Chinese Visa FAQs

Q1. Which type of visa do I have it now?
A: Please look at your current visa; find the Capital Letter on the top:

Categories	Description of Visa
Q1 visa	Issued to those who are family members of Chinese citizens or of foreigners with Chinese permanent residence (China green card holder) and intend to go to China for family reunion, or to those who intend to go to China for the purpose of foster care. The intended duration of stay in China exceeds 180 days. "Family members" refers to spouses, parents, sons, daughters, spouses of sons or daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandsons, granddaughters and parents-in-law.
Q2 visa	Issued to those who intend to visit their relatives who are Chinese citizens residing in China or foreigners with permanent residence (China green card holder) in China. The intended duration of stay in China is no more than 180 days.
S1 visa	Issued to those who intend to go to China to visit the foreigners working or studying in China to whom they are spouses, parents, sons or daughters under the age of 18 or parents-in-law, or to those who intend to go to China for other private affairs. The intended duration of stay in China exceeds 180 days.
S2 visa	Issued to those who intend to visit their family members who are foreigners working or studying in China, or to those who intend to go to China for other private matters.　The intended duration of stay in China is no more than 180 days. "family members" refers to spouses, parents, sons, daughters, spouses of sons or daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandsons, granddaughters and parents-in-law.
C visa	Issued to foreign crew members of means of international transportation, including aircraft, trains and ships, or motor vehicle drivers engaged in cross-border transport activities, or to the accompanying family members of the crew members of the above-mentioned ships.
D visa	Issued to those who intend to reside in China permanently.
F visa	Issued to those who are invited to China for exchanges, visits, study tours and other activities.
G visa	Issued to those who intend to transit through China.
J1 visa	Issued to resident foreign journalists of foreign news organizations stationed in China. The intended duration of stay in China exceeds 180 days.
J2 visa	Issued to foreign journalists who intend to go to China for short-term news coverage. The intended duration of stay in China is no more than 180 days.
L visa	Issued to those who are going to travel to China for tourism.
M visa	Issued to those who are invited to China for commercial and trade activities.
R visa	Issued to those who are high-level talents or whose skills are urgently needed in China.
X1 visa	Issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of more than 180 days.
X2 visa	Issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of no more than 180 days.
Z visa	Issued to those taking up a post or employment, or giving commercial performances, in China.

As Chinese laws, if you hold an M visa, you are not allow to get incoming payment here. that means, if you have sign the contract with the company and will start your full-time job here in Shanghai, it's better for you to ask for the working(Z) visa and residence permit from your company. Otherwise, the government may fine you and your company because of the illegal employment. if your company don't know how to apply the working visa for you. We can give them the solution.

Q2. What can I do if I hold a Travel (L) Visa and want to stay more time inside of China?
A: Different city has different policy. Normally, the immigration office in shanghai will not extend your L visa (because they think 30 days is enough for sightseeing). But if you want to try your lucky, you can bring following documents and go to the Shanghai entry/exit bureau at No.1500 Min Sheng Road, Pudong to have a try:

1. Passport with valid visa
2. Local Shanghai Registration Form Of Temporary Residence( up to date ) [ Sample ]
3. 2 Passport Photographs (size 4.5cm*3.5cm)
4. Your details travel plan to explain why you need extension

Normal Service takes: 7 Working Days

Friendly Notice:
Normally, above L0 service, L visa can be extended 1 time for 1 month maximum.
From 1st July 2013, when we extend your visa here, your former visa will not be canceled, so it means if you still have entries remaining in your former visa, you can still use it next time.

Sometimes the immigration officer might request you providing a original certificate of bank deposit (1 day = 100USD deposit, so if you want to extend it maximum 30 days, then you have to show 3,000 USD or an equivalent of 19,500 RMB deposit in the bank certificate) to prove you can support your traveling.

Q3. Can I get a 1,3 or 6 month Business (M) Visa extension inside of China?
A: No, you can't. But we will keep updating our services quotation and paperwork list for M visa applications. - Check the updated paperwork and price >>

Q4.What's mean of Entry (ies)?
A: How many times you can enter China during the visa period. Commonly, there was 4 kinds of Entry:
00 = Zero; 01 = Single; 02 = Double; M = Multi

Q5. I am a Chinese citizen; can I get a foreign country visa at your office?
A: No, we only provide Chinese visa services for expats in China, no foreign country visa services for Chinese.

Q6. My company want to apply an Working(Z) Visa for me, is it possible to get it here inside of China without going outside of China?
A: Yes, it's possible. From 1st July 2015, For employee of the company, if you hold a L, F, or X visa now and want to change it to Foreigner’s Work Permit (FWP) and residence permit, you DON'T NEED to leave the country anymore (if your current visa is longer enough to wait for your working permit get approved). For more details, Please check here or contact: Email: info@8888visa.com

Q7. I am not living in Shanghai, can I still get my visa extension through your office?
A: No, It's not possible to use our services.

Q8. I have an one(or half) year Multi-entry Visa, but have 30 days limit for each stay. Can I remove it? After the limit removed, which kind of visa can I get?
A: No, It's not possible to remove those 30 days limit.

Q9. Is there any useful tips for M visa extension if the M visa application available again?
A: Please check the update M visa extension service here.

Q10. If my visa expired and overstay in Shanghai, what can I do and how much fine should I pay?
A: As the Shanghai immigration regulations, if your visa expired less than 10 days, it's not necessary to pay any fine (But if you have overstay record before, they might not give you 10 days grace period, and charge you fine immediately), you have to go to the immigration office, the officer will ask some questions and put down your words in writing and make a record. They will also notice you don't break that again. If your visa expired more than 10 days, they will charge you fine, the fine is 500RMB per day except the first 10 days, and the maximum is 10,000RMB. for example, if you overstay 12 days, they will charge (12-10)*500=1000RMB. Following are the contact information of immigration office, Address isdepend on your living area, we suggest you goto the police station near your apartment (where you register yourself), they will tell you where to pay the penalty.

