When I was a boy, few Americans could travel to the distant and mysterious People’s Republic of China. Now, decades later, the People’s Republic is both an economic powerhouse and a popular tourist destination.
But one thing has not changed: in addition to your U.S. passport, Americans also need a valid Chinese visa to visit China.
And if you live in Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii, or the US Pacific territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, you will get your Chinese visa from Los Angeles, CA.
Why do you need a visa to visit China?
A visa permits passport holders to visit a country for a period of time (often 30, 60 or 90 days) for a specific purpose (usually business or leisure).
The American passport is one of the most powerful passports on the planet, meaning that Americans can visit 187 different nations on the earth (out of 197) without a visa, or by getting a “visa on arrival,” which is pretty much the same thing. So if all of your international travel has been to traditional American allies in Europe and North America, you might never have needed to get a visa in advance.
But a few nations still require Americans to get a travel visa in advance before entering the country. The People’s Republic of China is one of these nations. So please do not purchase any plane tickets or book any hotels in China until you have your visas!
I’ve had to assist more than one disappointed would-be traveler who planned expensive excursions into China without being aware of the visa requirement, only to be refused boarding at the airport. Don’t make this rookie mistake yourself.
How to get a Chinese visa in America
You begin the application process online. And by the way, there are plenty of online services willing to submit the paperwork for you—for a fee. I admit that these services can make it easy, so if you want to take this path, go right ahead. But it’s really not all that difficult, and I would encourage you to try taking care of it yourself.
After completing and printing the online application, you ship all your documents to the appropriate Chinese consulate depending on where you live, and you receive your visa in the mail in about two weeks.
In addition to the Chinese consulate general in Los Angeles, China also maintains four other consulates-general in the United States: in San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, and New York City. There is also the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. One of these locations has “consular jurisdiction” in your home state, and you must make your application through the website of the appropriate consulate.
Your passport is required for Chinese visas
The first thing I want to make perfectly clear is the physical form of the visa: it is a stamp affixed to a blank page of your passport. A Chinese visa is not a separate document you can put in your wallet or purse – it is part of your passport. This means that you must mail your actual passport to the Chinese consulate. They will stamp and return it. Plan on being without a passport for a couple of weeks.
The passport must have at least two (2) blank pages for the visa stamp, and it must be valid for at least six months longer than the duration of the visa. So if you are requesting a 30-day visa, your passport cannot expire for at least seven months. If the passport is brand new and unused, you will need to provide your previous passport.
You also need to provide a high-quality color photocopy of the personal information page of the passport.
Other required documents for Chinese visas:
- A copy of your round trip airline tickets including all travel segments from your home city to China and back again; your day-by-day travel itinerary if you’re on a tour; your cruise itinerary if you’re on a cruise.
- Proof of your current home address—a valid driver’s license is fine.
- A paper copy of the online visa application form, printed single-sided and signed in blue or black ink.
- A recent color photograph, exactly 48mm high by 33mm wide.
- A signed affidavit of all the countries you have visited in the past 28 days, including entry and exit dates.
- And finally, a new one: you must provide your original CDC COVID-19 vaccination card showing that you are fully vaccinated. If you’re not vaccinated, you cannot go.
Additional documents for some Chinese visas:
- If you are applying for a business visa, you will need to submit an invitation letter issued by your Chinese business partner and a letter from your own company explaining the purpose of your trip.
- If you work for the media or are a religious professional, you will need a letter from your organization stating that you are not traveling on official business, and a signed personal statement to that effect.
- If you have a criminal record, you will need to appear at the consulate in person for additional biometrics.
- Minors will also need to provide copies of their birth certificate.
Taking a photo for your Chinese visa applications
Most of the visa application documents listed above are pretty standard items that you should have no trouble getting hold of. But that 48mm x 33mm Chinese passport photograph is going to be a challenge because American passport operations are set up for 2” x 2” photos. You’re not going to be able to get the right size at a photo booth and maybe not even at your drug store.
Chinese visa process – final thoughts
Generally speaking, it is fair to say that the consular officials for the People’s Republic of China are very strict when it comes to processing visa requests. Requests for 30-day visas are routinely approved, but requests for long-term visas such as six months or a year get extra scrutiny.
Any mistakes in the visa application or any missing information is likely to result in the request being denied. But if you take care with your paperwork, get the proper photograph, and have all of your shots, you can successfully submit your visa applications.
