I. Types of Chinese Visas

The Chinese visa is the permit issued by the Chinese visa authorities to foreign citizens 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, respectively marked with Chinese phonetic letters C, D, F, G, J-1, J-2, L, X, and Z.

C Visa: Issued to crewmembers on international aviation, navigation, and land transportation missions, and to family members accompanying them.

D Visa: Issued to qualified applicants to reside permanently in China.

F Visa: Issued to those 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.

G Visa: Issued to those who transit in China.

J-1 Visa: Issued to foreign resident correspondents in China.

J-2 Visa: Issued to foreign correspondents on temporary mission to China.

L Visa: Issued to visitors to China for the purposes of tourism, family, or other personal affairs.

X Visa: Issued to applicants who come to China for the purpose of study, advanced studies, or intern practice for a period of over six months.

Z Visa: Issued to applicants to take up a post, or employment in China, and to their accompanying family members.


II. Chinese Visa Authorities Overseas

The Chinese Visa Authorities Overseas 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.


III. Visa Exemption

Foreign crewmembers or passengers, excluding citizens of the USA (except for transit in Shanghai) or UK, do not need a Chinese visa if they take a direct transit in China by plane for less than 24 hours without exiting from the airport.

Citizens from the following countries do not need a Chinese visa to transit in Shanghai if they enter and exit from Pudong or Hongqiao airport, stay for less than 48 hours, and hold their valid passport, visa of the destination country, and on-going air ticket with departure date and seat confirmed:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, and USA.

As of July 1, 2003, ordinary passport holders from Singapore and Brunei enjoy visa-free access to China for up to 15 days for the purposes of business, tourism, visit to relatives and friends, or transit, and may enter and exit from the Chinese ports that are open to foreigners.  (From July 1, 2008, we temporarily require Singaporean passport holders to enter China with a valid visa.)


Notes:

1. The Chinese visa is generally valid for 6 months from the issue date to entry date. Please apply for your visa within 6 months of entry into China according to your travel itinerary, and avoid expiry of visa, or extra cost of urgent fee due to lack of application process time. Please also decide the duration of stay in China. The permitted duration of stay of Chinese visas are generally up to 30 days. If you need to stay longer, please apply to the local public security bureau in China for visa extension.

2. Previous Chinese citizens who have obtained foreign citizenship should present their original Chinese passport when applying for a Chinese visa for the first time. In this case, a child should also provide the original and photocopy of passports of both parents.

3. The validity, duration of stay, and number of entries of the Chinese visa are decided at the discretion of consular officials according to Chinese laws and regulations. The consular officials have the authority to refuse any applications inconsistent with Chinese laws and regulations, and are entitled to change and /or revoke any issued visas, without providing any explanation.

4. For information on Chinese customs, please visit www.customs.gov.cn .


All information listed above is subject to change, without notice, at the discretion and interpretation of the Chinese Embassy and Consulates General.