Category: Xiamen University

Jani Smith is currently at Xiamen University, where she is partaking in a semester exchange. Here are some tips provided by Jani for planning your trip to China.

Visa application:

The visa application for China, the X2 visa, is probably the
easiest of all the things  you have to do in order to prepare for your stay in China.  The documents that you will need for the visa application are as follows: (1) the application form provided by the
Chinese Consulate (which you can download from their website)
, (2) the Admission Notice Document provided by the host university, (3) your passport and (4) two ID photos.

Please note that one does not need to a Foreigner Physical Examination Form to apply for the visa. The cost of the visa is R400 and the process takes about three to four working days. You can also apply for an emergency visa, which you can get the following day, but there are obviously extra fees involved.

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PREPARATION:
The few weeks before departure were very busy and rather stressful for several reasons. Trying to sort out travel arrangements; including VISA, bank, flight, accommodation and university residence arrangements on top of trying to complete academic work was challenging. My applications to Xiamen were also not received on the first and second attempt, before it was received on the third attempt quite near to the planned departure date. Due to application problems, my admission letter also arrived beyond the expected time, which caused a delay for my Visa application. These experiences taught me that extensive planning goes into an exchange programme and that timing is quite crucial. Moreover, regarding such matters, I learnt that it is better to do things in advance to make room for unforeseen complications.

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