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This article focuses on obtaining a Chinese visa in Australia, though the process is the same in the USA, Canada, the UK or in EU countries.
Until recently, the Chinese visa proceeding in Australia was carried out at the consulates of the Chinese Embassy in Australia.
However, due to the increase in the demand for visas, the Chinese Consulate delegated these functions to a private agency, the Chinese Visa Application Service Center (CVASC).
Costs for a Chinese Tourist Visa in Australia
| Types | Regular | Express | Rush | Post |
| 3-month Single Entry | 109.5 | 167 | 209 | 131.5 |
| 6-month Double Entry | 139.5 | 197 | 239 | 161.5 |
| 6-month Multi-Entry | 169.5 | 227 | 269 | 191.5 |
| 12-month Multi-Entry | 229.5 | 287 | 329 | 251.5 |
In this article, we will explain step by step how to apply for the tourist visa to China through the Chinese Visa Application Service Center.
China visa requirements for Australian passport holders
- China Visa Application Form: You can download a copy of the form here.
- Australian Passport: The passport must have 1-year of validity, measured from the date at which you are scheduled to land in China. It also needs to have at least two (2) blank pages in the passport – one for the visa and one for the customs stamps. Your passport must not present any type of deterioration such as being torn on the cover, be stained or having broken pages. In these cases, it is better to renew the passport before applying for the visa since in the consulate they are usually very strict and they won’t approve the visa if the passport is damaged. To apply for the visa you must submit (or send by courier) your original passport, which will remain in the hands of the Consulate for a few days. This is because the visa will be attached to one of the pages of your passport.
- In addition to the original passport, you must also send a photocopy of the passport page indicating your personal information, photo, and signature.
- Proper Headshot Photo: This photo must follow the general requirements of all passport visa photos: no head covering, no smile, nothing covering the eyes (regular glasses allowed, not sunglasses). The background should be pure white. Check the dimensions and requirements here.
In case you have obtained Chinese visas before and want to apply for a Chinese visa with a renewed foreign passport that does not contain any Chinese visa, you should present the photocopy of the previous passport’s data page and the photo page if it is separate, as well as the previous Chinese visa page (if your name on the current passport differs from that on the previous one, you must provide an official document of the name change).
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Documents showing the itinerary including air ticket booking record (round trip) and proof of a hotel reservation, etc. or an invitation letter issued by a relevant entity or individual in China (not obligatory). The good news is that you don’t need to purchase flights and pay for a hotel, you can simply book them, use for visa application and cancel online.
FAQ: Chinese Tourist Visa for Australian citizens explained
Why get a 1-year multi-entry Chinese visa?
The way this particular policy for China visas has been named is actually a bit deceptive.
This doesn’t mean that you can stay in China for 1 year, it just means that your visa is valid for 1 year.
Because this is a multiple-entry visa, you will need to leave mainland China every 60-90 days (could be just for 1-2 days to a neighboring country, Hong Kong or Macau, etc.) and come back again to stay for another 60-90 days if necessary.
A 1-year visa could save you quite a bit of money if you plan on visiting China more than once over the next decade.
If you’ll be traveling to China frequently for business, this 1-year travel visa will keep you from having to apply for a new visa every single time you make a trip.
And finally, it will save you money.
That 229.5 AUD fee will only have to be paid once and then you’re good for 1 year.
What if my passport expires in less than 10 years?
You’re fine. They’ve already thought about this and there are two solutions that work fine.
If your passport is only recently expired, all you have to do is bring your expired passport that has the visa and show it along with your new passport.
As long as all the information is the same on both passports they will allow it.
In other words, if you get married and your name changes, this won’t work for you.
After a little while, though, you will have to get the visa transferred from your old passport to your new one.
This will involve sending your passports to a Chinese consulate through a visa agency or in person.
How long can I stay in China per entry?
As with most Chinese visas, your stay limit can be anywhere between 30-90 days.
Most of the time you can request and be granted a 60-day stay per entry (for tourists this is the max) but if you need something longer you can make a special request, which is sometimes granted for the case of business or family visit visas.
More than likely they will make you give a reason for this special request and it’s entirely up to the consulate to determine whether or not they give you an extended stay visa.
How long does it take to get a visa?
It generally takes around 4-6 business days to process an application if you have the proper documents.
A passport that has no less than 1-year validity with blank pages is required as well as a passport-sized colored photo attached to the completed application.
For an extra charge, you can expedite delivery and receive your visa in 1 to 3 days (in some cases even 24 hours!), but this does not include the time it takes for your passport to be mailed to the consulate and can be very expensive.
Is a 1-year Chinese visa more expensive?
