China entry visas should be obtained through the Chinese embassy or consulate in your home country. The official China tourism offices are also able to arrange visas.
There are 8 types of visas, each marked phonetically with a letter C, D, F, G, J-1, J-2, L, X or Z. Listed below are the most common visas:
F Visa (Business, pin yin is ¡°fang wen¡±): Issued to an alien who is invited to China for a visit, an investigation, a lecture, to do business, scientific-technological and culture exchanges, short-term advanced studies or intern practice for a period of no more than six months. It is valid for multiple entries within a three or six-month period. This visa requires an invitation letter.
L Visa (Tourist, pin yin is ¡°lu you¡±): Issued to an alien who comes to China for sightseeing, family visit or other private purposes. Usually good for a thirty day stay; can be used to enter China one time within three months after issue.
X Visa (Student, pin yin is ¡°xue xi¡±): Issued to an alien who comes to China for study, advanced studies or intern practice for a period of more than six months. Issued only with invitation letters from an accredited Chinese institution.
Z Visa (Work, pin yin is ¡°zuo gong¡±): Issued to an alien who comes to China for a post or employment, and his or her accompanying family members. This visa requires an invitation letter.
You can visit the Chinese embassy website at: http://www.china-embassy.org/visa/english/chinese/qz.htm
Important things you need to know about your visa
How can you read the customs seal to know when you entered China?
When you enter China, there will be an oval seal in your passport. The middle of the seal has two numbers which are the month and day separated by a dot. The year is at the bottom of the seal.
Who is responsible for your visa work?
There is a special police bureau in charge of visa work. If you are holding an L visa, just make sure your visa doesn¡¯t expire. If you are holding an F, X or Z visa, normally your sponsor business or school will help you to work on your resident card and all visa related issues. The businesses and schools that have frequent visiting foreigners normally have one department specifically responsible for all foreigners' visa work as well as helping foreigners with their daily life. This office is called the ¡°Foreign Affairs Office¡± (pin yin ¡°Wai Ban¡± or ¡°Wai Shi Chu¡±). It is very important to contact your sponsor business or school immediately upon your arrival in China.
Please note
1) When you are doing visa work, you should always carry your passport, several 2-inch color photos and all original documents (as well as one or two photocopies of all documents) that the Chinese authority issued you. Some of the documents need to be translated into Chinese.
2) Take care not to over-stay your visa; the official penalty is 500 RMB/day!
Key things about arrival
1) Register at the local police station.
All visa holders must register at the local police station within 24 hours after your arrival (in hotels this is done for you). The registration is just a matter of filling out a form. When your registration is completed, the local police station will give you a slip of paper torn off the bottom of your form, keep this, it proves that you have registered.
2) For X and Z visa holders: get the ¡°resident certificate¡±
If you are holding an X or Z visa you should contact your sponsor business or school who will help you get your paperwork completed and instruct you how to get to the visa bureau or take it to the bureau themselves to and get your "resident certificate". The resident certificate must be done within 30 days of your arrival in the country.
What is a Resident Certificate?
The ¡°resident certificate¡± is a small passport sized green book (about ten pages) designed for foreigners who are going to stay in China for an extended period of time. Foreigners holding an X or Z visa will get a resident certificate. It is an important certificate taking the place of your visa after you enter China to work or study. The ¡®valid date¡¯ of the resident certificate is the valid time for your stay in China. Foreigners must always carry their passport and resident certificates when traveling. Sometimes people talk about ¡°renewing an X or Z visa¡±, it means renewing the resident certificate.
All X and Z visa holders must have the resident certificate done within 30 days of their arrival. This is very important. If you stay in China more than a month and don't get your resident certificate, your visa will expire.
The visa bureau normally issues a resident certificate valid for one year. You must have it renewed before it expires or leave the country before the ¡°Valid Date¡± of the resident certificate.
It is a good idea to carry a photocopy of your passport and resident certificate with you at all times. Carrying the originals on a day-to-day basis is not wise as pickpockets in China are common and these documents are very hard to replace. Having a photocopy of them aids with replacement. When traveling or conducting business requiring these documents you must of course carry the original documents.
Again, you should renew your resident certificate before it expires. A resident certificate expire the same as a visa expires.
How to get a resident certificate?
1) All the documents that the Chinese authority issued you (like the housing registration that the local police gave you)
2) A copy of the sponsoring company's work license
3) The sponsor company's authorization letter (authorizing your position in the company)
4) The contract (or other document) proving your relationship with the sponsor company
5) An application letter from your sponsor company for prolonging your visa
6) Your resume
7) Work permit (issued by the labor bureau) or the foreign expert certificate (issued by the Foreign Trading Bureau)
8) You need to fill out an application form
9) A health certificate issued by the Health Quarantine Bureau
When all these documents meet the visa bureau's requirement, the bureau will take all these documents and inform you when you can come to pick up your resident card. Normally it will be around a week.
The fee ranges in price depending on your country, visa type, entry times, and duration of stay (valid time).
Visa renewal
You should start renewing your visa/resident certificate weeks before it expires. When you are renewing your visa and resident certificate, you normally need to provide similar documents as when you applied for the original visa/resident certificate.
Leaving China with plans to return
1). Check your visa to see if it can be used again for re-entry, there are double and multiple entry visas.
¡°Visa Entrie(s)¡± means how many times you can enter China by this visa (If it is 00, it means that you can only leave China by the visa, and the visa expires when you leave; 01 is single entry visa, it means that you can come and leave China one time; 02 is double entry visa, it means that you can come and leave China two times; ¡°multi¡± means multi entry visa, it means that you can come and leave China as many times as you want until it expires.
¡°Valid Until¡± the date shown here is the last day (or last time) you can enter China by the visa.
2).How to apply for a return visa:
The visa bureau normally issues three-month, six-month or one year re-entry visas. The visa can be single entry, double entry or multi-entry. You need to make a request for which type visa you would like or they will usually give you a single entry.
For example, if you have a six-month double entry visa, it means that you can enter China twice within half a year after your visa is issued. On your passport, Category ¡°Visa Entrie(s)¡± should be 02, and ¡°Valid Until¡± should be the date six-months later.
Very important notices for X and Z visa holders:
When leaving China without a re-entry visa you must give up your resident certificate to customs. If you do not have it with you, you may not be permitted to leave China!
Switching visas
If you want to switch visas you must:
1) Fulfill all obligations to the sponsor of your original visa or negotiate an agreement
2) Qualify for desired visa and find a sponsor if necessary
3) Provide proper documentation for the visa requested.
NOTE: Even if you are able to complete all the above mentioned criteria, the Chinese Government reserves the right to deny your visa.
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