What is a visa?

A Visa is the remark, annotation or seal of approval on a legal and valid passport or other travel credentials of a foreign or domestic citizen, which is issued by the international representative of a sovereign government, an Embassy or Consulate. It is a necessary legal requirement indicating that you are permitted to enter and exit that country's frontier, also we may say, the visa is an annotating-like proof of legal entry.
Function of visa
A Visa is a measure adopted by a sovereign state to maintain the country's sovereignty, dignity, security and protection. It is an important method for a sovereign state to implement the vetting and supervision of visitors. If a country's citizen wishes to go abroad for travel, emigration, business, to study and so on, the visa is the must have credential other than a passport or its equivalent, or you can not enter your target country.
Visa Types
A China visa is permission/proof issued by Chinese visa issuing authorities permitting foreigners entry to, exit from or transit through China. According to foreigners’ status, their purposes for coming to China and the passport type, the Chinese visa issuing authorities may separately issue them the diplomatic visa, courtesy visa, service visa or ordinary visa. For the ordinary visa, there are eight categories, separately represented by eight Chinese phonetic letters (C, D, F, G, J-1, J-2, L, X, Z) as the visa code.

• C Visa (Crewmember Visa): Issued to crewmembers on international aviation, navigation and land transportation missions and their accompanying family members.
• D Visa (Residence Visa): Issued to foreigners who are going to live in China permanently.
• F Visa (Business/Visit Visa): Issued to foreigners who are invited to China for a visit, research, lecture, business, scientific-technological and cultural exchanges or short-term advanced studies or intern practice for a period of less than six months.
• G Visa (Transit Visa): Issued to those people who transit through China.
• L Visa (Tourist Visa): Issued to those who enter China temporarily for touring, family visiting or other personal affairs (multiple-entry is not granted for this category).
• X Visa (Study/Student Visa): Issued to foreigners who come to China for study or intern practice for a period of six months or above.
• Z Visa (Work Visa): Issued to foreigners who are to take up a post or employment in China, and their accompanying family members.
• J Visa (Journalist Visa)

J-1 Visa issued to foreign journalists who are posted to China for at least one year.
J-2 Visa issued to foreign journalists who are on temporary assignment in China.
For Students from Some countries representatives of IEC assists students in getting the visa.
All students joining Universities are required to take the X visa. Details below.
X Visa (Study/Student Visa)
Required Documents
1. Your valid and actual passport with blank visa pages and at least 6-month period of validity (counting from the day you submit the application);
2. Fill in the Visa Application Form (Q1), attached with 2-inch passport photo (black & white or colored are all accepted);
3. The Entrance Notice of Schools in China and Foreign Student Visa Application Form (JW201 or JW202, Only originals are accepted);
4. If you intend to study in China for over one year, the Physical Examination Certificate for Foreign Citizen is highly required.
Note: Please fill in the visa application form faithfully, completely and clearly, or possibly your visa application will be refused and accordingly make your oversea trip protracted.
Transact Way
The applicant can handle the visa personally, or entrust other people, travel agency and visa handling agency to transact the visa he wants according to different consular jurisdiction of the embassies or consulate-general.
1. Make an appointment ahead of time is NOT needed.
2. Visa application by mail is not accepted, but the postal service back to you is provided.
3. The normal processing time for handle the visa generally is 4 working days. If you need urgent service, 30 US dollars will be added as the additional fee for 1 working day processing while 20 US dollars for 2 to 3 working days processing.
Visa Expense, Validity and Duration of Stay
1. VISA, MasterCard, Money Order, Cashier's check, Company's Check and Cash are all accepted (based on the written stipulation), but TCG suggests you'd better pay for the visa expense by cash due to the actual experience.
2. For US citizens, the visa expense is 50 US dollars while 30 US dollars for the citizens of other countries. [It may depend on the country.. Please check the information required from the Local Chinese Embassy]
3. The period of validity of X visa is 3 months available for single entry; the US citizens may apply for multiple-entry X visa valid for one year by the application fee of 150 US dollars; the X visa holder should enter China within the period of validity and in the following 30 days transact the residential procedure at the local public security bureau.

