Question & Answer

Warmly welcome to China with us! We are very glad to provide you with some practical information for you to get some general ideas of China before you come to visit China. The following are some basic information for your China trip, we hope it would be useful and you will enjoy your stay in China. If the information what you need is not covered below, please feel free to contact us: contact@visitourchina.com, phone at +86-773-5833156, or fax at +86-773-5817771

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Visa & Passport FAQ's

  • 1.Do I need a visa to visit China?

    Foreign travelers should apply for tourist visa at the Chinese Embassy or Chinese Consulate before they travel to mainland China; if a tourist group consists of 9 or over 9 people, it is allowed to apply for group tourist visa.
     
    For those foreigners who travel to the Chinese special economic zones of (Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Xiamen, they can apply for “Chinese special economic zone tourist visa” at the Chinese Embassy or China Consulate.
     
    For those who go to Hainan Province not exceeding 15 days for business, travel and visit their families, it is allowed to get entry visa at the ports of Haikou or Sanya of Hainan Province. 
     
    For foreign groups that live in the special administrative region of Hong Kong, they do not need to apply for entry visa if their stay in mainland China is not exceeding 72 hours.
     
    The Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong offers visa-free visit or landing visa visit to people from some countries and regions, ranking from 14 days to 90 days. Therefore, it is suggested to confirm it before departing to China.
     
    Foreigners who hold passport of the listing countries are allowed to stay in the Special Administrative Region of Macau not exceeding 20 days: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Philippine, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, British, USA, South Korea, Singapore, Luxembourg, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, India, Mexico, Germany.

  • 2.What type of visa do I need if I want to visit China?

    It depends on the duration and the purpose of the visit. For individual travelers, they only need to apply for a single-entry at any Chinese Embassy, which usually takes about 4-7 working days.

  • 3.How to apply for a China tourist visa?

    Foreign travelers who want to tour visit China should provide the Chinese Embassy or Chinese Consulate their application for getting China tourist visa. The following documents are required for applying for it:
     
    (1) One completed Visa Application Form with a passport photograph attached;
    (2) Your passport with at least 6-month validity and at least 2 blank visa pages;
    (3) Travel information including the booking of air tickets and itinerary in China. (If you book a China tour with a China travel agent, it will send you a formal Invitation Letter, which will be helpful for apply a China tourist visa).
     
    Please note:
    (1) Please apply for your China tourist visa only 1 to 2months before your planned date to enter China.
    (2) People who were born in China must provide their names in Chinese characters to column "1" of the Visa Application Form.
    (3) Fill in every column of the Visa Application Form, using "N/A" if not applicable.
    (4) The supporting documents will not be returned once lodged with the application. Please make copy beforehand if necessary.
    (5) The "PICK UP FORM" you get when you lodge the application is the only proof for collection; when lost, only the passport holder himself with proper photo ID can retrieve his passport.
    (6) Please be aware that no modification will be accepted once the application is lodged.
    (7) Please pay for the visa on collection (Please refer to Question 11, 12 for the visa fee), and please pay in cash, bank cheque, money order or company cheque. The "payee" should be CHINESE EMBASSY.

  • 4.What is PICK UP FORM ? What should I do if I lost my PICK UP FORM?

    When you lodge your China visa application, you will get a "PICK UP FORM", which is the only proof for you to collect the passport and visa. If one lost his PICK UP FORM, only the passport himself with proper photo ID can retrieve his passport.

  • 5.How long does it take to get a China visa?

    Generally, it takes about 4-7 working days to get a China visa.

  • 6.How long is a China visa valid?

    The period of validity of a single-entry China visa is 3 months after its issuing date and the duration of stay in China is 30 days, which is long enough to have a normal China trip.

  • 7.When should I lodge my China visa application?

    Please apply for the visa only 1-2 months before your planned date to enter China. Generally, the validity of a single-entry visa is 3 months, counting from the day of application. So please make sure you are going to use it before it expires.

  • 8.Can I continue to stay in China after the expiry date of my China visa?

    Foreign travelers are allowed to visit China during the valid period of their China visa. If they still need to stay in China for some more days after the expiry date of their China visa, they can apply for an extension to their visas in local Chinese public security department.

  • 9.What should I do if lose my visa/passport in China?

    If foreign travelers lose their visas/passports in China, they should report the loss and state the process of the loss to the local Chinese public security department, and they will get a “confirmation letter of the loss”. Secondly, bring the confirmation letter to the embassy or the consulate of their countries in China and apply for Exit Certificate there. Finally, go to the local exit-entry administration department for handling departure procedure.

  • 10.Can I visit every place in China with my China visa?

    In China today there are about 1220 cities and counties opened to foreigners with valid passports and tourist visas. For entering some special regions such as Tibet, foreigners should apply for special permits. And foreigners should respect Chinese laws and keep away from other special regions that are forbidden to visit.

  • 11.What are the requirements regarding the passport?

    Your passport should have at least 2 blank pages and at least 6-month validity left. Please find details in the table below:

    Type of Visa
    Minimum Validity of passport
    Single-Entry Visa with 3-month validity
    Six (6) months
    Double-Entry Visa with 6-month validity
    Nine (9) months
    Multiple-Entry Visa with 6-month validity
    Nine (9) months
    Multiple-Entry Visa with 12-month validity
    		 Fifteen (15) months
     

  • 12.Can I amend my China visa application after it has been lodged?

    You cannot make any modification on your application once it has been lodged. If the modification has to be made, it is only possible after the current application done. That means you have to prepare a new application according to your new schedule and submit the application again, and the previous visa will be cancelled before a new one is granted.

  • 13.Can I get back the documents lodged with the visa application?

    No. If you need to keep any documents for reference, please make copy beforehand. No supporting documents will be returned once lodged with the application.

  • 14.Do I need to pay for visa application?

    Visa \ Passport
    Australian Passport
    US Passport
    Others
    Single-Entry Visa (must use within 3-months)
    A$40
    A$169
    A$50
    Double-Entry Visa (must use within 6-months)
    A$60
    A$169
    A$75
    Multiple-Entry Visa (must use within 6-months)
    A$80
    A$169
    A$100
    Multiple-Entry Visa (must use within 12-months)
    A$120
    A$169
    		 A$150
     
     Mail handling fee (Agent lodgment fee): $10.00 per package.

  • 15.Can I apply for China visa by mail?

    It is strongly recommended to apply for China visa in person or through someone else (namely your friends, relatives or travel agent) due to the long processing time and the likely risks of documents' safety if you send the application by mail.
     
    Only under special situations when you are unable to apply in person, can the embassy accept your mail-in visa application providing you are ACT, South Australia, North Territory residents and able to submit all the necessary materials at once.
     
    Upon sending the mail-in visa application, you shall be fully aware of the risks you are undertaking. The embassy is not responsible for any loss, damage or delay of your passport or documents during the process of mailing, and is not responsible for any delay or costs incurred by change of your planned trips due to longer-than-expected processing time of your mail-in visa application.
     

Quick Questions

Our team is waiting for your questions. Please feel free to ask us any questions you might have about our China package tours, Chinese culture, or the sites available. We will gladly help you with any special needs you might have and all questions, like our trip designing is completely free of charge.