Crew jobs in international flights, international ships and cruises and in international trains are quite common. Infact the demands of such jobs are increasing with each passing day. Many young men and women are enrolling in such jobs globally. If you are a resident of Miami, USA and have grabbed a crew job in China, you will need to have proper visa for the same. You will have to apply for a China visa in Miami for the crew job. The crew visa is known as the C-visa. This visa is issued to a crew member who has to perform duties onboard on an international airliner or on some international train in China. Along with airliners and trains, the visa is also needed by sailors on board an international freighter or ocean-liner and even a cruise. If the crew sailor is accompanies by his family members, they will also need to get their valid China visa in Miami first. Only US passport holders get multiple-entry visas for up to 5 years.
Read on to know in details about the procedure of getting a crew visa to China from Miami:
1. The real passport along with a photocopy done of the name page
• The actual passport needs to be submitted at the time of the visa application. This is because the visa stamp will be affixed on the passport only.
• Check the validity of the passport before submitting. Having minimum 12 months validity is mandatory. If the passport has lesser validity, get the renewal done first. Expedite passport renewal services are available in case you are in hurry of getting the visa done.
• There should be minimum 2 blank visa pages in the passport. For your information, the last 3 pages are not visa pages in the US passport. They are the amendment pages and cannot be used for affixing the visa stamp.
• In case you have another passport in which you have a valid Chinese visa, you will have to submit this passport as well while applying for the visa.
• Photocopy of US Green Card must be provided by non-US passport holders (there is an exception: notarized copy is needed if a person resides in IL, CO, IA, IN, MN, KS, MI, WI and MO. However, original US Green Card is needed for residents of southern CA, AZ, NM, HI and Pacific Islands) or a long-term valid US residence visa is needed like L, F, H or TN visa. B1/B2 visa is not counted in these visa categories.
• Application in person might be required for some non-US passport holders.
2. Visa application form V.2013
• The visa application form needs to be filled out on the computer. Save the form and print a copy of the same. Sign on the print out.
• No handwritten form is accepted in the visa application process.
• Fill up all the fields and sections in the form carefully. Don’t leave an empty space. Fill up with ‘N/A’ or ‘None’ in fields which are not relevant. Incomplete forms are rejected.
• Check and re-check the form before submission. Manual corrections and changes are not allowed on the application form. Make the changes and corrections in the form on the computer and get a fresh print out.
• Single sided pages are to be printed and not back-to-back.
• Use paper clip and no don’t staple.
3. Recent passport-size photograph
• The dimensions of the photograph should be 33mm x 48mm (width x length) with off-white or plain white background. The photograph should have front view with full face.
• Photo should be printed on high quality paper.
• The photograph should be recent – taken within 6 months
• Gluing or stapling the photo is not allowed. Paper clip should be used for attaching the photo with face down.
4. Letter of introduction in completely formal tone from the US employer on proper business letter head
• The formal letter of introduction have to be on the proper company letter head of the cruise company/airline/road-transport and should be addressed to the Chinese Consulate. The letter of introduction should have the name of the applicant, his designation and position, employee number and a proper listing citing the need of a crew visa for the applicant. If there is need of multiple-entry visa, it should be mentioned in the introductory letter as well.
5. Employee ID’s photocopy
The photocopy of the employee’s ID is a must for getting crew Chinese visa in Miami. Ensure that the photocopy is clear and all the details are prominently legible.
6. Detailed cruise itinerary (specifically for ocean ship crew)
• Complete and detailed day by day itinerary of the cruise. The itinerary should be printed or written on the letter head of the cruise company. All the ports of call in China should be mentioned in the itinerary and they should be circled for prominence.
7. Payment for processing the visa
• For processing crew visa to China from Miami, processing fee has to be submitted along with the application and the documents. Both standard services and expedite services are available and one can choose as necessary. Delivery of visa via standard services take about 8-10 working days. Charges for the standard services are lower than that of expedite and rush services. The visa fee also depends on the numbers of entries and the validity of the same.
• Payments via personal checks or cash are not acceptable for visa processing fee. However, payments can be easily done via Money Order, Visa, MasterCard, Company Check or Cashier’s Check. The money order, cashier’s check or company check should be payable to the Chinese Embassy.
With the visa application form filled up immaculately in an error-free manner with all the supporting documents and photographs and proper payment of the visa processing fee, there is no reason of not getting a Chinese crew visa from Miami. However, if a person is found to be suffering from serious health disorders like contagious tuberculosis, mental disorder, AIDS, leprosy or other venereal ailments, he might be denied a visa and will not get entry into China.