How to Get a China Tourist Visa (L Visa): Documents, Cost and Time

The short version

First check whether you need a visa at all. Many travelers no longer do. Citizens of 50 countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and most of the EU, can visit China for up to 30 days without one. See which countries can visit China visa-free.

If you do need a visa, apply for a tourist visa, called the L visa:

1. Fill in the form online on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ China Online Visa Application (COVA) system, and upload your passport page and photo.
2. Wait for the online pre-check. When the status shows “Passport to be submitted”, print the confirmation page with its barcode.
3. Hand in your passport at the Chinese embassy, consulate or Chinese Visa Application Service Center for the area where you live.
4. Pay and collect. Regular processing takes about four working days.

Apply about one month before you travel, and not more than three months before.

This guide uses the rules published by the Chinese embassy in the United States and the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in New Delhi, checked on 29 September 2026. Every embassy publishes its own document list and fees, so always read the page for the country where you apply.

Do you need a Chinese visa?

Use this quick check before you start an application.

If a visa-free option fits, you save the fee and the paperwork. You still fill in the free China arrival card.

Which visa type is right for a holiday?

• L visa (tourism): for sightseeing and holidays. This is the visa this guide covers.
• Q2 visa: for visiting relatives who are Chinese citizens or foreigners with permanent residence in China, for up to 180 days.
• S2 visa: for visiting family members who are foreigners working or studying in China.
• G visa: for transit, if you cannot use visa-free transit.
• M or F visa: for business or exchange visits.

Choose the visa that matches what you will actually do. Consular officers decide the final type, and working or studying on a tourist visa is not allowed.

Step 1: fill in the online form (COVA)

Most Chinese embassies now start every application online, on the China Online Visa Application (COVA) system run by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Chinese embassy in the United States moved to the new COVA system on 30 September 2025.

In the form you:

• Choose the embassy, consulate or visa center that covers where you live.
• Enter your personal details, passport, travel plans, work or study details, family details and travel history.
• Upload your passport photo page, a digital photo and any supporting documents.
• Declare that the information is true, and submit it for a preliminary online review.

Tips for the form

• Copy your name exactly as it is in your passport, including middle names.
• Answer the travel history questions honestly. Consulates can ask for more information, and a wrong answer causes more trouble than a trip they ask about.
• Keep your trip plans realistic. Enter the dates and cities you actually plan, even if they may change a little.
• Save the application number. You need it to check the status later.

When the online check is done, the status changes to “Passport to be submitted”. Print the application page with the barcode and take it with you.

Step 2: prepare your documents

Documents almost every applicant needs

• Your passport, valid for more than six months, with at least two blank visa pages.
• The printed COVA page with the barcode.
• A recent photo that meets the rules below.
• Your previous Chinese visa or old passport, if the visa is still valid or you had one before.
• Proof that you live in the country where you apply if you are not a citizen of it, for example a residence permit or long-term visa.

Travel documents: country rules differ

In the United States, the rules became simpler on 1 January 2024. L visa applicants no longer need round-trip flight bookings, hotel reservations, an itinerary or an invitation letter. US applicants upload proof of address, such as a driver’s license, utility bill or bank statement.

Elsewhere, some embassies and visa centers still ask for flight and hotel bookings or an invitation letter. Read the document list for your country before you book an appointment or visit.

Photo rules

These rules come from the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in New Delhi. They match what most Chinese embassies ask for:

• Color photo, 48 mm high by 33 mm wide
• Taken within the last six months, looking like you do now
• White or near-white background
• No glasses, hats or headscarves. If you wear a head covering for religious reasons, your whole face must be visible.
• Neutral expression, both eyes open, facing the camera

If the COVA system rejects your digital photo three times, bring a printed photo that meets these rules to the visa center.

If you were born in China or used to be a Chinese citizen

China does not allow dual nationality. If this is your first Chinese visa after you became a citizen of another country, you usually need to upload your old Chinese passport and your naturalization certificate. Children of Chinese origin born abroad may have separate rules. Check with the embassy before you plan the trip.

Step 3: hand in your passport

Take your passport and documents to the office that covers where you live:

• In many countries this is a Chinese Visa Application Service Center, listed on visaforchina.cn.
• In the United States, you go to the visa office of the Chinese embassy or a consulate-general. The embassy in Washington, DC, covers Washington, DC, and several southern and eastern states. Consulates-general in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles cover the rest.

Both the US embassy and the New Delhi visa center accept walk-in applications. You do not need an appointment there. Other centers may still use appointments.

Fingerprints. The Chinese embassy in India says ordinary passport holders applying for a short-term, one- or two-entry visa are temporarily exempt from fingerprinting. People under 14 or over 70 are always exempt. Ask your visa center what applies to you.

Someone else, such as a family member or a travel agency, can often hand in the application for you. Check whether your embassy allows this.

Step 4: pay and collect your visa

Processing times

Times start on the day you hand in your passport. They are averages, and some applications take longer. Do not book flights you cannot change until the visa is in your passport.

Fees

The US fees are reduced fees that run until 31 December 2026. The New Delhi center changes its fees every quarter with the exchange rate.

If your visa is refused, the embassy does not keep the visa fee or express fee. Service fees charged by a visa center or agency are handled separately and are usually not refunded.

Collecting and checking the visa

In the US, check the online status. When it shows “Passport to be collected”, go back to the visa office with the pick-up form. The embassy accepts Visa or Mastercard, money orders and cashier’s checks.

Check every detail on the visa sticker before you leave the counter, especially:

• Enter before: the last date you can use the visa to enter China
• Entries: how many times you can enter (1, 2 or multiple)
• Duration of each stay: the maximum number of days per visit
• Your name and passport number

Tell the staff at once if something is wrong. It is much easier to fix at the counter than at the airport.

How long can you stay on a tourist visa?

Each visa shows its own limits. A single-entry L visa lets you in once, and multiple-entry visas let you come and go. US citizens are often given multiple-entry visas valid for up to ten years, but the embassy decides both the validity and the length of each stay.

If you need more time once you are in China, you can apply to the exit-entry office of the local public security bureau. According to China’s official guide for foreigners, you must apply at least seven days before your permitted stay runs out. An extension is not guaranteed.

Common mistakes that get applications returned

• Photo problems. Old photos, glasses, shadows or a colored background are the most common reason.
• Applying in the wrong place. You must apply where you live. In the US, the embassy and each consulate only accept residents of their own states.
• Too little passport validity. Six months is the usual minimum, and you need two blank pages.
• Names or dates that do not match between the form, your passport and your bookings.
• Leaving out old visas or passports, or skipping questions about previous nationality.
• Applying too early or too late. More than three months ahead can be too early. A week before a fixed flight leaves no room for problems.

After you get your visa

• Fill in the arrival card online before you fly. It is free. See how to fill in the China arrival card.
• Check what you can bring through customs, especially medicines and cash. See China customs rules.
• Set up payments and data before you land. See First time in China.
• At immigration, foreigners aged 14 to 70 usually give fingerprints, and the officer may ask about your plans. Have your first hotel address ready.

Need help planning the trip itself?

A visa is only the first step. Our free trip planning service can help you plan a route that fits your visa or visa-free option, book trains and hotels, and prepare for your first days in China.