The Shenzhen visa, which gives visitors five-day access to the city of Shenzhen, is a great way to get a glimpse of China. A Shenzhen visa is also much less of a hassle than a proper Chinese visa, as it can be collected at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border.
The problem with the Shenzhen visa lies in the fact that the Chinese government likes to change the rules around which nationalities are eligible for the visa, although these are, to be fair, generally tit-for-tat changes.
Who is eligible for a Shenzhen visa?
- Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and most EU passport holders are eligible for the Shenzhen visa.
- UK passport holders are currently eligible for the Shenzhen visa, although this status tends to change with some frequency.
- US passport holders are not eligible for the Shenzhen visa and they are not likely to be in the near future either. Other ineligible countries are passport holders from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Cameroon, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Israel, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia , Sri Lanka, Syria, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
China’s Foreign Ministry also helpfully notes that “the above list is subject to change without notice.” In practice, and despite some scaremongering on the Internet, this list is quite static. We will modify this list when we become aware of any changes.
