I'm applying for an L visa to go to China on holiday, and for context, I am a visibly Chinese male with a Chinese surname. However, I've never been to China, or anywhere in Asia for that matter, in my life (I was born and currently live in the US), and nobody in my family (that I know of) lives in China or has even been to China in maybe 25 years or so. I've heard that it is harder for Asian people to get a visa, but would this apply to me?

I can't get my photo to upload properly. I had it taken at a local travel store so it should work, but I keep getting rejected for photo quality, background (it is white) and other unknown infractions. This is maddening as I can't go forward on my application. Any tips for getting it to work?

I completed the application for the L visa but before I hit Submit, I wanted to be sure of a couple of grey areas. For context, I'm a naturalized citizen of the US of Asian background. I've visited China 3X but the most recent was over 15 years ago. Twice as a tourist and once for business. I don't recall having problems qualifying each time though each time the process was taken care of by a 3rd party.

Info on Father: I have basic information for him, but he died 40 years ago and was not really a part of my life. I was raised by my mother and maternal side of family. I have selected NA and explained why. I am afraid if I complete this section, they may ask for additional documents that I have no way of finding.

For itinerary: I have not booked the trip but know I can only visit for 2 weeks. I just chose Guangzhou as my arrival and departure city with June 1 and June 15 dates. I may take the train to Hong Kong and we do plan to visit one or two cities outside of Guangdong. Since I have nothing booked, can I just leave my itinerary as generic as I have now?

Visa length: I selected Multiple entries and 6 months just to be safe (if we delay our trip to later in the summer or early autumn). Is that okay? I'd really love the 10 year multiple just so I do not have to apply again for a long time. Would it hurt my chances if I asked for a longer time period?

Hi all, next week I am applying for an L visa from Vietnam as a British passport holder. On the visa for China website it says you need to confirm your legal stay in a country if you’re not from there (me). But people from the UK don’t need a visa for Vietnam (for under 45 day stay) so would showing passport stamp for my entry be accepted? Thanks in advance!

I'm planning to visit Beijing on the 144 hour visa-free transit - I know I have to stay within Beijing Municipality. Does anyone have information on which sections of the Great Wall I would be able to visit, if any?

I've looked at quite a few maps already, but I want to make sure I'm planning correctly. Thank you!

Currently in the country of Georgia 🇬🇪 and the Chinese embassy here won't process my tourist visa application because I'm not a resident. Going back to Canada is not a viable option for me so I'm planning to go to another country to get it.

Any Canadians out there go through this situation? Any suggestions and advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Has anyone completed and submitted the application for the Chinese visa by themselves without the help of a travel agent ? I need to apply under the M category for 1Y Multiple Entry. The visa fees stated on the website is only Rs. 17,663 where as a travel agent wanted a whopping Rs.140,000 for the whole process.

Let me explain: I got the Z Visa, went to China, but didn't apply all the way for a Work Permit & Residence Permit in the end as I decided not to live in Mainland China anymore.

Visa Center told me to take my "Work Permit rejection letter" when applying for another type of Visa, but my Work Permit never actually got rejected as I never applied all the way, and Immigration/PSB don't know what solution to give me. Also, I didn't renounce from my company as I'm still working, just not in their China offices, so can't present the Company Resignation Letter nor the Cancellation Work Permit Certificate from the CLB as I never got to present it, so it never got actually cancelled.

I don't know if anyone knows what to do in this situation? I bet something like this happened to someone else before, I just can't seem to find anything about this online or anywhere.

Thanks

Hey flying to China and Taiwan in May and need help with determining if we need to book another flight for the 3 country thing. Flying from USA—>Taipei—>Shainghai—>Taipei—> USA.

We booked a separate round trip flight to go to Shanghai as soon as we land in Taipei and then are flying back to Taipei within the 144 hours. We will also stay in Taiwan for 4 more days before heading back to the USA. Will we run into trouble at the airport?

I just wanna ask is it the china embassy accepting a seabank? And for the ADB how many months should i submit? Is it 30days? Or 3months?

Thanks

Can you use HKID and Home Return Entry card to board Air China plane? Or do you need a passport?

Getting overloaded with information I'm finding online so I was wondering if any Canadians experienced this situation. If so, were you able to get one?

Any information is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Hi!

I’m trying to plan a short trip with a China component at the end of May and feel like I’m going in circles on government websites trying to figure out what visa options are actually available/feasible. I’m wondering if people here had opinions on whether I’m reading things correctly or if my tentative plan makes no sense.

