China Visa
Application
The
following information is FOR YOUR
REFERENCE
ONLY, Please
contact Chinese embassy or consulate general in your country or region
for accurate and detailed information.
 According
to the Law of the People's Republic of China Concerning the
Administration of Foreigners Entering and Leaving the Country, foreign
tourists must apply for visas at China's foreign affairs offices,
consulates or other organizations authorized by the
Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.
A group of five tourists or more can apply for a group tourist visa.
This is usually handled by a travel agency organizing groups. People
coming to China from countries which have visa agreements with China
(such as agreements which exempt tourist groups from visas) are
treated in accordance with these agreements.
If
anyone wants to go to Tibet for a visit you can apply for a visa only
with the consent of the Tourism Administration of the Tibet Autonomous
Region or any one of its foreign representative offices. A
passport is required for visa application, the passport shall be valid
for at least 6 months beyond the duration of the tour.
A Brief Introduction to
Chinese Visa
Chinese visa is a permit issued to a foreigner by
the Chinese visa authorities for entry into, exit from or transit
through the Chinese territory. The Chinese visa authorities may issue a
Diplomatic, Courtesy, Service or Ordinary Visa to a foreigner according
to his/her identity, purpose of visit to China and passport type.
The Ordinary Visa consists of eight sub-categories, which
are respectively marked with Chinese phonetic letters L, F, Z, X, C, G,
D, J-1and J-2.
L Visa:
Issued to an applicant who comes to China for tourist purposes, family
visiting or other personal affairs.
F Visa:
Issued to an applicant who is invited to China for visit, research,
lecture, business, scientific-technological and culture exchanges or
short-term advanced studies or intern practice for a period of no more
than six months.
Z Visa:
Issued to an applicant who is to take up a post or employment in China,
and their accompanying family members.
X Visa:
Issued to an applicant who comes to China for the purpose of study,
advanced studies or intern practice for a period over six months.
C Visa:
Issued to crewmembers on international aviation, navigation and
land transportation missions and family members accompanying them.
G Visa:
Issued to those who transit through China.
D Visa:
Issued to applicant who is to reside permanently in China.
J-1 Visa:
Issued to foreign resident correspondents in China.
J-2 Visa:
Issued to foreign correspondents on temporary interview missions in
China.
Validity of Visa: normally speaking, a visa is
valid for 3 months from the date of issuance (date of application) and
on any day within this period, the visa holder may enter China.
Duration of Stay Specified in the Visa:
normally speaking, a visa holder may stay in China for 1 month which
counts from the date of his/her entrance into China. To stay longer, you
need to specify your request in your application form and it’ll be
subject to the permission of the consul in charge.
Overseas Chinese Visa Authorities, include
Chinese embassies, consulates, visa offices, and the consular department
of the office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
China. If a foreigner intends to enter into, exit from or transit
through the Chinese territory, he shall apply to the above-mentioned
Chinese visa authorities for a Chinese visa. For further information,
please consult the nearest Chinese visa authorities.
5)Important Notes:
According to the relevant international law, any
sovereign state has the exclusive rights to decide whether or not to
allow the foreigners to enter its territory, and accordingly to issue
visa, reject visa application and cancel an issued visa according to its
national law without providing the reasons.
With its valid Chinese passport, a Chinese citizen can
enter China without a visa.
Source: China Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
China Visa Related Links
-
USA (Brief Introduction to Chinese Visas
- Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in USA)
-
Hong Kong (SAR) Visa
-
Macao (SAR) Visa
-
Hong
Kong (Immigration Dept. of Hong Kong Government)
-
Chinese Visa Application in USA
-
Special Information Link:
US Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs,
Consular Information Sheet
-
China
Visa Office in Hong Kong:
5th Floor, Lower Block,
China Resource Building, Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong,
Tel: 2827 1811
-
Chinese Consulate in
Canada and Their Jorisdictions:
Consulate General in Toronto: Ontario and Manitoba
Consulate General in Calgary: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territory
Consulate General in Vancouver: British Columbia, Yukon Territory
-
Chinese Consulate
in USA and Their Jurisdictions:
Consulate General in Chicago:
Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Michigan
Consulate General in Houston:
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas,
Oklahoma and Georgia
Consulate General in Los Angeles:
Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii and Pacific
Islands
Chinese Consulate General in
New York: New York,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine,
New Hampshire, Ohio and New Jersey
Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco:
Northern California, Oregon, Nevada,
Washington and Alaska
IMPORTANT
NOTICE from Chinese Embassy in U.S.A.