Q11. What's your suggestion about China visa? Which kind of visa should I get to stay in China?
A: Normally, get which kind of visa to stay here in China is depend on what are you doing here in China, so please check following options to see which kind of option is suitable for you:

I am a foreigner, my family member is a Chinese Citizen in Shanghai:
You can use our Q1 or Q2 service to get a 1 year Multi-entries Residence Permit or 6 month L visa.
"Family members" refers to spouses, parents, sons, daughters, spouses of sons or daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandsons, granddaughters and parents-in-law.

I am a foreigner, my family member is a foreigner who is working in Shanghai:
In Shanghai, if you have a living partner which has working residence permit here, even you are not married, you still have can get a dependent residence permit under his/her visa. Please check our B1 service.
If your family member ("family members" refers to spouses, parents, sons, daughters, spouses of sons or daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandsons, granddaughters and parents-in-law.
) has working residence permit here, you can also apply a 3, 6 or 12 month dependent visa through his/her visa. Please check our S1 service and S2 service

I am working here (employed by any shanghai registered company) in Shanghai:
Apply the 1 year working permit and 1 year residence permit is the best option. Please check our Z0 service. For more details about first time 1 year working visa application, time frame, procedure, and policies, Please Check HERE!

I plan to set up a company here in Shanghai:
You can also setup your own company here in shanghai. Then we can easily help you getting the 12-24 month residence permit after your company established. For more details about Legal representative / Investor / Shareholder apply the 12-24 month residence visa, Please Check HERE!

I am doing business or short-term project here in Shanghai:
You can ask your Chinese vendor, business co-operate or project provider to arrange a invitation letter for you to get an 30-90days stay M business visa to enter China.

I am employed by oversea company and assigned to a Shanghai partner company:
Apply the 1 year working permit and 1 year residence permit is the best option. Please check our Z0 service. You don't need to have any employment contract with shanghai partner company, your oversea contract can be used. It means the shanghai company just sponsor the paperwork for your working visa, you are not employed by shanghai company, but you are employed and assigned by oversea company.

I am studying Chinese language here in Shanghai:
If you don't have any sponsor here in China to give you a working Z visa or business M visa, but you still want to stay in China for a longer period. Then pay a course for Chinese language study and get the 6 month multi-entry student X visa will be a good option, especially for the expat who really want to learn Chinese culture and language. To get a student X visa, you need to do a medical checkup here in China and register with a official Chinese language course. As far as we know, most of private mandarin training center can not arrange the student visa for you, but we have found 1 for you. Please check our X0 service

I am a tourist here in Shanghai:
If you are not suitable for any kind of above situation, then this option is always available for you. You can apply a 1 month travel L visa outside for example Hongkong to enter China, after come to shanghai, you can try to extend those L visa once for 1 more month (No guarantee, depend on your lucky), so total 2 month continuous stay. Just notice you have to register yourself in 24hrs each time after you re-enter China.

Q12. For US citizen, how long visa you can get in Hongkong?
A: For US nationality, you can get maximum 10 years Multi-entries L or M visa (60 days stay limit of each entry) in HK visa office.

Q13. If I married with a Chinese, Which kind of visa can I get?
A: If you married with a Chinese, then you can get a 1 year Multi-entries family L visa, more details, you can check our Q1 or Q2 service.

Q14. We get a new born baby here in shanghai, what should we do to get a visa for baby?
A: First you need to apply a passport for your baby, then if parents has the working residence permit, then the baby can apply the residence permit directly (Please check our S1 service). If not, then the baby only can get a 1 month exit visa (Please check our B2 service). But the most important things you need to know is you need to apply the visa for baby within 2 month. If you apply the visa after 2 month, it might cause 1000RMB for the penalty.

Q15. My partner(not married) live in shanghai with a working residence permit, can I get a family visa?
A: Yes, If you have a baby together. (our B1 service)

Q16. If I lost my passport in Shanghai, What should I do?
A: Step1: Go to shanghai immigration office to report lost, you will get a lost report from them.
Step2: Go to your Consulate in shanghai to apply a new passport.
Step3: Go to shanghai immigration office again to replace a visa on your passport.

Notice: If you have a residence permit (Working, study or family member), then immigration will replace your residence permit. But if you have a L or M visa before, then they will only give you a 1 month exit visa to let you leave the country and apply a new visa outside.

Q17. Can a Hepatitis B carrier get the working permit and residence visa here in China?
A: Yes, Hepatitis B carrier is not a problem to get the working permit and residence visa in China.

Q18. What's the regulation about China visa transit free??
A: 1. No visa is required for foreigners who hold air tickets to the final destination and have booked seats on international airlines flying directly through China, and will stay in a transit city for less than 24 hours and do not leave the airport.

2. From the 1st January 2013, passport holders of following 45 countries and regions will be granted a visa-free stay of up to 72 hours while in transit via Beijing Capital Airport (PEK) and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) & Hongqiao International Airport (SHA):

Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States.

[ Important Notice ] Our services including translation, China visa policy consulting, China immigration plan arrangement, document preparation & submission, accompany & delivery service etc which are all legalized. If you would like, you can also check all the government service from Entry Exit Bureau. if you choose to handle it directly with the government office by yourself, you only need to pay the government fee. And we are a private consulting company legally registered in China since 2001, we are not the government branch, not affiliated with the government. But because of our abundant experience, with our help, your China visa application success probability is much higher. We charge extra service/consulting fee besides government fee to keep our company running and our website updating.