China Business & Tourist Visa Help

China has opened up a lot for visitors. Before you start an application, it's worth checking whether you need one.

• Visa-free entry. Ordinary passport holders from around 50 countries, including most of Europe, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, can currently visit China for up to 30 days without a visa, for business, tourism, visiting family or transit. This policy currently runs until 31 December 2026.
• Mutual visa-exemption agreements. Countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have their own agreements with China, with their own rules on length of stay.
• 240-hour visa-free transit. Travellers from 57 countries, including the United States, can stay up to 10 days without a visa if they're travelling on to a third country, entering and leaving through one of 65 approved ports.

These rules change often, and they don't cover work, study or journalism. Check the latest list from China's National Immigration Administration or your nearest Chinese embassy, or ask us to check for your nationality.

If your trip mixes business and sightseeing, the M visa is usually the right choice. You can't work in China on an M or L visa, and you can't work while visiting visa-free either.

Most M visa applications need an invitation letter from a company or organisation in China. It normally includes:

• Your full name, date of birth, nationality and passport number.
• The purpose of the visit, for example factory visits or a trade fair.
• Your planned arrival and departure dates, and the places you'll visit.
• Who pays for the trip.
• The inviting company's name, address, contact person and official seal or signature.

If we're arranging your visits to suppliers, we can provide this letter for you. For the Canton Fair, registered overseas buyers can also get an invitation from the fair itself.

• A passport with at least six months left and at least one blank visa page.
• The completed online application form and a recent photo.
• The invitation letter (M visa), or flight and hotel bookings (L visa).
• Sometimes proof of employment or company registration, and bank statements.
• If you apply outside your home country, proof that you live there legally.

Applications are made through the Chinese embassy, consulate, or Chinese Visa Application Service Center that covers where you live. Requirements differ a little between them, so always check the list for your centre.

1. 1We check whether you can travel visa-free, based on your passport and your trip.
2. 2If you need a visa, we tell you which type, and what your application should include.
3. 3For business trips we arrange, we prepare the invitation letter.
4. 4We look over your documents before you submit them, so nothing obvious is missing.
5. 5We help you plan the trip itself: flights, hotels, and getting between cities.

We don't issue visas. That decision is always made by the Chinese embassy or consulate. What we do is help you apply correctly the first time.

Allow time. Embassies usually take a few working days to process an application, and more in busy seasons. Apply well before trade fairs, when everyone is applying at once. If you're coming for the Canton Fair or factory visits, we can plan the visa and the trip together.