F Visa (Business/Visit Visa)
Required Documents
1. Your valid and actual passport with blank visa pages and at least 6-month period of validity (counting from the day you submit the application);
2. Fill in the Visa Application Form (Q1), attached with 2-inch passport photo (black & white or colored are all accepted).
3. The invitation letter from China or visa application letter from your company (original , copy or fax are all accepted);
4. If you were born in China and then join the foreign nationality, for the first time you apply for the visa, the original Chinese passport (original or the copy) should be required. .
The applicant may apply for visas of single entry, double entry or multiple entries according to requirements. The applicants below can apply for multiple-entry visa to China available for two years:
(1) Foreign Chinese people;
(2) A proof that you invest in China by business license, economy and trade contract, appointment letter;
(3) Have already visited China before with F Visa within one year or once obtain the F visa successfully for many times, whose original copies are highly required to be provided.
Note: Please fill in the visa application form faithfully, completely and clearly, or possibly your visa application will be refused and accordingly make your oversea trip protracted.
Transact Way
The applicant can handle the visa personally, or entrust other people, travel agency and visa handling agency to transact the visa he wants according to different consular jurisdiction of the embassies or consulate-general.
1. Make an appointment ahead of time is NOT needed.
2. Visa application by mail is not accepted, but the postal service back to you is provided.
3. The normal processing time for handle the visa generally is 4 working days. If you need urgent service, 30 US dollars will be added as the additional fee for 1 working day processing while 20 US dollars for 2 to 3 working days processing.
Visa Expense, Validity and Duration of Stay
1. VISA, MasterCard, Money Order, Cashier's check, Company's Check and Cash are all accepted (based on the written stipulation), but TCG suggests you'd better pay for the visa expense by cash due to the actual experience.
2. The charging standard of visa expense are different as follows:
Entry Times For US Citizens For Citizens of Other Countries
Single Entry 50 US dollars 30 US dollars
Double Entry 75 US dollars 45 US dollars
Multiple Entry for 6 Months 100 US dollars 60 US dollars
Multiple Entry for 12 Months 150 US dollars 90 US dollars
Multiple Entry for 24 Months 150 US dollars 90 US dollars
3. The period of validity of F visa (single or double entry) is 3 to 6 months; the duration of stay generally being 30 days, counting from the first day after your arrival in China. The visa issuing officials may properly extend the duration time according to the applicant's request and need.
Z Visa (Work Visa)
Required Documents
1. Your valid and actual passport with blank visa pages and at least 6-month period of validity (counting from the day you submit the application);
2. Fill in the Visa Application Form (Q1), attached with 2-inch passport photo (black & white or colored are all accepted);
3. Visa notification letters (telegram or fax), and the Work Permit for Aliens or Foreign Expert's License (original and copy) issued by authorities in China.
4. Family members of the laborers who come to China for work should provide the visa notification letters (telegram or fax) issued by Chinese authorities or other documents (like marriage certificate, birth certificate and so on) which can sufficiently prove the relative relationship, but the approved employment document is not required.
Note: Please fill in the visa application form faithfully, completely and clearly, or possibly your visa application will be refused and accordingly make your oversea trip protracted.
Transact Way
The applicant can handle the visa personally, or entrust other people, travel agency and visa handling agency to transact the visa he wants according to different consular jurisdiction of the embassies or consulate-general.
1. Make an appointment ahead of time is NOT needed.
2. Visa application by mail is not accepted, but the postal service back to you is provided.
3. The normal processing time for handle the visa generally is 4 working days. If you need urgent service, 30 US dollars will be added as the additional fee for 1 working day processing while 20 US dollars for 2 to 3 working days processing.
Visa Expense, Validity and Duration of Stay
1. VISA, MasterCard, Money Order, Cashier's check, Company's Check and Cash are all accepted (based on the written stipulation), but TCG suggests you'd better pay for the visa expense by cash due to the actual experience.
2. For US citizens, the visa expense is 50 US dollars while 30 US dollars for the citizens of other countries.
3. The period of validity of Z visa is 3 months available for single entry; the US citizens may apply for multiple-entry X visa valid for one year by the application fee of 150 US dollars; the X visa holder should enter China within the period of validity and in the following 30 days transact the residential procedure at the local public security bureau.