications.
The three tiers are ordinary, expedited, and urgent; with prices ranging from S$85, S$150, or S$195, respectively.
After a recent state visit to China by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, he said restoring pre-Covid-19 levels of flights between the two countries was a priority.
As of early April, flights were operating at 40 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, and the two governments were discussing how to fix that.
While some flights had resumed , PM Lee had noted that visa-free travel had yet to do so, except to Hainan. This was something that he had raised with China's Premier Li Qiang.
Shin Min noted that the prices of flights to China have halved from when large scale travel resumed in January, but added that it is prudent for travelers to resolve their visa applications as quickly as possible.
That way they will not end up with cheaper tickets, but an unexpectedly expensive visa.
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Top image via Shin Min Daily/Facebook & Unsplash