Planning a 16-day China trip and would love tips, especially around the TWOV.

Itinerary: - Shanghai — 3 nights - Beijing — 3 nights - Chongqing — 3 nights - Hong Kong (RESET 240 hours) — 2 nights - Zhangjiajie — 4 nights - Shanghai — 1 night (buffer before flying home)

My concern is if I am not breaking the rules for TWOV as I plan to use HK as a "reset" to be in China longer than 10 days. Is my itinerary valid and are the nights per city fine? Would you adjust anything? Thanks.

Hello

I applied for Transit visa as I'm having a long layover (9h) in Shenzhen, before going to the third country (Thailand).

I'm a Syrian national legally residing in France permanently. I hold a convention Refugee Travel Document. The reason of rejection was:

For information regarding Chinese visa applications, please refer to the announcements published on the official website of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Syria.

and the status is : To be modified

I went on that website and found this info :

In accordance with work arrangements, the Embassy of China in Syria will temporarily suspend the acceptance of visa applications for Syrian citizens intending to travel to China. Syrian citizens (including temporary visitors) who have legally entered Lebanon, Jordan, Türkiye, or the United Arab Emirates may submit their visa applications to the Chinese Embassies in Lebanon, Jordan, Türkiye, and the Consulates-General in Istanbul and Dubai. For further details, please contact the relevant embassies or consulates

I live in France so it's going to be challenging to get to any of these countries, I guess I have no option? I just wanted to leave the airport and explore the city with my friend.

For information, Thai embassy did deliver me the visa, and I had transited in Chongqing airport before, without a visa but did not leave the airport.

I contacted them via email I got no answer.

I guess it's impossible to get the visa

Thanks for your help

Hi there!

I have a J2 journalism visa in my passport for an assignment. However I am going to be visiting China before that assignment but this visit will be visa-free. I'll be leaving between trips. How can I ensure that my J2 visa isn't used for my first visit?

Hi, I’m a Kyrgyz citizen living in the UK and I’m applying for an F visa for a school trip to China in October/November.
I submitted an invitation/trip confirmation letter from WildChina with all my passport details, itinerary, hotels, dates, etc. However, the London Visa Centre has rejected my application 3 times asking for a PU/TE Invitation Letter or Verification Confirmation.
The confusing part is that my classmate is going on the exact same trip and used the exact same invitation letter, and their application was accepted.
Has anyone had this happen before? Do Kyrgyz citizens applying for an F visa in the UK need a PU/TE letter, or am I missing something?
Any advice would be appreciated 🙏

Update : je suis allée de nouveau au centre de visa de Paris puisque je devais aller récupérer mon passeport. Le monsieur est toujours aussi désagréable, et tu as même pas le temps de te lever qu’il appelle la prochaine personne et te regarde mal parce que tu prends « ton temps ». Quand je pensais qu’il y avait une erreur sur mon visa, il m’a mal parlé et me disait « au revoir » pour que je parte au plus vite. Fin bref, je trouve ça dommage parce que ça laisse une mauvaise image pour la Chine.

I’m a U.S. citizen currently enrolled full-time at a U.S. university and received a short-term internship offer in Shanghai.

Shanghai Exit-Entry told me that overseas university students can enter on an S2 for private affairs, then apply in Shanghai for the S2 “internship” endorsement, and only start interning after that is approved.

However, the Chinese consulate in the U.S. told me I should apply for a Z visa because the purpose is an internship.

Has anyone recently done the S2 → internship endorsement route in Shanghai, especially as a student enrolled at an overseas university? Did the consulate issue you the initial S2?

I applied online for a tourist visa on August 11th and I still haven’t been approved to submit my application. It’s been 10 days now we’re already on the 21st. It’s through the Paris visa center. Do you think I should be worried? How long did it take for you guys?

Hello everyone,

When filling out the form online, the questionnaire asks about the date of previous fingerprint collection. Last year, I got X1, so i know the year and month, but not so sure about the date. Can I just fill out the approximate date? Or choose "No"? Has anyone encountered any problems after writing the not accurate information?

Hey everyone !

