What is a Chinese Visa?
A Chinese visa is a stamp or endorsement placed by officials of a Chinese consulate on a passport that allows the bearer to visit China. "Visit" is further defined as the reason for entry, usually business, tourist, study, work or transit.

Do I need a Chinese visa?
If you are traveling to Mainland China, whether for business or tourism, you require a Chinese visa to be obtained from a consulate in advance of your trip. You are exempt from this requirement if you travel and stay only in Hong Kong or Macao for less than 30 days.

What's the type of my visa?
Please look at your current visa and find the Capital Letter on the top:
L= Tourist Visa; F= Business Visa; X= Student Visa; Z=Working Visa.

What does it mean by ‘Entry(ies)’?
How many times you can enter China during the visa period. Commonly, there was 4 kind of Entry:
00= Zero; 01= Single; 02= Double; M = Multiple. Zero entry is actually kind of extension of your stay in China.

How long is a China visa valid?
A Single and Double entry China visa is good for 90 days from issuance. Within 90 days, you can enter China. And from the date of your entrance, you can stay in China for the granted stay days (the duration period is written in the visa label).
A Multiple entry China visa is good for 6 or 12 months from issuance. Within 180 or 360 days you can enter China. And from the date of your entrance, you can stay in China for 30 days (the duration period is written in the visa label).

What is the difference between a Chinese tourist and business visa?
Chinese visas are issued according to the purpose of the trip; either tourism or business activities. In general, "tourist" visas are issued specifically for the purpose of travel for pleasure, while a "business" visa generally permits a traveler to engage in normal business-related activities (sales meetings, visiting a factory, negotiating agreements, etc.)

I am going to Mainland China, then to Hong Kong and back to Mainland China. Does this mean I
must have a double-entry visa?
Yes. Double-entry visa means you can enter into the Mainland of China twice within 90 days. Since you are going to the Mainland of China twice, you must have a double-entry visa. Although being part of China, Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region.

I travel to China frequently. How do I obtain a multiple entry visa?
There are two ways to get a multiple entry F visa:
- To get it from overseas Chinese consulates or at visa office in Hong Kong, you'll need to ask your business partners in China to contact the local government office to issue an invitation. The invitation (letter) has to be issued by the authorized Chinese government departments or Chinese organizations. However; issuance of a multiple entry visa is at the discretion of the consulate and having an official invitation does not guarantee issuance of the multiple entry visa.
- To get it from local Public Security Bureaus in China, you need to be sponsored by a Chinese host (i.e., organizations’). Please check out here to see how to get a multiple entry F visa in Beijing.

What can I do if I hold a tourist (L) visa and want to stay longer in China?
L visa can be extended once or twice. L visa can also be converted to a 3 month Business (F) visa. After 3 month, you can extend for another 3 month, the extension times are not limited, but the maximum time stay inside of China without leaving is 1 year.
I am on a tourist visa (or a business visa) in China, my company wants to get me a work visa, is it possible to get the work visa without the need of going outside of China?
In some cases, it's possible. Please contact us for details.
I have a double/multi-entry Visa, but have 30 days limit for each stay. How can I remove it?
Double or multiple entry visas (either an L or F) issued by overseas Chinese consulates or Hong Kong visa office usually have a limit of 30 days on the duration of each stay in China. The limit CAN NOT be simply removed in China since December 2004. If you want to stay longer than 30 days, you have to apply for a new F visa at local PSB, and your current visa will be revoked at the same time.
Be discreet when you apply for double/multiple entry visas outside China

How can I get the " residence registration certificate ", in order to apply for visas or Residence Permits in Beijing?
When applying for visas or Residence Permits in Beijing, you will be asked to provide “ residence
registration certificate” as one of the required documents. Where and how to get the “residence registration certificate” depends on your current residence:
- If it is a legitimate hotel as well as registered with local police stations, you can ask the hotel to issue the certificate.
- If it is an apartment or house you rent and owned by Chinese individuals, you should ask the owner to go to the local police station to get the certificate. Documents required by the police: A) Copy of property ownership certificate; B) Owner’s “Hukou” and ID; C) your passport.
- If it is an apartment or house you bought, you should go to the local police station with the documents: A) Copy of property ownership certificate, B) your passport.
- If it is an apartment or house you rent and owned by Chinese organizations (except for schools), you should ask the organization to issue a letter, then take this letter and your passport go to the local police station to get the Residence Permit.
- If it is a school's apartment ( on campus ), you should ask the school to issue the certificate.
For your reference, we collected contact information about the local police stations (please click here for downloading...). We do not guarantee the info is absolutely correct since we got it through searching Internet and looking up Yellow pages, we would be very appreciated if you could point out any wrong information.

Can I use my current Residence Permit (i.e. " green book ") to go outside China and come back without a re-entry visa?
No, you can not. The current Residence Permit is only an official document indicating you can legally live in China. To enter/exit Chinese territory, you still need a re-enter visa.
You can apply for the new version Residence Permit no matter your current Residence Permit is expiring or not. With the new version Residence Permit, you can (multiple) enter/exit Chinese territory without the need of any visas.