Chinese Visa Application Guidelines
On December 8, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the Notice on Temporary Reduction of Fees for Applying Visa to China. According to this notice, during the period from December 11, 2023, to December 31, 2024, China shall cut visa fees by 25 percent across the board for foreign travelers. For more details, please consult with your local Chinese embassy or consulate.To get more news about chinese visa price, you can citynewsservice.cn official website.
UPDATE (March 14, 2023): Starting from March 15, 2023, China shall resume issuing all types of visas for foreigners, including the tourism visa, visa for medical treatment, port visa, and multiple visa-exemption policies.
China began easing immigration procedures on January 8, 2023, after the downgrading of COVID-19 to a Class B infectious disease and the removal of centralized quarantine for inbound travelers.
Beijing has promised to gradually resume the issuance of ordinary visas and residence permits for foreigners, as well as tourist visa exemption for short-term travelers.
The lifting of quarantine regulations means that mainland Chinese residents can travel abroad for the first time since national borders were closed almost three years ago. China also announced the restart of pilot outbound tours to selected countries. Yet, it should be noted that visa resumption is a process.Foreigners who need to apply for China visas should confirm with their local Chinese embassies or consulates to find out if the visa they want to apply for is currently available or not.
In this article, we provide the latest Chinese visa application guidelines and highlight the characteristics of each type of visa and the supporting documentation required.
Foreigners covered by different agreements for reciprocal visa exemption: Based on specific bilateral agreements among countries, certain foreign nationals who satisfy specific criteria may enter China without a visa. For additional details, please refer to the updated list of agreements on visa exemption signed by China with other nations.
Foreigners who are eligible for the 24-hour visa-free transit arrangement: Foreigners who will only stay within the airport (and not cross the border) for no longer than 24 hours and have a valid connecting ticket with confirmed seating on an international aircraft, are free from needing a visa to transit through China by air.
Foreigners with various forms of valid residence permits: Foreign nationals who want to study, work, or are resident foreign journalists in China must apply for a residency permit from the local public security authorities within 30 days of their entrance. For the duration of the permit’s validity, permit holders can be in the country without the need to apply for a visa.
International travelers with current APEC business travel cards: The APEC Business Travel Card is an alternative to a three-year multiple-entry visa. A cardholder may enter China more than once during the card’s validity – for a stay of no longer than two months each time.
Foreigners with valid Permanent Residence Certificates in China.
Foreigners who will visit a China city where a 72/144-hour transit visa-free policy is applicable: Some cities allow travelers to visit the province of their arrival or a specific region without a visa for a certain period (72 hours or 144 hours). For a complete list of cities offering this policy and the eligible nationality of the foreign national, please read our article here.
What to do before entering China in 2023?
All travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, have to complete one PCR test within 48 hours before departure and to only board an aircraft if their nucleic acid result is negative.
The application for the health code is no longer necessary.
One PCR test may be taken in either the city of departure or the airport/city of your transfer if you are traveling to China via a third country.
For more information on China’s COVID-19 prevention and control measures, kindly refer to our tracker article.
