In accordance with international law and practice,
Chinese consular officials are entitled to decide on the type, number of entries, validity and duration of each stay of a visa to be issued based on Chinese laws and regulations. Visa officials reserve the right to decline a visa application or revoke an issued visa.
1. A visa is required for a foreign citizen to visit
Foreign citizens must obtain a Chinese visa before entry into
2. Visa Types
There are four types of Chinese visas: diplomatic visa, courtesy visa, service visa and ordinary visa. Ordinary visas are further divided into the following categories:
Major Purpose of Visit |
Visa Category |
Description of Visa |
Exchanges, visits, study tours and other activities |
F |
Issued to those who are invited to |
Commerce & Trade |
M |
Issued to those who are invited to |
As a tourist |
L |
Issued to those who are going to travel to |
Family reunion, foster care or visiting relatives with permanent residence in |
Q1 |
Issued to those who are family members of Chinese citizens or of foreigners with Chinese permanent residence and intend to go to China for a long-term family reunion, or to those who intend to go to China for the purposes of foster care .The intended duration of stay in China is exceeding 180 days. "Family members" refers to spouses, parents, sons, daughters, spouses of sons or daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandsons, granddaughters and parents-in-law. The intended duration of stay is exceeding 180 days. |
Q2 |
Issued to those who intend to visit relatives who are Chinese citizens residing in | |
Visiting relatives working or studying in |
S1 |
Issued to relatives of foreigners working or studying in "Relatives" refer to spouses, parents, sons or daughters under the age of 18 years and parents-in-law. |
S2 |
Issued to those wishing to visit family members that are foreigners working or studying in "Family members" refers to spouses, parents, sons, daughters, spouses of sons or daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandsons, granddaughters and parents-in-law. | |
Employment |
Z |
Issued to those taking up a post or employment, or giving commercial performances, in |
Commercial performances | ||
Transit |
G |
Issued to those who are going to transit through |
As a crew member or a motor vehicle driver |
C |
Issued to foreign crew members of aircraft, trains and ships, motor vehicle drivers engaged in cross-border transport activities, and also to the accompanying family members of the above-mentioned ships' crew members. |
As a student |
X1 |
Issued to those intending to study in |
X2 |
Issued to those intending to study in | |
As an introduced talent |
R |
Issued to those who are high-level qualified talents or whose skills are urgently needed by |
As a journalist |
J1 |
Issued to resident foreign journalists/media staff of foreign news organizations stationed in |
J2 |
Issued to foreign journalists/media staff on temporary news coverage missions. The intended duration of stay in | |
|
D |
Issued to those who are going to reside in |
3. Validity, Number of Entries and Duration of Each Stay of Chinese Visa
1) Visa Validity ("Enter Before") means that the visa is valid, or can be used for entry into
2) "Entries" refers to the number of times the bearer is permitted to enter into the Mainland China during the validity of a visa.
A visa becomes invalid if there are no entries left, or if there are entries left but the visa validity expires. If a visa becomes invalid, its bearer must apply for a new visa before entering
Please be noticed that if you come out from the Mainland of China to the Hong Kong SAR, and then go back to the Mainland, you should apply for a 2-entry visa for both the first and second entry.
3) "Duration of Each Stay" refers to the maximum number of days the visa bearer is permitted to stay in
A foreign citizen who overstays the end date of his/her authorized stay in
A bearer of a D, Q1, J1, S1, X1 and Z visa must apply for a residence permit at the local public security authorities within 30 days of entry into