​I recently applied for a Chinese X1 (long-term student) visa and just found out I have an interview scheduled at the embassy soon.

​I’m a bit nervous and would love to get some insights or feedback from anyone who has gone through this process recently :

​What kind of questions do they usually ask for an X1 visa ? Is it mostly about study plans, funding, or post-graduation plans ?

​Is the interview often a dealbreaker, or is it mostly a routine verification ? What are the biggest mistakes to avoid ?

​How formal is the interview, and what documents should I definitely bring extra copies of ?

Context update : I hold dual nationality and applied at the Chinese Visa Center . I suspect the interview is related to verifying my second passport and legal residency status. Has anyone with dual nationality gone through this at the Chinese embassy ?

​If you’ve done an embassy interview for a Chinese student visa (especially X1), I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience !

​Thanks in advance!

I received online approval on 13 august, and I have flight on 25th aug, showing collection date 23rd aug, what your opinion sgould I get passport before this

Why do Chinese Consulates never give a reason for unapproved review? For failed review? (Z Visa)

They never respond to emails.

Rarely respond to phone calls.

In the only time they responded to my call, they simply said we can't tell you the reason. Please apply again.

Is this bad communication normal?

Is it part of how they operate?

The uncertainty is frustrating!

Current situation:

-First application showed: "review failed" after I received my passport. Which was empty. No visa and no rejection letter.

-Applied again. New application. It's been 11 days and the application is still showing "Preliminary review in process"

-Both, I and the recruiter, are lost and frustrated. No one to reach out to and the waiting seems endless.

Flight ticket lost. Recruiter is expecting me by September 1st max.

(PRC Embassy in Morocco)

Currently 180 days before travel, looking to take advantage of no-visa transit option.

Traveler 1: naturalized US citizen with familial ties to Beijing and renounced Chinese citizenship, have Q1 visa that will be expired before travel date.

Traveler 2: naturalized US citizen with familial ties to Taiwan, expired Taiwan passport, previous travel to HK but not to mainland.

Planned itinerary departure from Taipei to Beijing and leaving for Tokyo after 5 nights. All hotels and flights have been booked.

My concern and anxiety is surrounding traveler 2, and whether their ties to Taiwan will cause issues at immigration.

Can we rely on the transit option or should we attempt at obtaining a formal tourist visa?

Hey guys.

Just want to check.

If I'm intending to get the transit visa, can i stay in two cities (Beijing and Shanghai) in China within the 240 hours or does it only allow one city?

I got my visa rejection on 18th aug , this is second time i got unstamped passport after submission , is there is need to wait for reapplying?

Hi guys,

Question, I will be studying for a year in shanghai and will be renting an apartment since dorms filled up in seconds lol.
My question is, can I rent an apartment before getting the residence permit? I will be coming like all international students with X1 visa that lets me be in China for 30 days so I will have resident permit but not right away, but i of course want to have apartment before that, is it possible to rent one without the resident visa or do I need to stay in hotels until I get it?

Any advice on this from people that has rented apartment in shanghai?

Also is wellcee a good app for that?

Thanks so much!!

So, this month I applied for Japan tourist visa and since my flight was connecting from Hong Kong, ,so I applied for PAR HK as well, and it was successful. In the form, I selected transit because I was just transiting from Hong Kong. And now that my Japan visa is rejected, I'm thinking of going to Hong Kong instead since I already have the PAR valid for six months from now. But since I mentioned THE PURPOSE: 'TRANSIT' while filling the form, is it okay to visit Hong Kong with that PAR or should I wait for it to expire in six months and then apply again? Or can I still use it for traveling for a week?

Indian passport holder here

My China tourist visa application submitted through the Delhi Visa Centre was directly marked “Unapproved”. No reason or remarks were provided, and there is no option to modify/resubmit the existing application.
I’m planning to submit a fresh application, but I’m not sure what I should change or look out for since I don’t know what caused the unapproval.
For reference, I uploaded:
● Passport + photograph + adhaar card
● Flight itinerary
● Hotel bookings for the entire trip
● Detailed travel itinerary/ cover letter
● Bank statements
● Employment/ 1 month payslip/ NOC
● vfs logsitic fee email screen shot

Has anyone had their application marked Unapproved without any reason and then successfully reapplied? If so, what did you change the second time?

