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[fullricebowl]

There are some places in SE Asia that I know are fairly easy to get tourist visas to as a Chinese passport holder. And the rest are terrible.

Specifically, I want to go to Dubai with my husband (Chinese) over the national holiday but it seems the UAE Embassy here doesn't have a visa processing center and it seems the only options are: 1) Buy an expensive plane ticket through one of the select airlines that will help sponsor the visa for you (~x3 more expensive than booking through a non-UAE airline) 2)go with a tour group 3)hire an agent to get the visa for you for around 1300rmb 4)get a hotel to sponsor you (although none of the hotels we've contacted were willing to, maybe not expensive enough- although we've inquired at some 4 star hotels).

Flights and hotel packages to locations in SE Asia have been listed at similar prices and we'd really like to do something a little off the beaten path. Does anyone have any relevant experiences navigating these requirements? The actual visa is listed at around 500rmb, but it seems the only practical option is to go through an agency.