Schengen Visa and Great Britain

Hi,

My family is going to join a 7-day tour to London and Paris. We are
permanent residents of US with Chinese passports. The travel agency
told me that we ONLY need to apply for a Schengen visa at the French
Consulat for the trip.

I did some research on Schengen visa. It does not cover Britain. The
travel agency's comment is confusing for me. Do we need additional
visa to go to London? Can someone clarify on this?

Thanks a lot!

Boming

"Boming Zeng" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

My family is going to join a 7-day tour to London and Paris. We are
permanent residents of US with Chinese passports. The travel agency
told me that we ONLY need to apply for a Schengen visa at the French
Consulat for the trip.

I did some research on Schengen visa. It does not cover Britain. The
travel agency's comment is confusing for me. Do we need additional
visa to go to London? Can someone clarify on this?

Yes you do. Schengen doesn't cover UK or Ireland, and Chinese nationals need
a visa to enter UK. Apply at the nearest British Consulate.

Alec

In article ,
(Boming Zeng) wrote:

Hi,

My family is going to join a 7-day tour to London and Paris. We are
permanent residents of US with Chinese passports. The travel agency
told me that we ONLY need to apply for a Schengen visa at the French
Consulat for the trip.

I did some research on Schengen visa. It does not cover Britain. The
travel agency's comment is confusing for me. Do we need additional
visa to go to London? Can someone clarify on this?

Thanks a lot!

Boming

you need to check with the British consulate near you as the UK is NOT a
Schengen country and their visas would not cover you for Britain -- I
don't know if you need a visa -- but I would check

change your travelagent
"Boming Zeng" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

My family is going to join a 7-day tour to London and Paris. We are
permanent residents of US with Chinese passports. The travel agency
told me that we ONLY need to apply for a Schengen visa at the French
Consulat for the trip.

I did some research on Schengen visa. It does not cover Britain. The
travel agency's comment is confusing for me. Do we need additional
visa to go to London? Can someone clarify on this?

Thanks a lot!

Boming

"Boming Zeng" wrote
| My family is going to join a 7-day tour to London and Paris.
| We are permanent residents of US with Chinese passports.
| The travel agency told me that we ONLY need to apply for a
| Schengen visa at the French Consulat for the trip.
| I did some research on Schengen visa. It does not cover Britain.
| The travel agency's comment is confusing for me. Do we need
| additional visa to go to London? Can someone clarify on this?

It appears you DO need a British visa.

Many people, including those travelling on a Chinese passport, need a visa
to enter Britain. This section of our website tells you more about how to
apply.
http://www.britishembassy.org.cn/eng...isa/afav.shtml

This page is also available in Chinese at
http://www.britishembassy.org.cn/chi...isa/afav.shtml


Referring to the British Embassy in China website at
http://www.britishembassy.org.cn/eng...visa/faq.shtml

If you are travelling on a Chinese passport you will need a transit visa,
even if you are only changing aircraft. We suggest you apply at least three
days before your planned departure date.
Visit visas are valid for six months, and cannot be extended.
How far in advance of my travel date can I apply for a visa? Three months.
So if you are a student planning to depart in September, you cannot apply
before June. We recommend that you apply eight weeks before your planned
date of departure.

That page is also available in Chinese at
http://www.britishembassy.org.cn/chi...visa/faq.shtml

You can also check the UK government visas website at
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk
which has an interactive check on whether you require a visa. For a
visitor/tourist on a Chinese passport currently resident in USA, it
responded:

Yes, you need a visa or entry clearance.
Applications in this category must first be approved by the Home Office in
the UK. Please see Guidance - Permit Free Employment for further
information.
To apply for a visa you will need to complete form VAF1 - Non-settlement.
If you wish to bring your dependants with you, they also will need visas.
Any dependants under 16 years old, included on your passport, can be
included on the same form, but those older will need to complete separate
forms.
If you are a national of, or are normally and legally resident in United
States please make your application to Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York.
It links to
http://www.britainusa.com/visas/visas.asp
for the application procedure and forms.

Owain

Thank you very much for all your input! You guys are awesome.

Boming

Alec wrote:

Yes you do. Schengen doesn't cover UK or Ireland, and Chinese nationals need
a visa to enter UK. Apply at the nearest British Consulate.

And if the OP is flying into Paris, taking a side trip to London, and
flying back from Paris, he'll have to ensure that his Schengen visa
allows two entries.

I heard on this NG of a man (can't remember his citizenship, heck maybe
this is an urban legend) who applied for a Schengen visa, arrived in
Italy, and took an overnight train to Germany. His train was going to be
passing through Switzerland. He didn't realize that Switzerland is
not part of Schengen. The Swiss let him in just fine. When he got to
Germany he was refused entry because his Schengen visa only allowed one
entry, which he used up when he arrived in Italy!