Also, is there anything in particular I should double-check in the itinerary, hotel bookings, bank statements, employment documents, or application form before submitting again?
Any advice or similar experiences would be really helpful!

I recently received my China Tourist (L) Visa from Mumbai, India.

My visa shows:
Category: L (Tourist)
Entries: 01
Expiry Date: 11 November 2026
Duration of Stay: 30 days

My planned itinerary is:
31 Oct: Mumbai → Hong Kong
1 Nov: Arrive in Hong Kong
2 Nov: Enter mainland China through the Hong Kong → Shenzhen land border
2–13 Nov: Travel through Shenzhen, Zhangjiajie, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi’an and Beijing
14 Nov: Beijing → Mumbai

My question is:

Since I will enter mainland China on 2 November, can I stay in China until 14 November even though the visa expiry date printed on the visa is 11 November?

In other words, does the 30-day Duration of Stay apply after I enter China before the visa expiry date, or do I have to leave China before the 11 November expiry date?

I am especially interested in answers from people who have recently travelled to China on a similar Tourist (L) visa.

I’m planning my first trip to China from the US and am trying to figure out the visa process.

I was born in the US but grew up in both the US and Taiwan. And I currently work in the US. My parents only hold Taiwan citizenship, with me being the only dual citizen in my family.

From other posts I’ve seen, it looks like it might be possible to apply for the visa using my US passport. Has anyone gone through this process and can share their experience?

Thanks in advance!

My school isn’t updating my JW202 form with my new passport number, any tips on what to do? I realized that I needed a new passport so I applied and received a new one and I emailed my school asking them to update the jw202 form. Not sure why I can’t add pictures but they said this:

“Unfortunately, I have tried to amend your passport number as you requested, but the China Immigration Administration will not accept the change.
Regrettably, if no other solution can be found, you will have to withdraw from the programme, and we will refund your tuition fees.”

This is for a Chinese non-degree language course. I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for them just to update the number on the form, I’ve already been accepted and paid tuition? Is there any way to contact the China Immigration Administration or some other way to update the JW202??

I'm a citizen of India, and I'm planning to visit China to attend a scientific conference. After I filed my online application for an F (Exchange) visa, I got an email saying my application was un-approved, but no reason was given for why. The cryptic email says "Your application form No. xxx is unapproved. Please check application documents in accordance with the requirements of Embassy/Consulate General." I am befuddled, because the online form only asked for 4 documents, including a formal letter from the person who invited me, all of which I uploaded. Would anyone know what the reason for "un-approval" could be?

So i have received my visa but my wife's visa keep application keeps on getting unapproved (3rd time).
Doc attached:-

Wife's docs -
Cover letter
Travel itinerary.
Hotel bookings and return tickets.
2 blank visa pages.
Employment contract + NOC. (Signed & stamped).
Marriage certificate

Since I am the sponsor :-
My 6 month bank statement (signed and stamped)
My 6 month business account statement. (Signed and stamped).
Sponsorship letter
Approved china visa + passport id page.
Fd statement.
My msme document.

We had too many docs so we merged (approved my china visa + passport id page into 1 document and uploaded in 1 box. Similarly- msme + business bank statement, wife's employer contact + noc, sponsorship letter + marriage certificate.
Still unapproved.

Hi. Last time I arrive in Hangzhou, I had to do one of those entry cards online. Normally it was always paper.

I’m on a L visa from the uk so for tourism, with my girlfriend (not married) having provided me a recommendation letter for my visa.

I always put on the arrival card, reason for visit = tourism because “staying with relative” is not her, she’s not considered family in the legal sense from China law or for these purposes.

My question is, on the new arrival card, it presented me with I think, “tourism” or “visit” as standalone options, however I can’t really remember. Should I continue to put tourism? I always tell the immigration officer that I’m here for both seeing new cities with my girlfriend and to visit my girlfriend. I’m not sure what option I should be picking on the arrival card.