It costs more than 3 or 6 months visa, but you save more paying once:
| Types | Regular | Express | Rush | Post |
| 3-month Single Entry | 109.5 | 167 | 209 | 131.5 |
| 6-month Double Entry | 139.5 | 197 | 239 | 161.5 |
| 6-month Multi-Entry | 169.5 | 227 | 269 | 191.5 |
| 12-month Multi-Entry | 229.5 | 287 | 329 | 251.5 |
When do I apply for a visa?
It is important to get your visa early, but not too early because it is only valid for 60/90 days for single/double-entry visas from the issue date.
It is usually recommended that you apply for the visa one or two months before the intended travel.
Once I get the visa, what requirements are there?
Some people ask whether they still have to submit documents (i.e. proof of round trip tickets, hotel reservations, etc.) every time they visit China on a 10-year China visa.
The answer is a simple no.
The only time you need to provide those documents is when you’re first applying for the visa.
Once you actually get the visa, you have the right to enter China at any time for the duration of the visa, no questions asked.
Just don’t overstay your limit.
Do I need an invitation letter for a 1-year China tourist visa?
Thankfully, no.
While an invitation letter does make the process easier, it’s not necessary.
Instead of a letter of invitation, you can submit an itinerary that details all your flights and hotels.
This also means you must include confirmations for all these flights and hotels.
Do I need to have any special vaccinations to apply for a 1-year China tourist visa?
No. There is no point in the China visa process when the embassy or customs will ask for proof of immunizations or check your health.
A step-by-step process of applying for a 1-year Chinese tourist visa from Australia
Step 1. Have a passport
In order to obtain a Chinese visa, the first thing you will need is a passport that meets the following conditions:
- Must have a minimum validity of 6 months from the day you submit the visa application. For example, if you apply for a visa on July 1st, 2020, your passport must have a validity date beyond January 1st, 2021.
- Your passport must have at least 2 blank pages, in order to place the visa there.
- Your passport must not present any type of deterioration such as being torn on the cover, be stained or having broken pages. In these cases, it is better to renew the passport before applying for the visa, since in the consulate they are usually very strict and they won’t approve the visa if the passport is damaged.
Other things to keep in mind about the passport are:
- To apply for the visa you must submit (or send by courier) your original passport, which will remain in the hands of the Consulate for a few days. This is because the visa will be attached to one of the pages of your passport.
- In addition to the original passport, you must also send a photocopy of the passport page indicating your personal information, photo, and signature.
Step 2. Buy tickets for plane, train or other means of transport
Secondly, to process the visa it is mandatory to present a copy of the round trip tickets of the means of transport that you will use to enter and leave China, whether it is by plane, train or bus.
- If you travel to China by plane, the best prices are usually found around three months before reserving your trip. You can find the cheapest flights on Kiwi.com. Once you have purchased the ticket, you must print it:
- If you enter or depart by train from China, you must also submit a copy of the train tickets.
- However, it is not necessary to present the tickets for the trips that you are going to make in the countryside (for example, if you plan to travel by train from Beijing to Shanghai, it is not necessary to present the train ticket).
Some advice:
- Check your airline’s refund policy – if you’re not confident about your visa application it may be wise to pay a little extra for a refundable ticket.
- Additionally, some insurers might offer a ‘cancel for visa denied’ benefit but you’ll have to pay more for this type of cover.
Step 3. Make hotel reservations
The Chinese authorities want to know where you will be at each moment and what will be your itinerary.
For this reason, in addition to airline or train tickets, they will also request documentation that justifies the itinerary you are going to make (and that, as we show you later, you must indicate in the application form).
If you are traveling on your own and you will stay in hotels…
The most common case is when you are traveling independently and you will stay in hotels. In this case, all hotel reservations must be presented and must cover at least 2 weeks duration of the trip.
The most practical thing is to make all hotel reservations through Booking.com platform, in those accommodations that allow free cancellation.
This way, once you have obtained the visa, you can change your hotel reservations for others; in the event that your travel plans change or you find another hotel that best suits your needs.
In the following screenshot, you can see an example of a confirmed Booking reservation with free cancellation.
It is enough that the name of the person making the reservation appears (this name, if necessary, can also be modified from Booking’s personal area):
If you are visiting Chinese friends or resident foreigners in China …
In this case, you must ask your friend to write you an invitation letter with your information, information about the visit (arrival and departure days, places to visit, relationship between the applicant and the person who invites), as well as their personal information (name, phone, address in China and signature).
Step 4. Fill out the application form
Once you have the previous documentation (passport, tickets and hotel reservations), you can fill out the application form.
You can do it both electronically and in writing, but the best thing is to do it electronically since if you make a mistake you can retrieve the form and correct it.
