Chinese Visa for Visitors & Tourists - Apply For Q

Source:OT-Team(S,J), Embassy Websites

There are 3 kinds of Visas that can be issued for those with visiting purposes: the Q Visa (family reunion), the S Visa (private affairs), and the L Visa (tourism).

In order to assess what kind of Visa you shall apply for, you must look at the relationship between you (the applicant/visitor) and the person whom you would visit in China (the host). Moreover, the applicant must take into account the legal status (Chinese citizen, foreigner with Chinese temporary resident permit, and so on) of the host in China.
Here are the details:

Q Visa

It is issued to family members of Chinese citizens or foreigners with permanent resident permit.

The definitions of “family members” for different visa types are not totally same:

For Q1 or S1 visa (long term, more than 180 days): it can only be the applicant’s "Immediate family members", including spouses, parents, sons or daughters under the age of 18, parents-in-law.

For Q2 or S2 visa (short term, less than 180 days): it covers a bigger range, Including spouses, parents, sons or daughters (regardless of age), spouses of sons or daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandsons, granddaughters and parents-in-law.

S Visa

It is issued to family members of foreigners with temporary resident permits.

The applicant need to provide below documents for Q and S visa besides the basic files:

(1) A copy of the passport, registration to the local police, and/or resident permit of your family member (in case of a non-Chinese citizen) or a copy of the ID card (in the case of a Chinese citizen).

(2) An invitation letter from your family member indicating:
- Your personal data (name, passport number, address)
- Your family member’s personal data (name, contact, ID or passport number, address in China)
- General info about the visit (purpose, dates, relation between the host and applicant, itinerary, financial source for expenses)

(3) An original certificate (and a copy) that states the familiar relationship between the applicant and the host (for instance a marriage certificate). Additional documents or interview might be required according to the feedback of visa office/consulate.

L Visa

It is issued to family members and friends of Chinese citizens or foreigners with resident permit, or pure tourists (no need to get invitation letters in such case).

The applicant need to provide below documents for L visa besides the basic files:

(1) An invitation letter: which contains the applicant’s name, passport number, travel dates, itinerary, address, and the host’s name, passport and/or ID number, address in China, and contact information.|

(2) Copy of the host’s Passport and/or ID card.

(3) Copy of the host’s resident permit and registration file to the local police(for non-Chinese citizen).

(4) Copy of the round-trip flight reservation (a round-trip ticket to/from Hong Kong or Macao SAR is also accepted).

Invitation Letter

In order to be able to issue an invitation letter for the applicant, the host should hold a resident permit (either temporary or permanent) or a Chinese passport.

Those live in China with M, F, L, X2, Z2, or J2 Visa can’t issue  invitation letter for the applicant.

* Invitation Letter is not mandatory for pure tourists who already have round-trip flight reservation AND hotel bookings.