According to the laws and regulations of China, the consular officials will decide what type of visa is issued to the applicant, according to such factors as the reason for the visit. The validity of the visa refers to the time from the date of issue up to the expiration date, to the extent that the allowable entries refer to the times to which they are entitled to enter China. The term refers to the longer period which the visa holder can stay in China from each entry in China.
After completing the period of the validity of visas, the entries which have not been used will also expire. In such cases, new visas to enter China should be requested. The visa holder can enter China at any time before the expiration date (it will be allowed to enter China before midnight of the outgoing day), provided the allowable entries have not been used. The applicant may not exceed the length of stay allowed in the visa.
It's recommendable to apply for a visa one or two months before the date of entry in China. But you can apply for a visa with a maximum three months in advance. Your visa can expire before the date of your trip to China if asked too early. For example, if you plan to enter China on 1 July, we recommend applying for a visa from early May to June (only on working days). Please note that the validity of some special visas is equal to or less than one month. In this case you can apply for a visa one or two weeks before the date you intend to enter China.
If you are the holder of an ordinary passport, you must deliver your order at the Centre of your country of residence. (The Centre is a commercial service organization registered under the laws and regulations, and identified by the Embassy or Consulate of China to deal with the daily procedures of issuing visas. However, the Centre operates independently of the diplomatic mission, being neither a branch nor a subsidiary. Please note the Centre does not participate in the verification or the dispatch of Chinese visa).
To obtain a visa to Hong Kong and Macau, please consult the following websites:
. The Immigration Department of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong: http://www.immd.gov.hk.
. The Public Security Police of the Government of the Special Administrative Region of Macau: http://www.dsi.gov.mo.
Citizens of the 51 countries with valid documents of international travel and airline ticket (with date and seat confirmed) to third countries (region), may apply for a 72-hour permit at airports in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu as a transit. For more details, visit the following page: http://www.mps.gov.cn/n16/n84147/n84196/3912430.html.
At the moment it is not possible to apply for a visa through the Internet. You must provide the necessary documents to the Centre and the Centre's staff can process your request.
Generally, the application and collection of the passport with the visa issued must be made in person at the Centre. If this is not possible, you can ask someone you trust to submit the application and collect the visa provided all required documents are in compliance and the Application Form is signed (it is not required the authorization). Generally, the passport must be valid for at least six months from the day which the visa is requested.
The processing of visas takes five working days if all required documents are correct. Service options provided by Visa Centre (if you provide all the necessary documents) are:
1. Regular service: Processing within 5 working days.
2. Semi urgent service: Processing in 3 working days.
3. Urgent service: Processing in 2 working days.
4. Postal service: Processing in 10 working days.
Note: The semi urgent or urgent services require the approval of the Consulate, being charged an extra fee for semi urgent or urgent services.
In case you lose your receipt, you must collect your passport in person. You must present your ID document to the Centre's staff for verification. Only after the Centre confirm your ID document, you can collect your passport. If you are unable to go personally for some particular reason, you can ask a third party to collect the passport, provided it is accompanied by a certified/authenticated authorization as well as by that third person’s ID document.