In regards to the electronic form you should consider that:
- After completing it electronically, you must print it.
- Each person with a passport must fill out a different form. If you have minor children, you must fill out the form and sign it for them (both the father and the mother).
- During the completion, it is important to write down your application number, in order to recover the form, in case you have not completed it at all or in the case that you have made a mistake in some section and have to correct it.
- The form is saved electronically for 30 days.
- If after printing it, you have to correct a section, and you can’t recover the previous form, you will have to fill in a new form and reprint it (there is no problem in filling out a new form, even if you had filled another one before).
Let’s see how to fill out the form:
1. Access the CVASC website. You will see that you can choose between the centers of Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Brisbane. You must choose the center that is in your consular district.
| Embassy/Consulate Generals | Consular Regions | China Visa Application Service Center |
| Chinese Embassy in Australia | ACT, NT | Website |
| Consulate General in Sydney | NSW | Website |
| Consulate General in Melbourne | VIC, TAS | Website |
| Consulate General in Perth | WA | Website |
| Consulate General in Brisbane | QLD | Website |
| Consulate General in Adelaide | SA | No, Mail to Canberra Centre |
2. In this example, we will access the Sydney CVASC center. Then you must click on “Quick Access” and then on “Application form”, and accept the general terms and conditions of service:
3. You must select the city where the CVASC is located (for example, Sydney), enter the verification code and select option A (fill in a new form):
Personal information (part 1):
- The form number will appear first: write it down if you want to recover it later.
- On the field “Middle name”, you can leave it empty if not applicable.
- In the answers to some of the questions, you can indicate them as “Not applicable” (for example, if you have not had a previous nationality).
- In section 1.11 you must indicate the number of your passport (it comes on the first page).
5. Personal information (part 2):
- It is very important to correctly specify your mobile number and your email, as if there is a problem in your application or if a document is missing, they will contact you.
- You must specify the details of your passport, such as date of issue, expiration date, and place of issue.
- Current job and education data.
- Specify the main members of your family: enough to put the names of parents, spouse, and children.
- The information of a person to be contacted, in case of an emergency.
6. Information about your trip to China (part 1):
- Specify the reason for your trip. In this example below, we indicated “Tourism”.
- The number of entries: For example: as during the trip to China I don’t plan to leave the country and then re-enter, I indicated “One entry”.
- Expected date of the first entry into China: For example: since my plane arrives in Beijing on August 1, I indicated this date.
- A longer stay in China: For example: since I have planned my trip for 10 days (from August 1 to August 10, 2018), I specified 10 days, but you can indicate up to 30 days since the maximum duration of each stay is 30 days (as I explained earlier).
- Itinerary in China: take the hotel reservations you made and indicate the city, the day you will arrive at each hotel and your address (the easiest way is to enter Booking and copy and paste the addresses of the hotels in the form).
7. Information about your trip to China (part 2):
- If the travel expenses are covered by you, select “Myself”. If you are filling in the form for your children, select “Parents or legal guardians”.
- Information on the inviting party in China: in case you are invited by a friend or relative resident in China.
- Specify if you have previously obtained another Chinese visa and its information.
- Point out other countries that you have visited during the last 12 months. Don’t forget to introduce, at least, those that are reflected in your passport.
8. Other information: you must answer some simple questions and, if there are companions who use the same passport as the applicant, you must also give their information:
9. Statement and information of the representative: at the end of the form they will remind you that you must print the form, date it and sign it.
They also give you the option to include the representative’s information.
If you fill in the form of your spouse or relatives, you don’t need to fill in the details of the representative, you just have to print the form and give it to your family member to sign it.
10. You have already reached the end of the form: you can still preview it and change it again by clicking on the corresponding buttons.
If everything is correct, you can click on “Confirm & Print” and another window will open in which you can print the form by clicking on the corresponding button:
You can check how the form I completed would look through this link: Completed form of Chinese visa application (PDF).
11. Once the form is printed, there are still three things to do: paste a photo, sign it and date it.
- Photography. In the consulate, they are quite strict with the photos. It is always preferable to do it without glasses and with a white background. The size must be 48 × 33 millimeters. In this screenshot, you have the official consulate instructions about the requirements that the photo must fulfill:
IMPORTANT: the photo must be pasted to the form, not stapled.
- Signature and date on the form. Finally, you must sign the form and put the date of the day you complete it, or the day you are going to submit the documentation.
Step 5. Submit the documentation (and make the payment)
Now that you have all the documentation ready (form completed with photo and signature, round-trip tickets, hotel reservations, terms and conditions document, original passport and a photocopy of the passport page indicating your personal information and photo), it is time to submit all the documents at the window.
The document submission process can be done in person or by courier.
