Visa is a credential that allows people to enter and leave a country or transit
across its borders. Visa is the competent authority in a country´s own citizens
or foreign passport or other travel documents endorsement seal. Overseas Chinese
can return to visit relatives or to travel without visas.
Traveling visa is of the ordinary visa type. It is L-visa in China which is issued
to the personnel who come to China for traveling, visiting relatives or transacting
other personal affairs. The visa has fixed the date of visa-holders could stay.
The traveling group composed of more than 9 persons can apply for group visas. Every
group visa has three copies: the granting organ keep one copy and two copies for
the traveling group coming to China. One is used for entering and the other is used
for leaving the country.
The validity period of the visas varies. The visa holders must enter China within
the validity period, for the visa is no longer valid beyond the deadline.
Foreigners who wish to enter China must have valid passports. They are required
to offer relevant certification when necessary. For example, the foreign travelers
to China are asked to show reception certification issued by the Chinese traveling
department when applying for visas. But under special circumstances, like it is
so urgent that they have no time to transact procedures in the above organs, they
can apply for visa in the authorized visa-granting organ of the port by the Ministry
of Public Security.
Visa-granting organs are established in the following ports authorized by the Ministry
of Public Security: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Dalian, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Xi´an,
Guilin, Hangzhou, Kunming, Guangzhou (Baiyun Airport), Shenzhen (Luohu and Shekou)
and Zhuhai (Gongbei).
Foreigners don´t have to transact visa if they have joint-way tickets of international
flights and stay in China not more than 24 hours without walking out of the airports.
If they demand to leave the airport provisionally, they must get the approval of
the frontier inspection organs.
China visa are composed of the diplomatic visa, the courteous reception visa, the
public affair visa and an average visa. The average visa can be further divided
into nine types: the visa for settlement, the occupation visa, the visa for studying,
visiting visa, traveling visa, transit visa, the visa for airplane and train and
journalist visa. They are denoted with the first character of Chinese pinyin and
Arabian numbers in D,Z,X,F,L,G,C,J-1,J-2 respectively. The authorities concerned
of Chinese government sign and issue the corresponding visa according to the reasons
of foreigners´application for coming to China.
Chinese visa-granting office is the embassy stationed abroad and is the local foreign
affairs organs that Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs authorize
and the local public security organs that the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry
of Public Security authorize within China.
Tips:
Foreigners that leave for Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Xiamen Economic Special Zones can
apply for the traveling visa of Special Zones.
Foreigners who go to Hainan province for business affairs, traveling and visiting
family and have a stay less than 15 days can transact a visa of entering China in
Haikou port or Sanya port.
Foreigners in Hong Kong who go to Shenzhen Special Zone in groups do not need to
transact entering visa if they travel less than 72 hours (that is 3 days) in Shenzhen.
Citizens of Singapore, Japan and Brunei do not need a visa if they are not to have
a stay in China more than 15 days to visit family and friends or to have a business.