When to Apply
We suggest you submit your visa application a month before your planned trip to China. If you apply for the visa too early, the visa may have expired when you need to use it. If you apply for the visa too late, you may not have enough time to get the visa.
Where to Apply
You need to apply the visa at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in your local country
What type of VISA should I apply?
X1 Visa: Issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of more than 180 days.
X2 Visa: Issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of no more than 180 days.
Notes: If you want to study China winter camp programs, , the study duration generally is within 8 weeks. Therefore, you should apply X2 Visa.
How to prepare the application materials
1. Basic requirements
(1) Visa Application Form and Photo One fully completed Visa Application Form with one recently- taken color photo (bare head, full face)against a light background attached.
(2) Passport Original passport with at least six months of remaining validity and more than 2 blank visa pages. A photocopy of the passport's data page and the photo page if it is separate are also required.
(3) Proof of legal stay or residence status (applicable to those not applying for the visa in their country of citizenship) If you are not applying for the visa in the country of your citizenship, you must provide the original and photocopy of your valid certificates or visa of stay, residence, employment or student status, or other valid certificates of legal staying provided by the relevant authorities of the country where you are currently staying.
(4) Photocopy of previous Chinese passports or previous Chinese visas (applicable to foreign citizens 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 your previous Chinese passport held and a photocopy of its data page. If you have obtained Chinese visas before and want to 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 Required X1 Visa
(1) Original and photocopy of the Admission Letter issued by a school or other entities in China.
(2) Original and photocopy of “Visa Application for Study in China” (Form JW201 or Form JW202). We Kindly remind you that: Holders of X1, within 30 days from the date of their entry, apply for foreigners’ residence permits from the exit/entry administrations of local police authority. X2 Visa Original and photocopy of Admission Notice issued by a school in China.
3. Special Reminder
(1) The invitation letter may be in the form of fax, photocopy or computer printout, but the consular officer may require the applicant to submit the original of the invitation letter.
(2) If necessary, the consular officer may require the applicant to provide other 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.
Fees:
You need to pay the visa fee to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in your local country. The visa service fee is different in different countries according to different categories, more fees details you can click here.
Note: The link for The People’s Republic of China– Diplomatic Bureau – for all Chinese embassies abroad.