Step 6. Face-to-face proceeding
If you are going to complete the proceeding in person, the first thing I recommend doing is to make an appointment to avoid queues, by going to the CVASC main page, clicking on “Quick Access” and then clicking on “Appointment”. You must indicate your personal information and the number of requests that you will submit (with a maximum of 5 per appointment). You can also go to the center without an appointment, though you risk that the lines can be big.
On the day of your appointment, you can go with all the documents to the CVASC center of your consular district. The schedule is Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The data of the CVASC centers are the following:
| CVAS | Address | Consular Districts | Contact CVAS |
| CVAS in Canberra | Suite 201, Level 2, Canberra House, 40 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra, ACT 2600 | 1.Embassy: ACT and NT2.Consulate General in Adelaide: SA |
|
| CVAS in Sydney | Level 5, 299 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia | Consulate General in Sydney: NSW |
|
| CVAS in Melbourne | Ground Floor, 570 ST., Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia | Consulate General in Melbourne: VIC and TAS |
|
| CVAS in Perth | Ground Floor, 256 Adelaide Terrace, Perth, WA 6000 | Consulate General in Perth: WA |
|
| CVAS in Brisbane | Part Level 4, 140 Ann Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia | Consulate General in Brisbane: QLD |
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If you can’t go personally, another person may go for you to submit the application with all the documents and also to collect the passport with the visa (authorization is not necessary). IMPORTANT: the application form must be previously signed by the interested party (be careful to not forget this).
You will submit the documentation at the window, where they will review it and give you a receipt with the date in which you will have to go to collect the passport with the visa. Another person can go to your place with this receipt.
The Chinese Visa Center accepts cash, debit and credit cards (Visa and MasterCard only) and company cheques. The standard procedure costs 109.50 AUD (if you use the express or urgent proceeding, it is more expensive).
You can check the detailed rates here:
Step 6.2. Proceeding by courier
In the CVASC you have a check list if you are going to make the document submission by courier, that you must fill out and sign.
As you can see in this check list (red arrows), when the shipment is made by courier you have to provide new documentation:
- Firstly, you must fill out the payment authorization form, with the details of your card, in which you will be charged the total cost. Personally I think it is a very unsafe system, given that if this letter gets lost, other people could know your personal information and make fraudulent purchases.
- Second, you must attach an envelope already paid for the return of the passports with the visa to your address in the shipment (otherwise the CVASC will include the envelope and charge you for it).
Once you have all the documentation indicated in the check list, you enter it in an envelope and send it. In the same checklist of each CVASC center, you will have the shipping address.
You can apply for several visas in a single shipment. Only Express POST and Registered POST from the Australian POST is accepted.
Step 7. Check the passport with the visa
Once you receive the passport with the visa, you must check that all the information is correct: a period of validity, number of entries, length of stay and personal information.
If you find an error or omission, let CVASC know so that they will correct it. If the error is attributable to you, additional fees will apply, otherwise, they will correct it immediately without additional cost.
3. POST-VISA PROCEEDINGS: immigration card and registration
When you arrive in China, you still have to do a couple of proceedings: the immigration card of arrival in China and the registration.
When exiting the country, you must deliver the departure card.
3.1. The immigration card of arrival in China (and departure from China)
Upon arrival in China, you must complete the ‘Arrival Card’, which will be kept by the immigration officer.
You will keep the ‘Departure Card’, which you will have to deliver when you leave the country.
Here is an example of this immigration card (front and back):
It is very simple to fill. On the arrival card you should indicate:
- Family name
- Given names
- Nationality
- Passport No
- Intended Address in China
- Male / Female
- Date of birth
- Visa No
- Place of Visa Issuance
- Flight No/Ship’s name/Train No
- Purpose of visit (only one): for tourism “Sightseeing / in leisure”
- Signature
The departure card is equally simple to fill:
- Family name
- Given names
- Passport No
- Date of birth
- Male / Female
- Flight No/Ship’s name/Train No
- Signature
If you lose this card, nothing will happen, as you can get a new card at the airport to fill out, since it doesn’t come with any special stamps or numbers.
3.2. Foreigner Registration in China
On the back of the immigration card, you will see an important announcement; in section 1 it warns that foreigners who won’t stay in hotels, hostels or pensions, must register their arrival (by themselves or the host of the house) within 24 hours (72 hours in rural areas) at the nearest Police Station, where they will give you a form that you must fill out and they will ask for your passport and copies of the page where your personal information comes, as well as from the visa and the entry stamp.
If you stay in hotels there is no problem, since when you check-in, the hotel will take care of the registration.
Are there any other questions about China visas for Australia passport holders that are not answered here?
Leave a comment with your question!
