Chinese Embassy to Resume Issuing Student Visa to Indians From Aug 24

Finally, the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi will allow Indian students to apply for visas beginning August 24, 2022, provided they have a “Certificate of Returning to Campus” issued by their university in China.

The announcement comes as a huge relief to Indian students who have been stranded in India for more than two years due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

According to an official update issued by the Chinese Embassy, the “Application Procedures and Material Requirements of China Visa” have been updated and will be implemented on August 24, 2022.

“Warmest congrats to Indian students! Your patience proves worthwhile. I can really share your excitement & happiness. Welcome back to China!” Ji Rong, Counsellor at the Department of Asian Affairs in the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, said on Twitter.

Warmest congrats to #Indian #students! Your patience proves worthwhile. I can really share your excitement & happiness. Welcome back to #China!🌹https://t.co/DKVdjVmQWP pic.twitter.com/ZHIQwIJaU1

— Ji Rong嵇蓉 (@JiRongMFA) August 22, 2022

Application Procedures and Material Requirements of China Visa

1. Online Application and Appointment

Please visit the website of the Chinese Visa Application Service Center (visaforchina.org) and fill in your detailed and true information on the online application form and the confirmation page. Then make an appointment with your application form number following the system instructions.

2. Fingerprint Collection

Submit all the required documents in person at the Chinese Visa Center in New Delhi at your appointment time and retain ten fingerprints.

 The following applicants can be exempt from fingerprint collection:

• Applicants under the age of 14 or over 70.
• Applicants who already had their fingerprints collected within the past five years at the Chinese Embassy in India or the Chinese Visa Center in New Delhi with the same passport.
• Applicants with all fingers mutilated or uncollectible.

3. Application Materials

General application materials for Visa:

• Visa Application Form of the People’s Republic of China.
• Confirmation Page of Online Visa Application.
• Original passport valid for at least 6 months, with 2 or more blank visa pages, and the photocopy of relevant pages of the passport.
• Expired passports within 5 years and the photocopy of relevant pages of the passports.
• Two recently-taken colour passport photos (full face, front view and bare head. Size: 48mm×33mm).
• Certificate of COVID-19 vaccination with verifiable QR code.
• Indian long-term residence visa or work permits (for citizens of a third country)
• Other necessary materials are required by the Chinese Embassy in India and the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in New Delhi.

For the application of visas for emergency or humanitarian reasons, such as attending funerals or visiting critically ill relatives, the applicants should submit the identity documents of the deceased or ill relative (e.g. foreigner’s passport, etc.), a death certificate or a certificate of diagnosis, critical illness notice issued by a hospital, proof of kinship, etc.

The applicants include spouses, parents, parents-in-law, children, spouses of children, brothers and sisters, grandparents and grandchildren.

China X1 Visa For Students

The X1 Visa is issued to students, including newly enrolled students and those who return to China to continue their studies, and who intend to travel to China to pursue long-term study for higher academic education.

X1 Visa Requirements

The following documents are necessary for students to apply for an X1 visa:

• Covering letter with details as follows: a place to visit, name, address, contact number, and email address of the university or entity of admission, etc.
• For newly-enrolled students:
  • Original ‘Visa Application for Study in China (Form JW201 or Form JW202);
  • Original Admission Letter issued by a university in China;
• For students who return to China to resume their studies: the ‘Certificate of Returning to Campus’ is issued by the university in China.

New Visa Applications

It is worth noting that, as of June 13, the Chinese Embassy has lifted the ban that was imposed in November 2020.

However, visa applications are only accepted for those wishing to travel to China for the purpose of resuming work and production in all fields. The visa applications for tourism and other private purposes are still not accepted.