Sending your passport and important personal information to a company you don’t know feels scary…and it should! When using a visa service, you’re entrusting your identity to them, so it’s crucial to know who you can trust. If you’re considering VisaHQ for your passport or visa needs, you’ll want to read through this VisaHQ review.
Whether you’re looking to get a passport renewal, a country visa or even a document authentication (apostille), chances are you’re going to be looking for a good visa service company to help you.
That’s where VisaHQ comes in.
There are quite a few visa services on the market that you can use but there are only a handful that set themselves apart as both trustworthy and easy to use. Over the past decade I’ve used a couple different services to apply for a Chinese visa including tourist visas, student visas and work visas.
I’ve used these services to help me authenticate my marriage certificate (so my wife could get a spousal visa) as well as my sons’ birth certificates.
Most have been good but none have been as simple as VisaHQ. I’d love to share with you my experience in this VisaHQ review.
Note: I did not receive any services in exchange for this VisaHQ review. These are my unbiased thoughts. The links below are affiliate links, however, which means that at no additional cost to you I will be compensated if you choose to use VisaHQ. Thanks in advance!
Getting a Tourist Visa (i.e. “the Problem”)
As you probably know at this point, the process of applying for a visa isn’t the most intuitive one no matter what country you desire to visit.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re applying for a China visa, a tourist visa to India, or even a Brazilian visa…it can be very confusing.
The first time I applied for my visa to China I tried to do it all by myself. I filled out the form and mailed it in myself not knowing at the time that the Chinese consulate no longer allows mailed visa applications.
Not only did it get rejected, it cost me weeks of time and money. From that point forward I decided that a visa service was certainly worth the money.
Visa services like VisaHQ have been a huge time saver for me. Hence this review of VisaHQ.
Note: Although I am a US citizen using their services, VisaHQ also functions for customers in Canada and the U.K..
VisaHQ Review | Pros and Cons
What I loved right off the bat about VisaHQ as a China visa service was their simple website.
Thanks to its modern, responsive site it’s one of the only visa services I’ve found where you can actually fill out an application on your phone.
Not that most people would want to do that (apply for their visa on their phone, that is), but here’s my take on it:
Any company that is willing to invest the time and money to make a good impression with their website – the first interaction a customer has with them – is a step above the competition.
Obviously a good website doesn’t make up for a bad product or poor customer service but as you’ll see below, that isn’t the case with VisaHQ.
I’m a big fan of simplicity, I admit. VisaHQ appeals to that part of me. They make it as simple as filling out the form, sending in the documents and waiting for everything to arrive.
As the customer fills out the application online there are a two big things that stick out to me as being different:
- It’s All Online: There are a few other companies that do this now but few do it as well as VisaHQ. The entire application is online, including payment, so all you have to do is send them the documents they ask for.
- Notifications: There’s a part of the application where you can give them your phone number and opt for notifications on the progress of your application. Alternatively, if you don’t want text messages you can just log in and get the same information online. Either way, it’s great that you can track every part of the visa process.
In my case, they offered services to apply for a China tourist visa, business visa, student visa, crew visa, work visa, official visa and non-business visa.
That said, the list of countries with which they can help you apply for a visa is long.
Review of VisaHQ Customer Support
For those who are still worried about sending your passport to some company you don’t know (I know I was), you’ll be interested to hear about their customer service.
After you apply for your passport renewal or visa application you’ll be assigned a dedicated account manager that you can call with any questions you might have.
They can answer questions, give you updates on the progress of your application and help solve any potential problems that might arise.
Of course, I didn’t have a need to give my account manager a call. I was perfectly content using the VisaHQ online tracking page that allowed me to check real-time updates 24/7.
It’s one of those services that really put my mind at ease, particularly because I had ordered my China visa expedited.
VisaHQ Pricing for Visas
Finally, the pricing for VisaHQ is pretty straightforward. It’s not terribly expensive but at the same time it’s not the cheapest company on the market.
For Chinese visas their pricing is as follows:
The embassy fees are the same no matter which company you go with.
Also, if you think you might be heading to China more than once in the next 10 years, go ahead and apply for the China 10 year visa (3650 days). It’s the same price and it will save you from having to do the whole process again the next time you want to head over.
VisaHQ can also help you if you need to renew your visa or even if you just need to get a document authenticated, but for the purpose of this review I’m really only looking at how they handle China visas.
Final Thoughts | Review of VisaHQ
Overall I was quite happy with my VisaHQ experience. I personally ran into no snags in the process and received my visa back in the mail within the time they had promised.
I was willing to pay for a visa agency like VisaHQ because I don’t live near a consulate and I needed a company that had a good reputation (VisaHQ has been around since 2003) that I knew I could trust.
If you’re in need of a visa for China – or any country for that matter – just take a moment to check out the VisaHQ website. I think you’ll be impressed with what you find.
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