China travel visa – what you need to know

Innumerable people from various states in the USA intend to visit China for their vacation and holidays. Till few years back there were restrictions on visiting the country. However, now the Chinese government has become flexible in its policies and regulations opening up its doors to foreigners from across the globe. Interestingly, with this step, China has become a leading tourism destination and bringing in lots of revenues for the country. It is a well-known fact that China is a country which abounds in historical and cultural richness and heritage. Moreover, the country offers attractions for all kinds of travelers and tourists in all age groups. You would need a valid China travel visa for entering the country and exploring the places.

Getting a visa for China for travel and tourism has become convenient now. In this article, you will get all information required to get a valid Chinese visa intending to travel to the country for tourism.

• What is actually a Chinese tourist visa?

A Chinese tourist visa, which is also known as L Visa, is the most common kind of travel paper visa issued to US citizens. The visa is affixed to the page of a passport. Usually this visa remains valid for 10 years. Even if the passport in which the visa stamp is affixed gets expired, the visa on it remains valid. You will only have to carry your old passport with the new renewed one and that will suffice. The traveler can easily visit China for travel and tourism with this kind of visa in hand.

• What are the documents which are needed for obtaining Chinese travel visa?

To get your China tourist visa without any problem and hassle, it is important that the right documents are submitted so that there are no chances of visa application cancellation or rejection. The documents are as follows:

• The Chinese visa application form, which should be duly filled up without any errors. It is recommended to read through the instructions in the application form and then fill it up accordingly. Do not leave any part unfilled or incomplete. Do not overwrite as well.

• You will need your passport, which should have validity of at least six months from your return date. If the validity is less than that or just by the deadline, it is recommended to get the passport renewed and then apply for the visa to avert any kind of problem later. Along with the validity, it is also important to check the numbers of blank pages which are available in the passport. There should be minimum two blank pages, save the ones on which visa stamps cannot be affixed.
•  You will need a clear photocopy of the passport data page. Try to see that your name and photograph in the copy comes clear enough.
• A recent colored passport sized photograph will be needed.
• You will need to furnish the China travel itinerary, which should display information about the hotel reservations and the flight tickets (both going and returning). In case you are not staying at a hotel and have no reservation details, you will need to produce an invitation letter with various kinds of details in the same. The details will be of the person inviting you, of the planned itinerary and lastly your details.
•  If an US citizen applies for Chinese tourist visa from outside USA, he will need to furnish evidence of residence status or legal stay in the country from where the application is done.
• Visa fee needs to be provided at the time of the application as well. Chinese tourist visa fee is $140. However, if you need express and expedite service for obtaining your visa, you will have to shell out few extra dollars for the same.

• Submission of the visa application and documents

Once you have filled up the form and gathered all the important documents required for the visa application, you can proceed towards its submission. Find out a Chinese consulate which is nearest to your place and make the application in person. Visa applications via the mail are not accepted. The office hours of the consulates vary from one another and might be closed on holidays and on weekends. The payment for the application is accepted via cashier’s check, credit card or by money order. Personal checks and cash are not accepted in any way.

It takes about 4 working days for the processing of the visa. However, expedite services can be availed on paying extra charges.

Take some time in planning the trip so that you have abundant time in hand for obtaining the visa without any kind of hassle.

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Dorothy Jones, an experienced content writer having 5+ years of experience in “Travel & Hotel” industry. She is also associated with some renowned travel and food blogs as a guest author.