
My doctor was very understanding, but my insurance company was not. Make an appointment to discuss prescriptions and vaccines with your doctor! You’ll want to ensure you can bring all the prescription medications you need for the duration of your time in China. If you don’t have a Visa in your passport, I doubt the airline would even let you board. But please DO NOT rely on that system! I’m just telling you in case you’re like me and always considering the worst case scenario. The website says “NO VISAS ON ARRIVAL!” but I totally saw a sign at the Pudong airport pointing out where to go for a “Visa on Arrival”. If you’re really in a bind and something goes wrong with your Visa on arrival, just know there are options. Please be aware that Visas are not a guarantee to enter China – that’s up to the folks at the Immigration checkpoint at the airport. If you live in the US, go here and click your location on the map to see where you’ll have to travel to get your Chinese Visa. You cannot apply for a Chinese Visa by mail – you have to go into an official Embassy or Consulate-General. I’m taking a deep breath right now and hoping you were prepared to hear this.

It’s not as scary as it sounds! I couldn’t even grasp Spanish in high school, but I was able to survive China! I made a Lazy Girl’s Guide To Mandarin Chinese if you’re feeling truly lazy about learning Mandarin, but I recommend Chinese Pod if you actually want to have conversations with people in China. If you’re curious, my husband was studying abroad in China on an X1 Visa (X1=student for 180+ days), and I sorta tagged along, so I got the S1 Visa (S1=visiting family for 180+ days). But if you’re studying, working, or just moving for fun, this page on the Chinese Embassy website will help. When you get a teaching job in China the company usually handles the Visa stuff for you. Your Visa requirements depend greatly on why you’re going to China.

If you map it all out in advance and write down directions, you’ll be just fine! For example, when we were moving to Nanjing, we flew into Pudong airport in Shanghai (not to be confused with Hongqiao), took a taxi to the Shanghai Railway Station (there’s also a Shanghai South and Shanghai West), arrived at the Nanjing Railway Station (not Nanjing South), and finally took a cab to our hotel. Most, if not all, major Chinese cities have multiple train stations, multiple airports, and multiple subway lines.
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They gave everyone slippers, pillows, blankets, and headphones, plus there was free beer, wine and booze, and there were free movies available that weren’t even out on DVD yet!ĭon’t forget to think through your transfers. We’ve flown a handful of Asian airlines, including some Chinese ones, and were always blown away by the amenities. When we went into the Chinese consulate-general in San Francisco to submit our Visa applications, they told us this is not required.Īsian airlines are not scary, actually they’re quite nice. Some study abroad and teach abroad programs require you to book round trip. That’s why I say the sooner you can do this, the better! It became stressful when I realized I needed my original marriage certificate for my Visa application, too. We got married soon before we left, so as soon as I got my new social security card, I mailed in my passport and name change documents. My passport was still valid for a few more years before we left for China, but I had to get a new one because of my name change. Double check your passport to ensure the expiration date will not affect your China travel plans.
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So if you’re flying out for Shanghai on January 1st 2018 and your US passport expires on April 25th 2018, they may not let you board your flight. The sooner you do this, the better! In the US, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond your actual travel date.
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If you’re still not sure, there are tons of options for emotional support at the end of this post.Ĭlick here to download a free, printable version of this checklist! Get Your Passport The very first step before you read on is BREATHE! Moving abroad is hard, but if you take it one step at a time, you’ll get to experience something life-changing. I receive thank you messages from people saying how much those videos and blog posts have helped them, so I hope this checklist helps you as well.

How have I not already made a Moving To China Checklist?! I have almost 100 videos from Beijing, tons of blog posts about Nanjing, a China packing list & more.
