Chinese Visa FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) For China Visa, please read the following FAQ, if you still have any question. Please contact us for further information.

Q: Where can I get the Health Check for Chinese Visa?
A:

Or click Physical examination for Chinese visas for details.

Q: How to register in the local police station?

A: Foreigners are required to register in the local police station within 24 hours of arrival. When you get a new visa or move to a new place, you need to redo it.
1. If you are staying at a hotel or hostel, the staff there will automatically do it for you. If you ask, they will give you the form. Please make sure they stamp it with the hotel or hostel' seal.
2. If you are renting an apartment or staying with your friends, you need to go to the local police station yourself. Normally, you are required to take the following documents:

1) Apartment rental contract
2) Passport
3) For the first time registration, you'd better ask your landlord to come with you. Or at least take one copy of the landlord's ID.

Q: How long is a Chinese visa valid for?

A: The Chinese Consulate now automatically issues 1-year multiple entry visas to US passport holders except in certain special situations. With a 1-year multi-entry visa, your visa is valid for 12 months from date of issue, and you can enter China any time during the 12 months while the visa is valid.

Q: How long can I stay in China with a Chinese visa?

A: The time you could actually stay in China, or "duration of stay after entry" is usually 60 days. However, a maximum of 90-day duration of stay is available upon request. To get a 90-day duration of stay, you must write down such number on the Chinese Visa Application Form. If you did not specify the number of days on this form, you will be allowed 60 days. Please be reminded that the Chinese Consulate has the final say on the number of days you receive for your visa regardless of your request.

Q: With an F visa, what can I do in China?

A:F visa is issued to applicants who are invited to China for business, research, lecture, scientific-technological and culture exchanges, short-term advanced studies or intern practice for a period of no more than six months.

Q: I am going to mainland China, then to Hong Kong and back to mainland China. Does this mean I must have a double-entry visa?

A:Yes. Although Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR are part of China, they have different visa systems from China mainland. Each time you enter into China mainland, one entry will be used up.

Q: If I want to stay longer in China, can I have my visa done without leaving China mainland？

A: Yes. If you are holding an L visa, technically you can have it extended twice, with 30 days of each time. If you want to stay longer even than that, you can have your China visa converted to an F visa through a Chinese visa agent.
If you are holding an F visa, you can simply have it extended for another 3, 6 or 12 months.
The visas issued when you are already in China mainland have NO limitation of each stay. It means if you wish, you can stay as long as your visa duration without leaving. The entry (ies) is for your expected or unexpected travel. You don't have to leave.
F-visa holders can stay in China mainland without leaving for consecutive one year, which is calculated from last entry date.

Q: I have a double/multi-entry Visa, but have 60 days limit for each stay. How can I remove it?

A: Double or multiple entry visas (either an L or F) issued by overseas Chinese Embassies, Consulates, visa offices usually have limitations of each stay. The limit can NOT be removed in China since December 2004. Instead you can apply for a new F issued by Public Security Bureau. Your previous L or F will be cancelled since you can NOT have two valid visas simultaneously. BeijingESC can help you do that.

Q: I am not staying in Beijing. Can I still get my visa extended through your office?

A: Yes, definitely you can. We have many faithful clients throughout China.

Q: How can I get the "Registration Form of Temporary Residence", which is required to do visa extension or conversion?

A: Foreigners are required to register in the local police station within 24 hours of arrival. When you get a new visa or move to a new place, you need to redo it. From the beginning of 2016, Beijing PSB name the "Registration Form of Temporary Residence" as "Accommodation Registration Form". We have an article about how to get China accommodation registration form.

Q: There is some company that intends to hire me. Can I avoid the Hong Kong visa run to get a Z visa?

A: You can not manage that from the 1st Jan 2016.

The required documents:

(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 two recently-taken colour passport photos (bare-head, full face) against a light background attached. Please Click to see the photo requirements in details.

(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 or visa of stay, residence, employment or student status of the country where you are currently staying..

(4) Photocopy of previous Chinese passports or previous Chinese visas (applicable to those who were Chinese citizens and have obtained foreign citizenship)

If you have obtained Chinese visas before and want to apply for a Chinese visa with a renewed foreign passport that does not contain any Chinese visa, you should present the photocopy of the previous passport’s data page and the photo page if it is separate, as well as the previous Chinese visa page. (If your name on the current passport differs from that on the previous one, you must provide an official document of name change).

Applicant's round trip flight ticket reservation and hotel reservation.