Okay, here goes:

• The basic itinerary would ideally be: Fly from the US to Hong Kong, spend 5 days in Hong Kong. Take the train from Hong Kong to Shenzhen. Stay in Shenzhen for 3 days, or, if possible, for 2 days and visit another nearby city for 1. Then return to HK by train in order to fly back to the US.
• I’m an American citizen and would be traveling for tourism. Unfortunately I live far enough away from the appropriate consulate in the US and am busy enough over the next month that it probably isn’t feasible to get there twice to process a normal tourist (L) visa before leaving.
• I’m under the impression that the 144-hour TWOV would not work for me either because I’d have to leave from or depart for a third country. While I could theoretically fly straight back to the US from China, in practice all the reasonable flights transfer in HK anyway, so unless I’m mistaken that wouldn’t count as a third-country departure.
• What I’m currently thinking is: Fly to HK. During the five days I’m there, go to the Chinese visa office and attempt to get a tourist visa (potentially expedited if necessary) that would allow me to visit both Shenzhen and elsewhere. If that fails for some reason, I can still get up early, get in line at the Lo Wu/Luohu port, and apply for a 5-day Shenzhen port visa/VOA, which would mean I’d be limited to Shenzhen but better than nothing.

Questions, then, beyond “is this sensible?”:

• Is it in fact possible to apply for a visa as an American at the HK office?
• Is the Shenzhen port visa(aka VOA?) a real thing, and is it accessible even if you’re not with a tour group (some of the “port visas” I’ve seen seem to require this)?

Thank you guys so much for any thoughts you might have! Some of this makes me feel truly lost 😅

weeks, question is, ny child have only parent in her birth certificate and in all documents the same, she have my last name, i apply already but they say i gonna have to wait to be contacted to see if they approve her or ask more documents, so i am no sure if they gonna delay for to long or if they gonna ask for more papers what wont make sense? Question is, what else they would ask, and do you think is gonna take to long? I try to be positive because we kinda have everything plan and i really dont want to give up 🥹, thank you

My bf (born in Korea but has US passport) wants to visit me in China. We went to the embassy and they said he needed a copy of his birth certificate and his parent’s passport. He went home to ask them for it but his parents (Korean) are uncomfortable giving out a copy of their passports (idk why). Is there any way to still get the visa without his parent’s passport?

I am an American citizen looking to go to China in 2025. I have two DUIs on my record (2016 & 2019). Will this prevent me from getting a tourist visa?

Curious to know how many Taibaozheng holders also maintain a long term visa in their foreign passport.

I believe the majority of people I know hold only TBZ because it is cheaper and easier to get in many (but not all) conditions and have not had problems with direct flights to China vs an itinerary that includes Taiwan, but I also figured I would poll Reddit.

Husband is from India and we will be having a layover in China from less than 24hours around 4 hrs maximum. Do we need to apply for transit visa? What else is needed for the layover? No plans of going outside the airport, only to change terminals. End destination is in the Philippines.

I have a 2 entry tourist (L) visa valid from now for 6 months. I'm now in China and upon arrival was asked to fill in the arrival card where I made a note that I would leave after approx 2 weeks.

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Now, I've had some changes in the schedule and would like to reschedule the return flight 4 days later. Would that cause a problem when I leave?

I am planning to find a new job in Beijing from Shenzhen. I wanted to know what sorts of documents are required for a visa transfer, most importantly the non-criminal record. I got my non-criminal record notarized back in 2023 for my first work visa. Do I need to do it again for a visa transfer?

hi everyone, I am a Australian citizen and will be travelling to Guangdong for business. I was wondering if anyone knows the opening hours to get a 144 hour visaa on arrival in Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.

I am travelling from Sydney Airport to Shenzhen Bao'an Airport.
I will be arriving around 5pm and i'm worried the VOA office will be closed at 5pm.

Will I be ok to get a 144 hour VOA on the same day?
Is there a limited number of VOA issued for foreigners arriving internationally?

If not, am I able to stay at a hotel inside the airport without a visa until opening hours?

P.S. I will also need to travel around Guangdong province. Will this be allowed on the 144 hour VOA?

Hello!

I was adopted from China when I was a child and into a Jewish family. My grandparents were Holocaust survivors and, because Germany is granting citizenship to descendants of people the Holocaust displaced, I qualify for German citizenship.

