What you
will understand in this Article about China visa ?
Ans.
Ø What
is a Chinese Visa?
Ø Visa
Types, Validity, Number of Entry and Duration of Stay
Ø Visa
Exemptions
What is a Chinese Visa?
A visa is a travel document issued by authorized government
agencies to foreign citizens applying to enter, exit from or transit through
the host country's territory based on the host country's laws and
regulations. In accordance with international law and practice, any
sovereign state is entitled to determine whether or not to allow a
foreign citizen to enter or exit from its territory, and whether to issue a
visa, decline a visa application or to cancel an issued visa in accordance with
its national laws.
Chinese embassies, consulates and other institutions stationed
abroad entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China are
visa-issuing authorities responsible for issuance of entry visas to
foreigner citizens abroad, and are entitled to determine the
type, number of entries, validity and duration of each stay of a visa to be
issued, or to decline a visa application or revoke an issued visa, in
accordance with Chinese laws and regulations. According to Chinese law, a
foreign citizen may be refused entry into China even if he/she has a valid
Chinese visa.
Foreign citizens must obtain a visa before entry into China, with the exception of visa-free entry based on relevant agreements or regulations. Foreign citizens that fall into categories of Article 22 of the Exit and Entry Law of the People's Republic of China are qualified to apply for port visas from visa-issuing authorities entrusted by the Ministry of Public Security at a port of entry approved to issue port visas by the State Council.
Foreign citizens must obtain a visa before entry into China, with the exception of visa-free entry based on relevant agreements or regulations. Foreign citizens that fall into categories of Article 22 of the Exit and Entry Law of the People's Republic of China are qualified to apply for port visas from visa-issuing authorities entrusted by the Ministry of Public Security at a port of entry approved to issue port visas by the State Council.
For visit to Hong Kong SAR or Macao SAR, citizens from some
countries/territories are exempted from visas for short term visit. Otherwise
an entry visa must be obtained as required by the Government of HKSAR or Macao
SAR. Visa applications must be made separately if the traveler wishes visit
both HKSAR/Macao SAR and mainland China.
Visa
Types, Validity, Number of Entries and Duration of Stay
Chinese
visas fall into four types: diplomatic visa, courtesy visa, service
visa and ordinary visa. Ordinary visas are further divided into 12 sub-types or
16 categories. (Click for more info).
Visa Validity ("Enter
Before") means that the visa is valid,
or can be used for entry into China from the date of issue to the "Enter
Before" date indicated on the visa (Beijing Time). If a visa has unused
entries, the bearer can enter China before 24:00 (Beijing Time) on the
expiration date.
"Entries" refers to the number of times the bearer is permitted to
enter China during the validity of a visa. A visa becomes invalid if there
are no entries left, or there are entries left but the visa validity expires.
If a visa becomes invalid, its bearer must apply for a new visa before entering
China. Traveling with an invalid visa to China will result in refusal of entry.
"Duration of Each Stay" refers to the maximum number of days the visa bearer is
permitted to stay in China each time, which is calculated from the date of
entry into China.
Residence
Permit: A holder
of category D, J1, Q1, S1, X1 or Z visa must apply for a residence permit at the local public security authorities within 30 days of
entry into China unless the Duration of Each Stay on the visa is marked as 30
days. Members of foreign diplomatic or consular missions in China must apply
for a residence permit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or local foreign
affairs departments within 30 days of entry into China.
Visa
Exemptions
A foreign citizen can enter China
without a visa under any one of the following circumstances:
1. Direct
Transit
A foreign citizen who is transiting
through China by air is exempted from a visa if he/she will stay only in the
airport for no more than 24 hours and has a valid connecting ticket with
confirmed seating on an international flight.
Citizens with passport or other
international travel document, confirmed interline ticket and valid visa to the
third country or region (if required) of the following 51 countries, can
apply to stay in the transit cities without visa for 72 hours on direct transit
via the following airports: PEK, PVG, SHA, CAN, CTU,CKG,
SHE, DLC, XIY,HGH,KWL,KMG. (For more info, please check the airports' websites)
Albania, Argentina, Austria,
Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada,
Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Montenegro, New Zealand,
Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Republic of Korea,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, United Kingdom,
United States.
2. Visiting
the Pearl River Delta or Hainan Island
A foreign citizen holding an
ordinary passport issued by any country with diplomatic relations with China is
exempted from a visa if he/she is already in HKSAR or
Macao SAR and joins a tourist group organized by a travel agency,
which is registered in HKSAR or Macao SAR, for a visit to the
Pearl River Delta region (including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan,
Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing and Huizhou) and his/her stay
is no more than 6 days.
A foreign citizen holding an
ordinary passport issued by any of the following countries is exempted from a
visa if he/ she joins a tourist group (of 5 or more persons) organized by
an international travel agency registered in Hainan with the approval of China
National Tourism Administration to visit Hainan Province and his/her stay is no
more than 15 days: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United
Kingdom, Ukraine and United
States. Citizens of Germany, Republic of Korea and Russia may join an
international tourist group (of 2 or more persons) and can stay up to 21 days.
3. Citizens
of Singapore, Brunei and Japan
A citizen of Singapore, Brunei or
Japan with an ordinary passport is exempted from a visa if he/she visits
China's mainland for tourism, business, or meeting with friends or relatives,
and if he/she enters China through ports open to foreigners, and stays for no
more than 15 days.
However, a visa is required for
citizens of these three countries under any of the following circumstances: (1)
An ordinary passport holder visits China for tourism, business, or meeting with
friends or relatives, and stays for more than 15 days; or (2) An ordinary
passport holder visits China for the purpose of study, work, permanent
residency, official visits and news coverage.
4. Holders
of Valid APEC Business Travel Card
The APEC Business Travel Card is a substitute of a multiple-entry visa valid for 3
years. A card holder who presents a valid passport whose image
and biometric data exactly matches that on the APEC Business Travel
Card can enter China multiple times during the validity of the card for a stay
of no more than 2 months each time.
5. Holders
of PRC Foreigner's Permanent Residence Card
6. Holders
of Residence Permit for Foreigners issued by PRC Ministry of Public Security
A
Foreign citizen entering China on a D, Z, J1, Q1, S1 or X1 visa must apply
for a residence permit at local public security authorities within 30 days of
entry into China. Once approved, the permit holder is allowed to stay in China
or enter/exit China multiple times for the duration of the validity of the
permit. No visa renewal is necessary.
7. Bilateral
Agreement
Based
on bilateral agreements signed or reached between China and foreign countries,
foreign citizens of some countries who meet certain requirements may visit
China without a visa. Please see the List of Agreements on Visa Exemption signed between China and foreign countries for more information.
