By Damin Chu
To travel into China, you generally need a valid passport and a visa. Rules and regulations regarding who can enter and for how long change often. Contact your local Chinese embassy or consulate for the most up-to-date information on China travel requirements. The embassy or consulate can tell you exactly what visa and
what documentation you need to enter the country. Entering China with the wrong visa can lead to deportation from the country. Also, if individuals are leaving a country that has been infected with yellow fever within six days, they must have had a yellow fever vaccination and show proof of it, or they will be quarantined.
Types of Visas
The most basic visa that most visitors use to visit China is the tourist visa (or L visa). These are often one-month visas that can be renewed in China and are meant to serve tourists or people visiting their families in China from overseas. An F visa is a business visa, which allows visitors to stay for three to six months, if they have an invitation from a formal institution or business. The F visa is meant for people involved in a cultural, educational or business exchange. The student visa (or X visa) is for students who are studying through a formal university program in China and can verify that with documentation from the university. While on the X visa, students are not allowed to work in China. A journalist visa (J-1 or J-2) is given to foreign journalists, who are planning on reporting in China. You must apply for any of these visas at your local Chinese consulate or embassy and have the visa pasted in your passport on arrival to China.
Visas on Arrival
Since visas sometimes take months to approve, there are last-minute, urgent situations when the Chinese government will issue visas upon arrival. In these circumstances, the individual entering China must still provide a stamped letter from a government official or Chinese business showing that he has been invited to come on short notice. Invitations are normally issued to people such as foreign diplomats, individuals invited to trade fairs or to complete economic and trade agreements, or individuals who are acting as a negotiator for a business deal on the request of a Chinese company.
Visa Exemptions
Singaporean, Brunei and Japanese nationals are allowed into China for up to 15 days without a visa when they fly into certain designated airports. Certain citizens are allowed to enter Hainan Province in China without a visa, as long as their stay lasts under 15 days, their travel is regulated by a travel agency and tour group, and they do not leave the Hainan area. These citizens include those from Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, France, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, Thailand and the United States. Chinese citizens, such as passport holders from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan,can enter China without visas, but they still must show valid passports and other applicable documents. For example, a Taiwan national must show a Mainland Travel Permit in order to travel into China.
Resources
About the Author:
Damin Chu is a freelance writer, whose writing has taken her down a number of avenues. In 2008, she returned from Shanghai, China, where she served as the managing editor of a China travel guide, in addition to writing travel features for the local newspaper. Her other projects have included writing for a Shanghai expat guide, a education documentary, and an environmental NGO.
