Hi all,

I was issued with a 2 month tourist visa in Hong Kong last week, but unfortunately it's double entry visa, max stay is 30 days at a time. As such, I am looking for the easiest place for me to exit then re-enter China to get my 2nd entry and second '30 days'. (Aside: I had an invitation letter and lots of paperwork when applying for the visa, but it doesn't seem like HK is offering 2-3 month single visas at all atm).

I will be in Kunming at the end of this week (for the Kunming Hat, if anybody else knows about it!), and was wondering if there's any news on the Ruili crossing, and whether it's possible to get a one day visa for Myanmar (just to renew my visa and get another 30 days), like it is in Thailand?

The most recent information I can find on the crossing is from www.gokunming.com/en/forums/thread/8067/travelling_form_yunnan_to_myanmar, but this info seems to be for actually entering Myanmar, and not just a visa renewal.

Any tips or ideas on how easy it is to get an entry/exit stamp for Myanmar? Also - any recommendations on where I might get more information once in Kunming?

Otherwise, I think I may have to go to the Laos border. Is it possible to skip in and out without paying the $35 for a Lao visa?

Thanks in advance

Hi Patrick, for some reason, the Muse crossing has never had 1 day (or multiple day) visa options, unlike crossings with Thailand and one crossing with India (Tamu). In fact just getting across to Muse has been fraught with difficulty.

However, while Myanmar immigration claims to offer 7 day 6 night passes to Chinese nationals valid only for the Muse economic zone, in reality this is meaningless because Chinese officials won't allow Chinese nationals to leave Jiegao bound for Ruili without a visa in their passports. In the opposite direction, short stay border passes valid for Burmese nationals to visit Jiegao only are offered by the Chinese government - this explains why one routinely sees only Burmese nationals crossing this border in either direction.

I was in Muse in April, having traveled up from Mandalay. The consensus right now is that while it may be possible to cross into Myanmar at this crossing, a Myanmar visa obtained in advance is a must. Previously even a permit was required just for the border crossing, which was still in effect as of April but I heard a rumor that as of July 1st the requirement may have been lifted, but I wouldn't be surprised if this has since been delayed (note a permit is no longer required to travel the road south of Muse - this requirement has been lifted since February hence I didn't have a permit when I traveled that road).

I therefore recommend traveling to Laos or Vietnam for your visa runs instead, for the time being.

BTW what's your nationality? Apart from ASEAN nationals (except Myanmar), Swiss, Russian, Luxembourg, Sth Korean and Japanese citizens do not require a visa to visit Laos for short periods.

For Vietnam, Russian, Sth Korean, Japanese and Scandinavian citizens do not require a visa for short visits.

However, I hear that it's possible to do a turnaround at the Chinese-Lao border without getting a Lao visa (if required) and stamp - try it and the worst that can happen is that the Chinese authorities will force you to head down to the Lao side to get a visa and entry/exit stamps.

Great, thanks Anasee for the detailed report, really useful!

Seems like Myanmar is a no go then, unless things have changed in the past 2 months...
I guess I will be heading to Laos - I'm British and as such require a visa prior to arrival for Vietnam, so I don't think it's an option going there. Laos I can pick one up for $35 (I was there a month ago, but coming from the opposite direction - Thailand!)
But if what you say is true and a turnaround is possible, then I can save myself a few $$!

Actually I visited the border from the Laos side a month ago as well (cycled up to it, just to see what was what), and it all seemed pretty relaxed - my Laos isn't too bad so if I am stuck maybe I can bargain a deal ;-)

Thanks again for all the info. Looking forward to arriving in Kunming for the weekend Ultimate tournament!

Sorry I meant to say "Chinese officials won't allow Chinese nationals to leave Jiegao bound for MUSE without a visa in their passports" anyway you get my point.

Yes, I too have been to the Lao/Chinese border at Boten/Mohan having arrived from the Lao side. The two crossings are quite far apart (almost 1 km) and I even went to the Chinese border post without passing through Lao customs/immigration. However, this was to gather some information about the border crossing for the goods my company was trying to import after which I returned back to the Lao side.

Vietnamese visas cost 350 Yuan in Kunming last year (perhaps this price has increased since) and are very easy to get - the bus to the border town of Hekou only takes 8 hours from Kunming (soon less once the expressway all the way is complete) otherwise a train to Mengzi followed by a 2-hour express bus brings down the journey time to little more than 6 hours but you would need to time it right as there's only one train a day from Kunming at this time (it's a new line). Also, the border crossing closes at 11pm China time, so that's another good reason to head down there especially if pressed for time.

Going to Vietnam, by heading to Sapa (only 34km from the border) might actually make a more interesting and somewhat quicker trip than heading all the way down to Laos in my opinion (not only is the journey much quicker, but Sapa, a major tourist town, is closer to the Chinese border than any major tourist towns in Laos). The main difference is the visa cost, with the Vietnamese visa being more expensive than the Lao visa.

I did a turn around visa run at the lao border in mohan a month ago. very smooth, I crossed the border, bought a bottle of whiskey and crossed back. I did not pay to enter Lao. The bus ride from jinghong to the border is 3.5-4 hours each way.

I'll be at the KM hat too

Joe

> I even went to the Chinese border post without passing through Lao customs/immigration

Correction on my part: I cycled to the Lao/Chino border north of Muang Sing a month ago! The officials there spotted me immediately and told me to turn back (I think it's only open for locals right?). Still they were pretty relaxed and let me walk around the area for half an hour or so.

> Going to Vietnam [...] might actually make a more interesting and somewhat quicker trip than heading all the way down to Laos in my opinion

I'm sorry, I left out a vital bit of information - that I will be travelling towards Xishuangbanna after this weekend with a friend for a week or so, so I will be quite close to Laos. Although If I renew my visa at the end of next week, it would only be ~16 days into my first 30 month block. Not great.
Thanks for the prices Joe, always worth knowing, and for the confirmation on a turn around visa - great!

The idea of going to Vietnam does sound interesting - I've heard Sapa is nice (although a little tourist-spoilt), so it may be nice to travel down there. I've travelled Luang Namtha region quite a bit, so going into Laos there wouldn't be ideal as you say. But if I can do a turnaround then it'll save me a little money and hassle...

Asanee - do you know roughly how long does it take to get a Viet visa in Kunming? I'll be arriving Friday evening (for the tournament registration party!), then most likely leaving on the Monday - I expect that's too short for the consulate?

As always, thanks for all the useful info and I'll see you (Joe) at the end of the week!

Correction: my memory has reminded me that there were what looked like Lao and Sino nationals crossing the border north of Muang Sing. I guess it's just not an international border crossing.

Vietnamese visas can be issued almost immediately if you pay extra. I recall requesting same-day processing there once when I applied around 1pm and was told to come back a couple of hours later to collect my visa. So yes, same-day processing is definitely possible but do arrive in the morning before 11.30am just in case it gets busy or something and remember they close for lunch. I think it was 550 Yuan for same day processing last time, but since Vietnamese visas have become more expensive recently, it would be well worth taking a look at the Vietnamese consulate in Kunming website for the latest details.

The Muang Sing crossing has not yet been designated as an international crossing (not sure why though?) my feeling is that crossing also can't be used for most Chinese/Lao travelers either as it's mostly used by logging trucks and other types of vehicles that have been approved to travel through there. Passports wouldn't be recognized there and thus only limited travel would be permitted either side - only the Boten crossing (and perhaps soon, the Lanteuy crossing in far northern Laos near Jiangcheng that has been rumored to open) allows crossings with a passport and thus allows full access to either country.