I. Scope
This guide is for foreign nationals applying to have their visas extended, replaced, or reissued after entering China with ordinary visas.
II. Basis for Examination and Approval
The Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Exit and Entry of Foreigners
III. Responsible Authorities
The National Immigration Administration (NIA) authorizes the exit-entry administrations of the public security organs in cities above the prefecture level (including the districts and counties within the municipalities directly under the Central Government) to process applications for and issue visas, stay permits and residence permits for foreign nationals.
Following the approval from NIA at the request of the exit-entry administrations of the public security organs at the provincial level, county-level exit-entry administrations may process applications for and issue visas, stay permits and residence permits as mandated by NIA.
IV. Eligibility
Any foreign national having entered China with an ordinary visa for non-diplomatic or non-official purposes, who intends to stay in China, can apply in person to have his/her visa extended, replaced, or reissued through the exit-entry administration of a public security organ. In any of the following circumstances, the entity or individual inviting the applicant, relatives of the applicant, or a specialized service agency may submit the application on the applicant's behalf:
(I) The applicant is aged under 16 or 60 or over, or faces mobility challenges as a result of illness or any other reason of a similar nature;
(II) The applicant has visited China before and holds a good record of stay or residence in China;
(III) The entity or individual inviting the applicant can cover all or part of the expenses incurred during the applicant's stay in China.
V. Ineligibility
Visas shall not be extended, replaced or reissued for applicants falling under any of the conditions outlined in Article 21 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Exit and Entry of Foreigners.
VI. Application Materials
(I) Any foreigner applying for a visa, stay permit and residence permit must complete the relevant procedures and submit all necessary materials stated below.
1. A valid passport or any other international travel document;
2. A completed Visa/Stay Permit/Residence Permit Application Form and a photo meeting the requirements outlined in the Guidelines for Travel Documents' Photographs;
3. Materials related to the purpose of the application;
4. Other necessary procedures and materials.
(II) Materials required to extend a visa
Any foreign national seeking to extend his/her visa must apply at the exit-entry administration of a public security organ at least seven days before his/her visa is due to expire with the following materials:
1. For any C-visa holder: A certification letter from the competent authority of the people's government above the county level or a local transportation company providing civil aviation, railway, highway or port services shall be submitted. The period of stay can be extended for a maximum of 30 days.
2. For any F-visa holder: A certification letter from the entity inviting or receiving the applicant shall be submitted. The period of stay can be extended for a maximum of 180 days.
3. For any G-visa holder: A certification letter from the entity responsible for receiving the applicant and a flight/train/ship ticket indicating a confirmed date and seat to a destination country or region shall be submitted. The period of stay can be extended for a maximum of 30 days.
4. For any J2-visa holder: A certification letter from the foreign affairs authority of the people's government at the provincial level shall be submitted. The period of stay can be extended for a maximum of 30 days.
5. For any L-visa holder: An itinerary plan and (for group tourists only) a certification letter from the travel agency concerned shall be submitted. The period of stay can be extended for a maximum of 30 days.
6. For any M-visa holder: A certification letter from the entity or individual responsible for inviting or receiving the applicant shall be submitted. The period of stay can be extended to a maximum of 180 days.
7. For any Q2-visa holder: A letter from the individual to be visited, the identity document of the individual to be visited, and proof or a statement document of family relationship shall be submitted. The period of stay can be extended for a maximum of 180 days.
8. For any R-visa holder: Materials confirming his/her status as foreign high-level talent or urgently-needed talent shall be submitted. The period of stay can be extended for a maximum of 180 days.
9. For any S2-visa holder: For family visitors, a letter from the individual he/she intends to visit, his/her residence permit, and proof or a statement document of family relationship shall be submitted. Others must submit proof of personal or humanitarian matters. The period of stay can be extended for a maximum of 180 days for an S2-visa holder visiting his/her family members in China and for a maximum of 90 days for an S2-visa holder having entered China for other purposes.
10. For any X2-visa holder: A certification letter proving that the applicant is being enrolled issued by an educational or training institution within China shall be submitted. The period of stay can be extended for a maximum of 180 days.
The accumulated extended periods of stay must not exceed that specified in the original visas.
