Visa for China (People's Republic)

Since November 20, 2025, the Arrival Card for China can be filled out digitally. All travelers can fill out the Arrival Card online. Transit travelers and cruise passengers are exempt from this requirement if they continue their journey within 24 hours and leave the country from the same airport/on the same ship. For more information, see “eVisa.”

Citizens of Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation (14th september 2026), Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Korea, Sweden and Hungary, are exempt from visa requirements for business, tourism, family and friends visits, academic and cultural exchanges, and transit for stays of up to 30 days until December 31, 2026. This does not apply to the provisional passport. You can find information on this on the Chinese Embassy's website.

In addition, until December 31, 2026, all applicants whose stay in China is up to 180 days are exempt from providing fingerprints.

For all travelers who must apply for a residence permit after entry (Z, Q1, S1, X1, or J1 visas), the fingerprint regulations below continue to apply.

As of August 26, 2024, there is a new application process. All applicants must create an account on the Application Center website to complete the application. In the course of this, all the required documents must be uploaded and only after preliminary review and approval by the Application Center can the application be submitted by SERVISUM.

We offer you our exclusive CONCIERGE SERVICE. This includes:

1. Consultancy
   SERVISUM provides you with information on how to apply for a Chinese visa (by phone, email or online).
2. Provision of visa documents and creation of the online application
   You compile all the required documents and send them with the form for application assistance (see the second black box on the right) by e-mail to the respective Servisum office. You can find out which documents you need via the links below.
3. Provision of the completed application
   SERVISUM will send you the completed visa application by e-mail after it has been checked and approved by the Chinese Visa Application Center (CVASC).
4. Sending the original documents/appointments at CVASC
   You send the original passport, the signed data protection declaration, the signed application and a biometric passport photo to SERVISUM and we will arrange an appointment for you to have your fingerprints taken at CVASC (if required) and inform you about it.
5. Appointment/submitting documents
   On the day of the appointment, you will meet a SERVISUM employee at the CVASC who will assist you throughout the application process. If fingerprinting is not required, we will submit the documents for you.
6. Collection and inspection of the visa-stamped passport and return shipment
   As soon as your visa is issued, SERVISUM will collect your passport for you and return it to you.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS / DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR:

• Tourists (Categories L and S)
• Business trips (Categories M and F)
• Taking up employment (Category Z)

Processing time (without guarantee):

Normal: approx. 1 week
Express: 2-3 business days