My sibling (also adopted from China) and I are trying to pursue citizenship but are running into a paperwork issue. The long story short is that my family and I are looking for a lawyer or consultant who works in China who can help us coordinate with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing to authenticate adoption certificates for both my sibling and me.

Weird ask, I know. My family and I have exhausted the contacts we have, and so I am turning to you, people of the Internet. Do you know of any firms that offer these types of services?

TL;DR: I need a consultant or lawyer in Beijing to play intermediary with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Thank you for any advice or assistance.

Back before COVID. I had a 10 year L visitor visa. Right before COVID, I had to go to China on a business trip and had to apply for a 10 year M visa. When that got processed at the Chinese embassy, they cancelled my L visa.

My questions are:

1. I believe from my research online, all visas are now valid again (China had informed no visas would be valid when COVID hit, but had since reversed the decision). Is my understanding correct?

2. Is it normal for China to cancel one type of visa if you applied for another? I have to go back to China but this time for personal reasons, does that mean I have to re-apply again for a L type visa?

My parents will be using their HKID and time entry card to enter into Beijing.

When I bought plane tickets, I used their American legal name instead. Now the names on the plane tickets and their time entry card do not match.

Will Beijing custom at the airport give them any problems when they exit or board the plane back to Hong Kong?

Has anyone received the Chinese Travel Document (Luxingzheng) for their children?

I am curious what questions they ask you during the interview. I know some have been listed in the middle of this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssgA_TH-2x0) but am wondering if there is anything else to prepare? I found the bit about needing a current newspaper a bit confusing.

Thank you in advance for any response!

Hi everyone, just a quick question. I have a 10 year tourism visa that expires in 2028. I was planning on using it for an academic exchange trip that I am doing this June where I will visit a couple of universities. I used it last time for the same purpose, and in fact when it was first issued to me back in 2018 I had applied for an academic exchange visa but they ended up giving me the 10 year visa instead.

Anyway, when I went to the embassy today to get visas for the students going with me, I made the mistake of asking at the desk whether my 10 year visa would work— it was in my old passport (I got a new one this year) so I wanted to make sure. When the woman at the desk asked what my purpose was for visiting, I said academic exchange. And then she told me that I needed an F visa for this visit with supporting invitation letter and so on.

My friend who lives in China swears I will be fine with just the tourist visa, and indeed, it worked last time. But I am a little nervous since I am going with students. Do I need to get a new visa?

Hi everyone. I'm about to submit my S2 visa application in Calgary visa center in person and I wonder if anybody has recently applied for any type of chinese visa in Calgary and how long it took them to get their passports back. Also, I heard that application center can send you your passport back by post, how do I do that and how much does it cost?

I’m applying for a Q2 visa with a letter from my maternal grandfather. I have 2 previous tourism Chinese visa from when I was very young.

Couple of questions;

1. My mom did not change her last name after marriage so we don’t have the same one. Do I need to bring my birth certificate and my mom’s birth certificate to prove my relation to my grandfather?
2. Should I list my grandfather in the section for “any Immediate relatives in China” since he’s inviting me , and if so should I include my other grandparents as well who did not invite me?
3. Since the invitation was typed, do I need a handwritten signature or will a typed one suffice?
4. Do I need to bring a copy/original of both my previous Chinese visas or just the latest one?

Thanks in advance!

How much have you payed for your agent to help you apply for Work Visa Z? My agent wants 5000 RMB and it sounds quite high

Hi everyone!

I am a bit stressed here. I already have a Chinese company who wants to hire me. I come up to over the 250k RMB mark per year (which I think gives me some extra points?)

Thing is this: I studied for a Bachelor 2018-2021. I just never fully finished my thesis until some month ago, so my Bachelor is just a few month old.

My work experience is very mixed. Been working for 15+years but I am not sure if everything is relevant.

Question 1: Am I screwed because I do not have 2 years experience AFTER graduation?

Question 2: I have been freelancing in relevant fields 2021-2024. I guess this is not a "good" reference. I am thinking naming this as a company and then fix some kind of stamp. Question is, do the government vertify this document/contract in any way? In this case: what do they ask?

Question 3: If prior experience needs to be relevant, is it better that my employee put "Manager" as the job description instead of IT? Because my degree is IT but my work experience is manly being a manager before.

I might have more questions but I'm too stressed to think straight 😅