(III) Materials required to replace a visa
Any foreign national who needs to, in accordance with regulations, change the purpose of his/her stay, receive facilitation services for entry, or reapply for an ordinary visa after obtaining a new passport, or leaving from a tourist group after entering China with a group visa, must submit the following materials:
1. F visa: A letter from the entity inviting the applicant shall be submitted. A zero-entry, one-entry, two-entry or multiple-entry F visa may be issued, with a validity period of entry of up to five years and a stay period of up to 180 days.
2. J2 visa: A certification letter from the foreign affairs authority of a people's government at the provincial level shall be submitted. A zero-entry J2 visa will be issued, with a stay period of up to 30 days.
3. M visa: A letter from the entity inviting the applicant shall be submitted. A zero-entry, one-entry, two-entry or multiple-entry M visa will be issued, with a validity period of entry of up to five years and a stay period of up to 180 days.
4. Q2 visa: A letter from the individual to be visited, the identity certificate of the individual to be visited, and proof or a statement document of family relationship shall be submitted. A zero-entry, one-entry, two-entry or multiple-entry Q2 visa will be issued, with a validity period of entry of up to five years and a stay period of up to 180 days.
5. R visa: Materials that satisfy the conditions and criteria established by the Chinese authorities for introducing foreign high-level talent or those for urgently needed talent shall be submitted. A zero-entry, one-entry, two-entry or multiple-entry Q2 visa will be issued, with a validity period of entry of up to 10 years and a stay period of up to 180 days.
6. S2 visa: For family visitors, a letter from the individual to be visited, the residence permit of the applicant, and proof or a statement document of family relationship shall be submitted. A zero-entry, one-entry, two-entry or multiple-entry S2 visa will be issued, with a validity period of entry of up to five years and a stay period of up to 180 days. Others should submit proof of humanitarian reasons. A zero-entry or one-entry S2 visa will be issued, with a validity period of entry of up to three months and a stay period of up to 180 days.
7. X2 visa: A letter and the certificates of admission and enrollment issued by an educational or training institution within China shall be submitted. A zero-entry, one-entry or two-entry X2 visa may be issued, with a validity period of entry of up to one year and a stay period of up to 180 days.
8. For any foreign national having obtained a new passport because his/her original passport was about to expire or ran out of visa pages can apply to replace his/her visa, by submitting the passport used for his/her most recent entry or a certificate indicating a change of the original passport from his/her country's embassy or consulate in China. A new visa of which the type, validity period of entry, stay period, and number of remaining valid entries are identical to those of the original one may be issued. The number of the entries of the new visa is determined in accordance with the number of the remaining valid entries of the original visa.
9. Any foreign national who needs to add an accompanying person after entry should present his/her passport used upon this entry and the birth certificate of the additional accompanying person. The visa replacement application will be processed in accordance with the corresponding regulations.
10. Any foreign national holding a group visa and seeking to leave his/her tourist group upon entry must present a certification letter from the travel agency receiving him/her. The visa replacement application will be processed in accordance with the corresponding regulations.
The accumulated duration of stay following replacement must not exceed one year from the date of this entry.
(IV) Materials required to have a visa reissued
Any foreign national applying for the reissuance of his/her visa because the previous one was lost, damaged, destroyed, or stolen must submit the following materials:
1. In the event where a visa has been lost or stolen, the applicant must submit a Confirmation of Reporting the Loss of Passport or an official note from the embassy or consulate of his/her home country in China, along with a valid new passport or any other international travel document.
2. In the event where a visa has been damaged, the applicant must submit the damaged passport or an official note from the embassy or consulate of his/her home country in China, along with a valid new passport or any other international travel document.
3. In the event where a group visa has been lost, stolen, or damaged, the applicant must provide a certification letter from the local travel agency receiving the group and a photocopy of the group visa concerned.
A visa of which the type, validity period of entry, stay period, and number of remaining valid entries are identical to those of the original one may be issued.
VII. Procedure and Method
(I) Application: Foreign nationals seeking to have their visas issued, replaced or reissued must apply in person at the exit-entry administrations of public security organs. If permitted as per relevant regulations, the applications can also be submitted by the entities or individuals inviting the applicants, relatives of the applicants, or specialized service agencies.
