Visa-issuing authorities abroad will resume processing various types of visas for foreigners traveling to China

 

On the morning of March 14th, 2023 at 8:40am, Beijing time, the Consular Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on their official WeChat account "Consular Direct Line" about the further adjustments to the visa and entry policies for foreigners visiting China.

 

In order to facilitate the movement of personnel between China and other countries, it has been decided that starting from March 15th, 2023 at 0:00 Beijing time, the following adjustments will be made to the visa and entry policies for foreigners visiting China:

1. Visas issued before March 28th, 2020 that are still valid will be restored.

 

2. Visa-issuing authorities abroad will resume processing various types of visas for foreigners traveling to China.

 

3. Visa-issuing authorities at borders and ports will resume processing various types of port visas for those who meet the statutory requirements.

 

4. The policies of visa-free entry into Hainan, visa-free entry for cruise passengers in Shanghai, visa-free entry for foreign group tours to Guangdong in the Hong Kong and Macao regions, and visa-free entry for ASEAN tourist groups to Guilin in Guangxi will be restored.

 

This notice was posted on the website of the Chinese Embassy of the PRC in the United States of America.

Click on the link below to check it out(In Chinese only)

 

 

China visa application guide

Step 1: Prepare Documents

1. Basic Documents

(1) Passport 
Original passport with at least six months of remaining validity and with blank visa pages, a colored 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 a recent 6 months colour passport photo (bare-head, full face) against a white background (size: 48mm x 33mm) attached. If the accompanying children on the same passport are also on the tour, their photos should be stuck on the Application Form, and related illustration is required.

There are two ways to prepare your application form. You may complete an Online Application Form (where a Visa Centre provides such service),  print it out and sign it; or, you can download the application form  from our website and fill it out manually and sign it.

Please remember to bring the completed form to the Visa Centre to submit your application.

(3) Proof of legal stay or residence status (applicable to those not applying for the visa in their country of citizenship)
Non-Singapore citizens shall provide documents that entitle them to reside for an extended period of time in Singapore provide original and photocopy (Re-entry permit, WP, EP, STP, DP or SVP). Temporary visitors to Singapore should apply for a Chinese visa in their own country. For the special cases, consular officer has the rights to make the final decision on whether issuing a visa or not.

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

If you are applying for a Chinese visa for the first time, you should provide the last Chinese passport held and a photocopy of its data page.

If you have obtained Chinese visas before and 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).

2. Supporting documents(We will provide the following documents to you accordingly)

1. Applicant’s round trip flight booking 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 the inviter’s Chinese ID (front &back) copy or foreigner’s residence permit and passport copy .

The invitation letter should contain:
(1) Information of the applicant: Name, gender, date of birth, passport number and etc.
(2) Details of planned visit: arrival & departure date, tourism destination, expenditure arrangement and etc.
(3) Information of inviter: Inviter’s name, contact number, address, inviter’s signature and etc.

3. Special notes

(1) Unless the original version is required in particular, the invitation letter may be in the form of fax, photocopy or computer printout.
(2) If necessary, the consular officer may require the applicant to provide other proof 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.

 

 

Step 2: Submit visa application at the Visa Centre

 

1. Who can apply at the Visa Centre?
You can submit the application yourself or authorize a third party to do so.

(1) The Visa Centre accepts visa applications from Singaporean citizens or citizens of other countries staying in Singapore with appropriate legal status. However, we cannot accept the application if you are not physically in Singapore when your application is being submitted.

If you are not currently in the country in which this centre is located, please apply from where you normally reside, or apply after you return to the country. Application acceptance is ONLY available to people lawfully residing in the country in which this Visa Centre is located.

(2)The Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General have their own jurisdictional areas formally known as consular districts. Only those who reside within a particular consular district of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore can apply through this Visa Centre. Please click here to check the service areas of this Visa Centre.

 

2. How far in advance should I submit my application?
You should make your application well in advance of the planned travel date. You are advised to apply ONE month in advance but no earlier than THREE months.

