As we all know, a valid Chinese visa is needed if a foreign citizen want to visit China. In order to apply for a Chinese visa successfully and use the Chinese visa correctly, it is necessary for foreigners to understand the basic information on a Chinese visa and arrange the visa application in advance, knowing what would be the best time to apply for a Chinese visa.
About a Chinese visa, you need to know this!
What is in a Chinese visa?
Registration items of a Chinese visa
Type of visa, name of the holder, sex, date of birth, entries, period of validity for entry, duration of each stay, date of issue, place of issue, passport number or numbers of other international travel certificates.
source: www.gov.cn
(1)The validity period of a visa refers to the valid time length of the visa itself. A visa is valid for the visa holder to enter the Chinese border from the date the visa is issued to the expiry date (as of Beijing Time). If a visa has unused entries, the holder can still use it before the expiry date (inclusive).
(2)The term “Entries” of a visa refers to the number of times the visa holder is permitted to enter the Chinese border within the validity period of the visa. A visa becomes invalid if all the entries are used up or if the visa has expired even though there are entries unused.
Reminder: In this case, foreigners will have to submit a new visa application if they wish to visit China. Holders of an invalid visa will be refused entry to China at the border.
(3)The “Duration of Each Stay” refers to the maximum number of days a visa holder is permitted to stay in China after each entry.
Attention
Foreign citizens who stay in China longer than permitted by the visa without applying for an extension of stay will be considered as violating the law, and as a result they will face prosecution of fines or other penalties. Therefore, the visa holder must apply for an extension of stay at local public security authorities above county level when it is foreseeable that an overstay would happen. Chinese embassies and consulates in foreign countries do not accept applications for visa extension.
(4)The relationship between the duration of stay and the period of validity of a visa
The holder of a visa is eligible to enter China at any time prior to the expiry of its period of validity (allowed to enter China even before the 24:00 hour of the last date of its period of validity) provided that the granted entries on the visa have not been used up. Duration of stay is no longer useful once the period of validity expires.
HACOS suggests that foreigners should pay attention to the important information on their Chinese visas, including the validity period, the duration of each stay and entries. Only with a valid Chinese visa can they enter China legally and stay in China lawfully.
As the visa application will go through a process and it takes time to finally get a Chinese visa, foreigners are supposed to apply for the visa in advance if they plan to come to China.
How long in advance should you apply for a visa?
It is advisable that foreigners apply for a visa one month in advance of the intended date of entry into China, and applying for a visa too early is not recommended.
Application made too early may cause the expiry of the visa, which means that the visa might expire before the intended departure date for China if foreigners apply too early.
However, if foreigners apply too late, they might not be able to obtain a visa in time for the scheduled departure, for there might not be enough time for the application to be processed.
Therefore, choosing a suitable time to apply for a Chinese visa is of great significance, so that foreigners are able to use a valid Chinese visa to enter China.
For instance, if a foreigner plans to enter China on April 1, the best time for he or she to submit the visa application is the early of March.
source: www.gov.cn
HACOS suggests that foreigners who plan to come to China should arrange a right time to apply for their Chinese visas and have a basic understanding of the information on a Chinese visa, making sure that their Chinese visas are valid when entering China and staying in China.
HACOS has rich experience in helping foreigners apply for Chinese visas successfully. If you have any questions about Chinese visa, welcome to consult us!
Other articles about Chinese visa that have influence on you.
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