(II) Acceptance: The processing authorities will conduct reviews to decide whether the applications align with the scopes of their administrative responsibilities and the materials submitted are complete and satisfy all requirements. For any application fulfilling the conditions for acceptance, the responsible exit-entry administration will accept the application and issue an acceptance receipt. In the event where an applicant has failed to complete the procedure or submit all required materials, the processing authority shall notify the applicant of any additional step to be completed or material needed at one time.
(III) Review: The exit-entry administrations of public security organs shall strengthen the review processes and verify the authenticity of the reasons for the applications through face-to-face interviews, phone queries, on-site investigations, or other methods deemed necessary, and confirm that the applicants are foreign nationals. In the case where an applicant, the representatives of the relevant entities, and other relevant individuals fail to attend scheduled interviews without a valid reason, the visa or the immigration document concerned may not be issued in accordance with the laws.
(IV) Decision: The decision-making authorities will issue the visas to individuals satisfying the conditions and criteria.
VIII. Processing Time
For an application for the extension, replacement or reissuance of a visa made by a foreign national, if proven to fulfill the conditions for acceptance upon review, the responsible exit-entry administration will accept the application, issue an acceptance receipt, and make a decision regarding issuance within the validity period indicated on the receipt. The validity period is no more than seven working days counted from the date of acceptance.
IX. Fees
1. Zero-entry visa (for non-reciprocal countries): CNY 160/person;
2. One-entry visa (for non-reciprocal countries): CNY 206/person;
3. Two-entry visa (for non-reciprocal countries): CNY 313/person;
4. Multiple-entry visa valid for no more than half a year (for non-reciprocal countries): CNY 413/person;
5. Multiple-entry visa valid for no more than a year (for non-reciprocal countries): CNY 619/person;
6. Fee for adding or removing an accompanying person (for non-reciprocal countries): CNY 160/person;
7. For individuals from the reciprocal countries, fees will be charged based on the set standards.
X. Result Delivery
Every applicant must visit the responsible exit-entry administration in person with the receipt to collect his/her visa.
XI. Obligations of Applicants
Applicants are expected to adhere to the following obligations in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations:
1. To ensure that all materials are submitted and all the information provided to the administrative authorities is accurate without being falsified. Applicants shall be held liable for the authenticity of the materials submitted.
2. To cooperate with administrative authorities during face-to-face interviews, phone queries, and on-site investigations conducted for the purpose of verifying the authenticity of the application materials.
3. To fulfill any additional responsibility stipulated by relevant laws and regulations.
XII. Additional Notes
(I) Family members: This category includes spouses, parents, spouse's parents, children, siblings, paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents, paternal grandchildren, maternal grandchildren, and the spouses of paternal and maternal grandchildren.
(II) Proof of family relationship and kinship: This includes marriage certificates, birth certificates, and adoption certificates, among other kinship documents and notarized documents from the relevant national authorities in the home countries of the applicants, along with marriage certificates, birth certificates, kinship documents, and certificates indicating changes (e.g. a change of an applicant's name) issued by the embassies or consulates of the applicants' home countries in China.
(III) Marriage certificates, birth certificates, kinship documents, certificates indicating changes (e.g. a change of an applicant's name), and other materials issued by foreign competent authorities or notary offices need to be authenticated by the Chinese embassies or consulates in the home countries of the applicants. Foreign public documents issued by the competent authorities of the contracting parties to the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (or Apostille Convention in short) will be processed according to the requirements outlined in the Apostille Convention.
(IV) Identity documents: For the residents of the Chinese mainland, the valid identity documents include household registers, residence certificates indicating actual places of residence for over six months (including the residence certificate, house rental contract, certificates of social insurance payments, certificate of enrollment/employment, medical certificates, certificates of utility payments, etc.), and resident identity cards. For overseas Chinese, the identity documents include their Chinese passports and certificates of foreign settlement. For the residents of Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR, their identity documents include the Mainland Travel Permits for Hong Kong and Macao Residents. For the residents of the Taiwan region, the identity documents include their Mainland Travel Permits for Taiwan Residents. For foreign nationals, their identity documents are their Foreign Permanent Resident ID Cards issued in the People's Republic of China. Overseas Chinese and residents from Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and the Taiwan region must also submit residence certificates indicating their actual places of residence for over six months.
Materials in foreign languages must be translated into Chinese.
Annex: Visa/Stay Permit/Residence Permit Application Form
Annex