Whereas the U.S. Embassy
and Consulates General in China raised U.S. visa fee to $100 as from
November 1, 2002, the Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in the
United States are instructed to adjust the Chinese visa fee for U.S.
citizens in light of reciprocity. The new rates are as follows, and will
take effect as of May 1, 2003.
- Single entry visa:
$50
- Double entry visa:
$75
- Multiple entry visa
for six months: $100 Multiple entry visa for twelve months:
$150
After 9/11 and since the
outbreak of U.S.-Iraq War, strengthening national security has become an
important goal and task of every country. Out of security concern, the
Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in United States will cease, on
and from May 1, 2003, mail ( including express delivery) service for
application of Chinese visas. Applicants are required to come to the
visa office for visa application. If an applicant cannot come
personally, he/she may entrust a relative or friend or travel/visa agent
to come to the visa office for application process.
Embassy of
the P.R.C. in The United States of America
April 10,
2003
If you need visa service,
click here for more information: http://www.china-embassy.org/visapassport/english/lq.htm
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Visa Safe, But No
Use to Stranded Tourists
Shanghai Daily
Mar. 28, 2007 -
A group of French tourists arriving at Pudong
International Airport on Monday narrowly escaped being sent back
home after immigration police discovered their visas were 9,000
kilometers away - and locked in a safe.
The 34 tourists, all aged over 60, including one in a wheelchair,
were looking forward to a tour of China organized by a French
travel agency. However, when the group
reached immigration they were denied entry because they held only
photocopies of their group visa.
The
tourists were traveling without a representative of their travel
agency, so immigration authorities phoned it up only to find that
the original group visa was still sitting in a safe in France.
It had
been mistakenly left there by the assistant in charge of the
tourists' travel plans.
"According to immigration law, the seniors should have been told
to fly back home because they lacked the legal visa documents,"
said Lin Heping, an immigration police officer.
However,
after an investigation to confirm details of the China tour,
immigration authorities issued all group members with landing
visas and they were allowed to leave the airport five hours after
touching down.
"Many of
the seniors told us that it was their first trip to China and they
had waited a long time to make the journey," said Liu.
Liu,
however, warned other travelers that this was a special case.
"Visitors
must have an invitation from a limited number of authorized
high-level local government authorities or entities to apply for
landing visas according to law."
Liu
reminded foreign travelers to bring original copies of their visas
to China to avoid problems.
The group
of elderly French tourists were due to start their China tour in
Suzhou, a popular travel destination in Jiangsu Province.
Visa Safe, But
No Use to Stranded Tourists
Shanghai Daily
Mar. 28, 2007 -
A group of French tourists arriving at Pudong International Airport
on Monday narrowly escaped being sent back home after immigration
police discovered their visas were 9,000 kilometers away - and
locked in a safe. The 34 tourists, all
aged over 60, including one in a wheelchair, were looking forward to
a tour of China organized by a French travel agency.
However, when the group reached immigration they
were denied entry because they held only photocopies of their group
visa. (Click
for full report.)
China Simplifies Border Entry, Exit Formalities
Xinhua
News Agency December 21, 2006 -
All Chinese citizens,
including Taiwan residents, will be able to enter China without
filling forms from Jan. 1, 2007, the Ministry of Public Security
has announced.
"All
Chinese citizens including mainland residents, Taiwanese and
overseas Chinese will not be required to fill entry registration
cards at border checkpoint. This will greatly shorten the
processing time," said a spokesman for the ministry.
The card includes personal information such as
name, gender, birth date, passport number, purpose of visit and
passport issue place.
The ministry has operated entry and exit card
procedures since March 1976. However, the rapid increase in
international travelers has put enormous pressure on border
checkpoints.
China recorded more than 302
million entries and exits last year, including more than 40
million foreigners, up 19.9 percent from 2004, and almost 262
million Chinese citizens, up 8.42 percent.China's booming economy
and deepening reforms were making overseas travel easier for
Chinese, he said.
Mainland residents bound for
Hong Kong and Macao special autonomous regions and Chinese tourist
groups to foreign countries, together accounting for two thirds of
border crossings in 2005, are not required to fill entry or exit
cards.