If applicants can't provide the hotel reservation, instead of staying at friend's, relative's place during holiday in China. Please provide the tourism invitation letter and a photocopy of the inviter's Chinese ID (Front & Back) or a photocopy of foreigner's residence permit and passport. The Invitation Letter should contain:

(1) Information on the applicant (full name, gender, date of birth, passport number etc.);

(2) Details on the planned visit (arrival and departure dates, place(s) to be visited, expenditure arrangement etc.);

(3) Information on the inviting entity or individual (name, contact telephone number, address, official stamp , the legal representative's signature or the inviter's signature).

(1)The invitation letter may be in the form of fax, photocopy or computer printout, but the consular officer may require the applicant to submit the original of the invitation letter.

(2)If necessary, the consular officer may require the applicant to provide other documents or supplementary materials, or require an interview with the applicant.

(3)The consular officer will decide on whether or not to issue the visa and on its validity, duration of stay and number of entries in light of specific conditions of the applicant.

(4) For further details, please visit the web-site of the relevant Chinese Embassy or Consulate General.

It might seem that an expired passport doesn’t have any real use once you get a new one, but it actually does. Here’s why you should never just throw them in the trash.

After you’ve had your passport for a certain number of years, the government requires you to renew it. But expired passports shouldn’t be treated the same as expired coupons or food and just thrown in the trash. Expired passports can actually come in handy, even after you’ve already ordered a new one.

Your cancelled passport is valid proof of your citizenship. As long as you remain recognizable as the person in the photo on your old passport, it can be used as proof of your citizenship. If you ever lose your valid passport and need to get a lost passport replacement you can submit a cancelled passport as proof of your citizenship instead of turning in an original birth certificate.
Your old passport is proof of your identity. We hope you never find yourself in the situation of having both your passport and driver’s license lost or stolen, but if you ever do, that old passport can be an important way to prove your identity to get a new driver’s license issued.
If your cancelled passport contains visas. It’s very important to hold on to it! Some countries, like India, will allow you to transfer a valid visa from a cancelled passport to a new one. Brazil, which issues 10 year visas to US citizens, will actually allow you to enter the country carrying both a cancelled passport with a valid visa and a new passport. China also issues 10 year visa to US citizens, and also allow foreigners (not only US citizen but also passport holder from another country) to enter China carrying both a cancelled passport with a valid visa and a new passport. Far more countries, like Russia and Afghanistan, will want to know the details of any previous visas when you apply for a new visa. You will need to keep your old passport on hand so you can refer back to your old visas and make photocopies of them if required.
Your old passport is the best travel souvenir! Your passport is a record of all the countries you’ve visited. Flipping through the pages and seeing all your entry and exit stamps is a great way to bring back memories of your trips. It’s also fun to look back at your old passport photos, and what could be a cuter keepsake than “baby’s first passport”?
Your expired passport is acrucial document for police check application in China. If you old/expired passport could not be submitted for China police check application (you can find it's one of the required documents for China PCC application), China will not be able to issue PCC for your time spent with your old/expired passport.

A work visa is required for foreigners who want to get salary in China. Foreigners are confused when they face tons of information online, whether China's Z visa is China work visa? If want to work legally in China, foreigner should get Z visa, residence permit or work visa?

You will see the evolution of China work visa by checking the scan of following visa pages.

2004-2005 China Z visa

2004-2005 China Z visa issued at Beijing

Z visa was work visa in China before 2007. And this visa was valid for 1 year and has multiple entrys.

China Z visa issued at Hong Kong

2009 China Z visa issued at Hong Kong

After 2007, Z visa is issued at Hong Kong, or the country which issued the passport for China Z visa applicant. As you can see the duration of each stay became 000 days. The Entries limited to 01.

China Z visa comparison

	Before 2007	After 2007
Visa Category	Z	Z
Visa Entries	Multiple	01
Validity	1 year	000
Issue at	China cities	Hong Kong or Oversea consulate
Whether need convertion	No	Yes, to Residence Permit

China Residence Permit for work

China Residence Permit issued at Wenzhou in 2013

Currently, the holder of China Z visa has to get residence permit (as below) in 30 days, after he/she get Chinese entry stamp.

China work visa comparison

	Before 2007	After 2007
Visa Category	Z	Residence Permit
Visa Entries	Multiple	N/A (practically multiple-entry)
Purpose of Residence	N/A	任职(working)

So when we talking about getting China work visa nowadays, it contains series of steps, such as Z visa application and Residence Permit application.

The steps and flow chart of getting China work visa.

Do I need a Hong Kong visa? Nationals of about 180 countries may visit Hong Kong without visa, the length of the period in Hong Kong without visa is various according to the nationalities. Of course, we also listed the country names which ask for Hong Kong visa.