Visa processing time varies with location. Please click here for the processing time of this Visa Centre. However, you should be aware that actual processing time may be longer than that posted on the web site in certain circumstances. If there is such a delay, you will be notified by the Visa Centre staff.

 

3. Is an appointment required to submit the application?
To ensure a smooth operation and smooth out the flow of applicants over the working day, the Visa Centre strongly encourages you to make an appointment well in advance for submitting a visa application. Based on experience, the submission peak hours are between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., so please try to avoid this period if possible. The Visa Centre allots a certain number of appointments in each 30-minute timeslot. Upon arrival, either show a printout of the appointment information or e-mail or simply mention your name, and you will then be given a queue number on a first-come-first- served basis. This should guarantee a wait of only a few minutes. Please click here to make an appointment for your visit to the Visa Centre. Visiting the Centre without an appointment may cause a longer waiting time. 

Please click here for the location of the Visa Centre and office working hours.

 

4. What should I do after arriving at the Visa Centre?
On the day of your visit to the Centre, please be punctual. Upon arrival, you will:

• Obtain a queue number for submitting your application; please wait for your number to be called

• Submit your application at the counter designated for handling the particular queue number

• Receive a pick-up form, which is a receipt showing the information of your application and expected date for collection

• Please CHECK all the particulars on the pick-up form; should you have any questions about the information printed on it, please contact the staff immediately. Always carefully retain the pick-up form as it must be shown when collecting your passport

 

5. Can I track the status of my application?
The Chinese Visa Application Service Centre provides a 24-hour online facility to track the status of your application. You can click hereto enter track your application status page and bookmark it. Or you can easily find the tracking page from Quick Access on the homepage of the Visa Centre’s web site.

 

6. Do I pay when submitting my application?
You should pay on the day of collection. For more details please refer to the next step.

 

7. Can I cancel my application after submitting it?
The application process involves sophisticated procedures so that it is not possible for the Visa Centre to pull a single application out of the ongoing process involving many other applications. Therefore you cannot cancel your application and withdraw it once you have submitted it. You are still required to pay the visa fee and service fee accordingly. 

 

Step 3: Pay and Collect

 

1. When should I collect my passport?
The date for collecting your passport is shown on the pick-up form issued to you on the day of application. Should there be any delay in processing and the passport cannot be returned to you as scheduled, the Visa Centre staff will notify you ASAP.  Otherwise, please go to the Centre to make payment and collect your passport with the pick-up form in a timely manner. Please note that all the passports overdue for collection will be returned to the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General after the expiry of a visa, or 365 days of the decision by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General to issue or refuse the visa application.

 

2. When and how do I pay the fees?
■ You pay all the fees on the day of collection.
 

These include:
- Visa fees charged on behalf of the Chinese Embassy/Consulate-General 
- Service fees charged by the Visa Centre
 

Please note that visa fees and service fees may vary across different visa categories and service options. Click here for the Schedule of Fees and methods of payment.

 

Due to the fact that China and some countries have bilateral arrangements covering visa fees, the amount generated by the system prevails in case of any difference between the amount of visa fee generated by the system and that listed in the Schedule of Fees.

 

3. What to do when I visit the Visa Centre for payment and collection of passport?
Before you make your visit to the Visa Centre to make payment and collect your passport. Please click here for the office working hours.

 

When you arrive at the Visa Centre, please:
 

Obtain a queue number for making payment and collecting your passport and wait for your number to be called.
 

Present the pick-up form to the staff at the counter designated for handling the queue number. Make payment and get your payment receipt before collecting your passport. Please note the cashier counter and the collection counter are normally next to each other. There is no need to obtain a new queue number to collect your passport after making payment.
 

Collect your passport by presenting the pick-up form and payment receipt.
Please carefully CHECK all the particulars, such as your name, birth date, passport number, validity, number of entries, duration of stay on your visa, and let the staff know immediately if there is any problem. Failure to do so may lead to serious consequences. For details, please refer to Terms and Conditions.

 

For more information, please click: https://www.visaforchina.org/web/guidance/StepByStep_step1GoNext.action