China
Promises to Make Visa Application Easier for Olympics
Xinhua News, Jan.
26, 2007China's public security authorities on Thursday promised to
improve visa application procedures so foreigners involved in the 2008
Olympics in Beijing will find it easier to enter the country.
"Anyone with valid Olympic Identity and
Accreditation Cards (OIAC) will enjoy visa-free entry into China one
month before and after the Olympics," said Li Changyou, deputy
director of the Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration with the
Ministry of Public Security. The OIAC is a
personalized card granted by the International Olympic Committee,
which gives its holder the right to attend the Olympic Games for
participation or in a work capacity. Li said
that China had already relaxed some requirements, including the
granting of one-year work permits to people coming to work on the
Games in the run up to, and during, the Games.
"We will further
improve relevant procedures according to the Olympic conventions and
charter so that we can guarantee a successful Games," Li said.
HK Welcomes Extension of
Individual Visit Scheme
Xinhua News, April 21, 2006 -
Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) welcomed the further extension of the Individual
Visit Scheme (IVS) to the remaining six provincial capitals of the Pan-Pearl
River Delta (Pan-PRD) region from May, 1, 2006. (Click
for full report.)
Hangzhou: New Visa Windows to Serve Foreigners
Zhejiang News, Aug. 30, 2006 - New visa windows for foreign people
will be opened as of August 28 in Hangzhou. The new windows are on
the right side of the gate of Hangzhou Municipal Public Security
Bureau, neighboring the hall of Chinese Citizens' Exit Certificates.
It is reported that the hall of Chinese Citizens' Exit Certificates
will be rearranged: the original visa windows for foreign people
will serve as widows for charging entry-exit certificate fees and
issuing certificates.
Macao, Brazil Swaps Visa-free Access
Xinhua News Mar.
29, 2006 - China's Macao Special
Administrative Region (MSAR) and Brazil have started to offer each
other visa-free access for a maximum stay of 90 days. A press release
issued here on Wednesday by Macao's Information Bureau said the mutual
visa-free access pact has been effective since March 24, 2006. There
are currently 69 countries and territories having agreed to grant
visa-free access or visa-on-arrival to MSAR passport holders, said the
release.
New Visa Center Opens in
Pudong
Shanghai Daily
Oct. 10, 2005
- Frustrated Chinese travelers and foreigners can breathe a sigh
of relief - there's a new, more efficient center for passports, visas and
residence permits. (Click
for full story)
HK tightens visa policy for
4 countries
Chinaview.cn, July 4, 2005 - The citizens of Cote d'Ivoire, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia will require a
Hong Kong visa
from July 11, including for airside transit, according to a government press
release on Monday. Hong Kong Immigration Department said
on Monday that this was due to security and immigration
control reasons. Nationals of Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo
and Ethiopia have been able to visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to14 days, while
Somalis have needed a visa for visits unless they are in airside transit. Hong
Kong adopts a liberal visa policy under which nationals of about 170 countries
and territories can visit visa-free and stay for up to 180 days. The department
regularly reviews its visa policies and will take into account social, economic
and political situations around the world. It will review its policies in light
of ongoing developments.
Beijing appears to be
restricting entry rules for Taiwanese
Taipei Times, Taiwan Mar. 18, 2005 - Beijing may be tightening policies
on granting travel papers for Taiwanese wishing to visit China in the aftermath
of its recently established "Anti-Secession" Law, according to the nation's top
cross-strait policymaking body... (full
report)
Shanghai to Change
Foreigner Visa Alteration Process
CriEnglish.com Dec. 22, 2004 - Shanghai will change
the way it handles some aspects of foreigner visa alteration, which includes
such services as change of visa type, extension, etc.
The application process will definitely change. And according to a source within
the Shanghai visa office, other changes - such as duration of stay for various
visas are in store, as well.
The changes are designed to bring greater flexibility and ease to the visa
alteration process.
United States, China relax visa
requirements for business and tourism
US-Politics.news.designerz.com, Jan. 7, 2005 - The United States and
China have agreed to a reciprocal visa arrangement with both sides
offering 12-month multiple-entry business and tourist visas. (full
coverage)
Starting
September 1, 2003 Japanese businessmen and tourists will not
require visas for brief visits to China.
As
is now the case for tourists from Singapore and Brunei,
Japanese visitors will be permitted to stay in China for up
to 15 days without a visa.
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