No visa is required for Hong Kong, if you hold any of the following travel documents

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passport,
British National (Overseas) Passport,
Hong Kong Certificate of Identity,
Hong Kong Re-entry permit (for entry from the Mainland of China and the Macao Special Administrative Region only),
Hong Kong Seaman's Identity Book,
Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes provided that the document is valid or the holder's limit of stay in Hong Kong has not expired.
Travel documents bearing one of the following endorsements:
- "Holder's eligibility for Hong Kong permanent identity card verified."
- "The holder of this travel document has the right to land in Hong Kong. (Section 2AAA, Immigration Ordinance, Cap. 115, Laws of Hong Kong)"
Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card.

Foreigners are required to get Hong Kong visa

AFGHANISTAN, ALBANIA (holders of Albanian non-biometric passports), ANGOLA, ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN
BANGLADESH, BELARUS, BURUNDI
CAMBODIA, CAMEROON, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, CONGO, Costa Rican Provisional passports, COTE D'IVOIRE, CUBA
ERITREA, ETHIOPIA
GAMBIA, GEORGIA, GHANA, GUINEA-BISSAU
IRAN, IRAQ
KOREA (North), KYRGYZSTAN
LAOS, LEBANON, LIBERIA, LIBYA
MOLDOVA, MYANMAR
NEPAL, NICARAGUA, NIGERIA
PAKISTAN, PALESTINE, PANAMA
RWANDA
SENEGAL, SIERRA LEONE, SOLOMON ISLANDS, SOMALIA, SOUTH SUDAN, SRI LANKA, SYRIA
TAJIKISTAN, TOGO, TURKMENISTAN, TUVALU
UZBEKISTAN
Vatican Service passports, VIETNAM

