Most travelers to China are required to get a China tourist visa, L visa for short, which allows them to travel freely in most parts of China as tourists, assuming that they do not qualify under the visa-free policies of China. Passports, application form, and documents showing the itinerary or an invitation letter from China are the essential application documents.
In most cases, a tourist can get a single entry L visa with a stay duration of 30 days. UK, US, Canada, Brazi, Argentine and Israel citizens are able to get a 10-year China tourist visawith multiple entries.
If travelling with an organized tour group, you might not have an individual visa in your passport. Instead, the tour group will be issued a group tour visa bearing all the members’ names. In such situations supply your details to the travel agency beforehand and you will have no further concerns.
If travelling independently, you need to handle visa affairs on your own. The process is not complicated if you follow the guidelines below.
China Tourist Visa Requirements & Documents
1. Passport
– Your passport with at least 6 months remaining validity and available blank pages, and a photocopy of passport’s data page.
2. Application Form
– One accurately completed China Visa Application Form. Please fill in every column of the application form. If the application form is not filled out truthfully, completely and legibly, there could be a delay in processing or refusal of the application.
3. Recent Photo
– A recent passport-size color photo with white background.
4. Round-trip Tickets Plus Hotel Bookings or Invitation Letter from China
– Documents showing the itinerary including proof of round trip tickets booking and proof of hotel reservation.
– Or, if you are being invited to China, you can submit an invitation letter issued by the inviter, whether it’s an entity or individual, with following information:
a. Information on the applicant, including full name, gender, and date of birth.
b. Information on the planned visit, including arrival and departure dates, place(s) of visit.
c. Information on the inviter, including name, contact number, address, official stamp, and signature of the legal representative of the entity or the inviting individual.
5. Other Supporting Documents
a. For those not applying in their country of citizenship, a proof of legal stay or residence status is required.
b. In some cases, applicants may need to submit a certification letter from the employer of the applicant with details as follows: name and contact number of the employer, the applicant’s income statement, or original copy of recent 6-month bank statement of the applicant.
c. Applicants who intend to travel to Tibet must obtain a Tibet Travel Permit, which can be obtained from Tourism Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region by travel agencies.
