Visa and Passport

How to Get a Chinese Visa?

It will be very easy for you to obtain a China Visa to travel in China, which usually will allow you to stay within China for one month. If you are from the United States of America or Canada, you have four ways to obtain a China Visa:

1) Contact the China National Tourist Office in New York or Los Angeles;

2) Contact your travel agent or visa services;

3) You can obtain it directly from the Chinese embassies or consulates in the following cities;

Washington DC Embassy
2300 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20008, USA
Tel: 202-328-2517

New York Consulate General
520 12th Ave.
New York, NY 10036, USA
Tel: 212-330-7409

Chicago Consulate General
100 West Erie St.
Chicago, IL 60610, USA
Tel: 312-573-3070

San Francisco Consulate General
1450 Laguna St.
San Francisco, CA 94115, USA
Tel:415-563-9232

Los Angeles Consulate General
443 Shatto Place
Los Angeles, CA 90020, USA
Tel: 213-380-2508

Houston Consulate General
3417 Montrose Blvd
Houston, TX 77006, USA
Tel: 713-524-4311

Chinese Embassy in Ottawa
515 St. Patrick Street
Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 5H3
Canada

Chinese Consulate in Toronto
240 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario, M5R2P4
Canada

Chinese Consulate, Calgary
100-1011th Ave. SW
Calgary, Alberta, T2P 0W1
Canada
Tel: 403-264-3322

Chinese Consulate in Vancouver
3380 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC, V6H 3K3
Canada

China Visa Office in Hong Kong
5th Floor, Lower Block, China Resource Building
Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: 852-28271811

4) You can contact us. We can give you detailed instruction to help you process your visa application after you booked your tour to China with us.

If you are not from US or Canada, please inquire with your nearest PRC embassies or consulates, or contact with us, we can help anyone with a valid passport to process applications for a China visa.

Do I need a visa to visit a href="/china-guides/china-city-guides/hong-kong/">Hong Kong or Macau?

Hong Kong:

Residents from most countries can go visit Hong Kong without having a visa and can stay there legally for 90 days. A visa can be issued on arrivel.

Get a visa in Hong Kong:

You may obtain your visa by yourself from Visa Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China; it is opened from Monday to Friday. Usually you can get the visa within one working day. Cost 100HK$ or more. Fast process is available when paying 150HK$.

You need to bring following documents with you to obtain a China visa:

1) A recent passport-size photo.
2) Passport which needs to be valid at least more than 3 months.

Address: 5th Floor, Lower Block, 26 Harbor Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: ++850-25851657 OR ++850-25851680 OR ++850-25851794

Macau:

If you are from one of the following countries, then you can enter Macau visa free. If not then you will have to apply for a visa for entry admission.

• Asia India, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
  
  
• Europe Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom
  
  
• Africa Egypt, Seychelles, South Africa
  
  
• America Brazil, Canada, Mexico, USA, Uruguay
  
  
• Oceania Australia, Kiribati, New Zealand, Samoa

How to extend my visa?

Foreigners who want to stay in China beyong the legal duration will have to extend their visas.

The application for extending the visa should be handed in to the Local Public Security Bureau 7 days before the visa expires.

The following materials should be prepared beforehand:

• Valid passport and visa
• A completed application form for visa extension (the forms can be obtained inside the bureau)

Hong long the visa can be extended depends on the type of visa.

What do I need for applying a Chinese visa?

To apply for a tourist visa (Type L), you need an application form, a passport-size photo and a valid passport. It takes about seven business days for an application to be processed. For Tibet, the Chinese Embassy must get approval from the Tibet Tourism Administration before issuing a visa.

A passport-size photo means a photo similar to the one in your passport. Only photos which are head-only, full frontal, with a white background, approximately 1-1/2' by 2' will be accepted. You can obtain this type of photo at any 'Passport photo' service. Cut-outs from personal photographs are not acceptable.

How many types of visa does Chinese visa have? Which kind do I need to apply for?

Regular Visas consist of eight sub-categories, which are respectively marked with Chinese phonetic letters C, D, F, G, J-1, J-2, L, X and Z.

• C Visa: Issued to crewmembers to perform duties on board an international train, airliner or other vessel, and their accompanying family members.

• D Visa: Issued to an alien who comes to reside permanently in China.

• F Visa: 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 internship for a period of no more than six months.

• G Visa: Issued to an alien who transits through China.

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

• J-2 Visa: Issued to foreign journalists who make short trips to China on reporting tasks.

• L Visa: Issued to an alien who comes to China for sightseeing, family visiting or other private purposes.

• X Visa : Issued to an alien who comes to China for study, advanced studies or internship for a period of more than six months.

• Z Visa: Issued to an alien who comes to China for a post or employment, and his or her accompanying family members.

Most people only need to apply for a single Centry visa, which is usually valid for 3 months after the issuing date and will permit you to stay in China for a maximum of 30 days.

When to apply for a visa if I plan to visit China?

The Chinese visa is generally valid for 3 months from the issue date to enter China. Please apply for your visa within 3 months of entry into 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.

What if I lost my passport in China?

If you lost your passport, you should call your guide or your travel agency immediately and call the local Public Security Bureasu(PSB) and tell them about your situation as soon as possible. The PSB will issue you a proof of lost passport, and you will need to take the proof to the nearest embassy or consulate of your country to apply for a new passport. You will have to provide all the information on your previous visa and show your ID to proof your citizenship. You can get a new visa with your new passport in PSB, and with the new visa, you can go on your trip or re-enter your country.

We strongly suggest that you take good care of you passport, because it may take weeks to process your passport, which will affact your trip greatly.