A visa is an officially approved document issued by authorized bodies for the government, in accordance with the laws of the country, to foreign citizens applying to enter, leave or transit through the country. In line with international law and practice, any sovereign state is entitled to make its own decisions as to whether to allow a foreign citizen to enter or leave its borders, and to issue or refuse to issue a visa, or to revoke an issued visa according to its own laws.
1. The necessity to apply for a Chinese visa
Foreign citizens should have applied for and obtained appropriate visas before entering China unless they are visa-exempt according to certain agreements and regulations. You are advised to ensure that your visa is valid before travel. If your visa has expired or the visa has insufficient number of entries, you need to apply for a new visa.
2. Basic documents for applying a Chinese Visa
(1) Passport
Original passport with at least six months of remaining validity and blank visa pages, and a photocopy of the passport’s data page and the photo page if it is separate.
(2) Visa Application Form and Photo
One completed Visa Application Form with a recently-taken color passport photo (bare-head, full face) against a light background attached.
(3) Proof of legal stay or residence status (applicable to those not applying for the visa in their country of citizenship)
If you are not applying for the visa in the country of your citizenship, you must provide the original and photocopy of your valid certificates or visa of stay, residence, employment or student status, or other valid certificates of legal staying provided by the relevant authorities of the country where you are currently staying.
(4) Photocopy of previous Chinese passports or previous Chinese visas (applicable to foreign citizens those who were Chinese citizens and have obtained foreign citizenship)
3. Visa Authorities in China
(1) Chinese diplomatic missions, consular posts, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Macao Special Administrative Region, and other resident organizations abroad authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are responsible for handling visa applications by foreign citizens for entry into and transit through mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.
(2) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the local foreign affairs offices authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are responsible for issuance, change and extension of diplomatic and service visas and for issuance of residence permit to holders of diplomatic and service visas.
Contact Us
If you have further inquires, please do not hesitate to contact Tannet at anytime, anywhere by simply visiting Tannet’s website english.tannet-group.com, or calling Hong Kong hotline at 852-27826888 or China hotline at 86-755-82143422, or emailing to tannet-solution@hotmail.com. You are also welcome to visit our office situated in 16/F, Taiyangdao Bldg 2020,Dongmen Rd South, Luohu , Shenzhen, China.
Previous：Getting a Chinese Green Card by Working in China
Next：New ID Cards for Permanent Residents