Applying for a Chinese visa: the basic documents every applicant submits

A Chinese visa application starts with an online application form, your passport or other international travel document, a photo, and proof of legal stay or residence. If you have held a Chinese passport or Chinese visa before, the previous passport or visa is also submitted. The rules that set this out are the Visa Application Instructions, Regulations Article 7 and Law Article 18. Class-specific material is added on top of these basics.

What the consular instructions ask for

The Basic Documents section (section I) of the Visa Application Instructions of the People's Republic of China on the China Consular Services website says that, as required by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General in your locality, you should:

• fill in the visa application form online;
• submit the applicant's passport and photo;
• submit proof of legal stay or residence;
• submit the previous Chinese passport or the previous Chinese visa.

The same section says that specific requirements are found in the "Guidance on Visa Application" section of the China Online Visa Application System, or on the website of the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General in your locality. Check that source before you prepare your file.

What Regulations Article 7 requires

The opening sentence of Regulations, Article 7 reads: "A foreigner applying for a visa shall fill out the application form, and submit his or her passport or other international travel documents, qualified photos, and material relating to the purpose of application."

The final paragraph of Article 7 reads: "The visa authority may, in light of specific cases, require a foreigner to submit additional application material."

Article 7 items (1) to (12) name the material for particular visa classes, beginning with item (1) for the C visa. Read the item for your own class in the Regulations, and the class section of the visa classes guide on this site.

What Law Article 18 adds

Law, Article 18 says that foreigners who apply for visas "shall submit their passports or other international travel documents, as well as information of specific application matters, to the visa-issuing authorities stationed abroad."

The same article continues: "They shall go through relevant formalities and accept interviews in accordance with the requirements of the visa-issuing authorities stationed abroad."

So the Law adds the interview requirement and the relevant formalities, which are set by the visa-issuing authority abroad.

How one embassy sets out the basics: the UK

The Embassy of the PRC in the United Kingdom publishes its own basic documents list. The embassy in the United Kingdom says the following. The page carries a time stamp of 1 July 2020, so check the current page before you apply.

1. Passport. An original passport "with at least six months of remaining validity and blank visa pages," and a photocopy of the bio data page.
2. Photo. "One recently-taken color passport photo (bare-head, full face) against a light background." The embassy refers applicants to its "Photo Requirements for Chinese Visa Application".
3. Proof of legal stay or residence (applicable to non-British applicants). "A valid British visa or other proof of legal stay, residence, employment or study in the U.K."
4. Photocopy of previous Chinese passports or previous Chinese visas (applicable to foreign nationals who once held Chinese nationality). - "The Chinese passport last held and a photocopy of its data page and permanent residency of foreign country and naturalization paper are required when applying for a Chinese visa for the first time." - "The photocopies of data page of the previous passport and previous Chinese visa if current passport does not contain any Chinese visa." - "In case the name on the current passport differs from that on the previous one, an official document of name change is required."

The UK list is the embassy's own list. Other Chinese missions may set out their requirements differently, so the list for your locality applies to you.

Important tips from the consular instructions

Section III of the Visa Application Instructions gives four points:

• The invitation letter may be a fax, a photocopy or a printout, but the consular officers may require the applicant to provide the original.
• When necessary, the consular officers may require other supporting documents or supplementary materials, or require the applicant to attend an interview.
• The consular officials will decide whether to issue a visa and determine its validity, duration of stay and number of entries according to the applicant's specific circumstances.
• For further details, visit the website of the relevant Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General abroad.

Consular officers decide whether a visa is issued. This article cannot predict that decision.

Suggestion, not a rule

Before you gather papers, put the list from your local embassy beside the consular instructions and the Regulations. Note where the two differ, then ask the embassy which version applies.

Sources

• Visa Application Instructions of the People's Republic of China (申请办理中华人民共和国签证须知), China Consular Services website, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC (China Consular Services)
• Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners, National Immigration Administration
• Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, National Immigration Administration
• Embassy of the PRC in the United Kingdom, Part Two: How to Apply for a Visa for China (Mainland only), Embassy of the PRC in the United Kingdom

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not published by or affiliated with the National Immigration Administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, any embassy, consulate or visa application service centre, and it is not legal or immigration advice. If the official text differs from this page, the official text and the current notice of the office handling your case prevail.