Foreigners stay in Hong Kong without visa

	Country	Visa free period
	ALBANIA (holders of Albanian biometric passports only)	14 Days
	ALGERIA	14 Days
	ANDORRA	90 Days
	ANGUILLA	90 Days
	ANTIGUA & BARBUDA	90 Days
	ARGENTINA	90 Days
	AUSTRALIA	90 Days
	AUSTRIA	90 Days
	BAHAMAS	90 Days
	BAHRAIN	30 Days
	BARBADOS	90 Days
	BELGIUM	90 Days
	BELIZE	90 Days
	BENIN	14 Days
	BERMUDA	90 Days
	BHUTAN	14 Days
	BOLIVIA	30 Days
	BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA	14 Days
	BOTSWANA	90 Days
	BRAZIL	90 Days
	BRITAIN (British citizens)	180 Days
	BRITAIN (British Overseas Territories citizens, British Overseas citizens, British subjects and British Protected persons)	90 Days
	BRITISH ANTARCTIC TERRITORY	90 Days
	BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY	90 Days
	BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS	90 Days
	BRUNEI DARUSSALAM	90 Days
	BULGARIA	90 Days
	BURKINA FASO	14 Days
	CANADA	90 Days
	CAPE VERDE (REPUBLIC OF)	30 Days
	CAYMAN ISLANDS	90 Days
	CHAD	14 Days
	CHILE	90 Days
	COLOMBIA	90 Days
	COMOROS	14 Days
	COSTA RICA	30 Days
	CROATIA	90 Days
	CYPRUS (REPUBLIC OF)	90 Days
	CZECH REPUBLIC	90 Days
	DENMARK	90 Days
	DJIBOUTI	14 Days
	DOMINICA (COMMONWEALTH OF)	90 Days
	DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	30 Days
	ECUADOR	90 Days
	EGYPT	90 Days
	EL SALVADOR	30 Days
	EQUATORIAL GUINEA	14 Days
	ESTONIA	90 Days
	FALKLAND ISLANDS & DEPENDENCIES	90 Days
	FAROE ISLANDS	90 Days
	FIJI	90 Days
	FINLAND	90 Days
	FRANCE	90 Days
	GABON	14 Days
	GERMANY	90 Days
	GIBRALTAR	90 Days
	GREECE	90 Days
	GREENLAND	90 Days
	GRENADA	90 Days
	GUATEMALA	30 Days
	GUINEA	14 Days
	GUYANA	90 Days
	HAITI	14 Days
	HONDURAS	30 Days
	HUNGARY	90 Days
	ICELAND	90 Days
	INDIA	14 Days
	INDONESIA	30 Days
	IRELAND (REPUBLIC OF)	90 Days
	ISRAEL	90 Days
	ITALY	90 Days
	JAMAICA	90 Days
	JAPAN	90 Days
	JORDAN	30 Days
	KAZAKHSTAN	14 Days
	KENYA	90 Days
	KIRIBATI	90 Days
	KOREA (REPUBLIC OF)	90 Days
	KUWAIT	30 Days
	LATVIA	90 Days
	LESOTHO	14 Days
	LIECHTENSTEIN	90 Days
	LITHUANIA	90 Days
	LUXEMBOURG	90 Days
	MACEDONIA	14 Days
	MADAGASCAR	14 Days
	MALAWI	90 Days
	MALAYSIA	90 Days
	MALDIVES	90 Days
	MALI	14 Days
	MALTA	90 Days
	MARSHALL ISLANDS (REPUBLIC OF)	14 Days
	MAURITANIA	14 Days
	MAURITIUS	90 Days
	MEXICO	90 Days
	MICRONESIA (FEDERATED STATES OF)	14 Days
	MONACO	90 Days
	MONGOLIA	14 Days
	MONTENEGRO ( REPUBLIC OF )	14 Days
	MONTSERRAT	90 Days
	MOROCCO	30 Days
	MOZAMBIQUE	14 Days
	NAMIBIA	90 Days
	NAURU	90 Days
	NETHERLANDS	90 Days
	NEW ZEALAND	90 Days
	NIGER	14 Days
	NORWAY	90 Days
	OMAN	30 Days
	PALAU	14 Days
	PAPUA NEW GUINEA	90 Days
	PARAGUAY	30 Days
	PERU	30 Days
	PHILIPPINES	14 Days
	PITCAIRN, HENDERSON, DUCIE & OENO ISLANDS	90 Days
	POLAND	90 Days
	PORTUGAL	90 Days
	QATAR	30 Days
	ROMANIA	90 Days
	RUSSIAN FEDERATION	14 Days
	SAMOA	30 Days
	SAN MARINO	90 Days
	SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE	14 Days
	SAUDI ARABIA	30 Days
	SERBIA (REPUBLIC OF) (holders of Serbian biometric passports only)	14 Days
	SEYCHELLES	90 Days
	SINGAPORE	90 Days
	SLOVAK REPUBLIC	90 Days
	SLOVENIA	90 Days
	SOUTH AFRICA	30 Days
	SPAIN	90 Days
	ST. HELENA	90 Days
	ST. HELENA DEPENDENCIES (ASCENSION, TRISTAN DA CUNHA)	90 Days
	ST. KITTS - NEVIS ANGUILLA	90 Days
	ST. LUCIA	90 Days
	ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES	90 Days
	SURINAME	14 Days
	SWAZILAND	90 Days
	SWEDEN	90 Days
	SWITZERLAND	90 Days
	TANZANIA	90 Days
	THAILAND	30 Days
	THE SOUTH GEORGIA AND THE SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS	90 Days
	THE SOVEREIGN BASE AREAS OF AKROTIRI AND DHEKELIA	90 Days
	TONGA	90 Days
	TRINIDAD & TOBAGO	90 Days
	TUNISIA	30 Days
	TURKEY	90 Days
	TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS	90 Days
	TUVALU	90 Days
	UGANDA	30 Days
	UKRAINE	14 Days
	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	30 Days
	URUGUAY	90 Days
	U.S.A.	90 Days
	US TRUST TERRITORY OF PACIFIC ISLANDS (holders of US Trust Territory passports only)	14 Days
	VANUATU	90 Days
	VATICAN CITY	14 Days
	VENEZUELA	90 Days
	ZAMBIA	90 Days
	ZIMBABWE	90 Days
	Nationals of other foreign countries do not require visas for a visit	7 Days

The standard package of the Dongle for Beijing Labor Bureau

The Dongle is officially called as Digital Certificate which allow you to access government website's restricted zone. The dongle has unique ID connected with your company, your company can operate online without visiting the government department, such as add or delete employee from Beijing labor bureau's system, work visa online application.

As you can see, it comes together with Password Card and Driver Disk.

Where and when to get the dongle?

From Monday to Friday at Social Security Center of each district.

The required documents for applying the Dongle

Company Stamp, or stamped application form (2 copies)
The original copy of the duplicate of Business License, Tax Registration License or Organization Code Certificate
The original copy of Applicant's ID card or Passport, the photocopy should be stamped by company stamp.

Operation system of the Dongle is Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows 2003 and Windows 2000. According to our test in the April 2016, Windows 10 is incompatible.

Shut down the security software of your work station, before you install the driver of the dongle.

Return to our article about the procedure and flow chart of getting work visa in Beijing China.