How to Apply for a Chinese Travel Visa?

Type of Visas

Throughout this website, I have described what China is like but I haven't thought about telling you how to get there. Well, silly me. To make up for my carelessness, I will dedicate this article to the details of all the things you need to know about Chinese Visas, because it can become very confusing.

When you first apply for a visa, you may be surprised to learn that there are many different types of Chinese visas. To sum it up, there are 4 main types of China travel visa which are L, F, Z, and X.

L- Visa (for tourists):

For the typical tourist visa, it is good when your reason for travel is for "pleasure." Anything from visiting a friend to trying new food, this visa will help you with pleasure. (Pleasure, get it. I'm so funny)

The rule is that you can only stay for a 30 day period, and it only grants you one or two entries per visa. After it expires, you may reapply as normal.

F- Visa (for Business):

Just as the name indicates, this visa is for business trips. "Business" refers to company meetings, research, culture exchanges, or an internship. This visa will last about 6 months; however, you may only stay as long as 30 days for each stay. The difference between a visa for business and a visa for pleasure is it gives you an option to have multiple entries, meaning that you can go back and forth with one visa.

To obtain this visa is a little bit tricky. The Chinese host company has to provide you with a formal invitation to come into China. With the invitation, you then can apply for type F- Visa.

As a side note, this visa is still considered to be a tourist visa, meaning that you cannot gain employment in China. It is best to get in contact with the Chinese embassy and consulate when applying for this visa.

Z- Visa (for Work):

Let's say that you are a manager who gets transferred to China for work. This visa is just right for you. With type Z-Visa, you can be employed while you stay.

X- Visa (for Students):

For students coming to China to study or intern. This visa permits a stay in China for 6 months or more (if needed).

Those are the four common visas for normal people. However there are two more visas for special cases. I know that you feel like you just got scammed, but after these two, that will be it. I don't know much about these two visas. Sorry, for being brief.