The Visa Office of the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco will reopen as of February 3, 2023. At current stage, only visa applications will be processed at the Office. Applications for legalization or authentication will continue to be processed by email while passport, travel document applications will continue to be conducted by APP.
The visa application procedures and requirements are as follows:
1. At the current stage, multi-year multiple-entry visas issued before March 26, 2020 are still suspended of use. If such visa holders need to go to China at this stage, they can apply for a new visa according to the requirements of this notice. Visa applications for tourism and medical treatment in China are temporarily not accepted.
2. Who do not need to apply for a new visa:
a) Those applicable to various mutual visa exemption agreements
b) Those holding valid Permanent Residence Certificates in China
c) Those holding various types of valid Residence Permits
d) Those applicable to the 24-hour visa-free transit arrangement
e) Those holding valid APEC business travel cards (Please note: The United States and Canada are transitional members of the APEC Travel Card Program. APEC business travel cards issued by the United States and Canada do not have visa function, and visas are required for those holders to go to China.)
*Please contact the immigration inspection agencies of the intended destination for the application of the 72 and 144-hour Transit Visa Exemption Program.
3.The consular jurisdiction of the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco includes North California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Please confirm that the applicant lives in the above-mentioned states before submitting the visa application.
4. Visa application procedure:
4.1 Please read the prompts of the COVA system carefully and fill in the visa application form online (https://cova.mfa.gov.cn) item by item to ensure that the information is true, accurate and complete. And print out the confirmation page and form, and sign the confirmation page and item 9 of the form. The application form cannot be revised once submitted. If it needs to be revised, it must be filled again.
4.2 Prepare the application documents according to the purpose of going to China and the corresponding visa type:
VisaType | Applicable Situation | Required Documents
| |
Basic Documents | General Documents | ||
M | Issued to those who intend to go to China for commercial and trade activities. |
Invitation Letter issued by the trade partner in China | 1.Passport (The remaining validity must be more than 6 months with at least 1 blank visa page)
5.Proof of Residence (e.g. driver’s license, utility bill, bank bill)
6.Where You Stay Form (Please see Annex, handwritten signature required)
7.If the applicant is a foreigner in the US, he/she needs to provide a photocopy of green card, visa, I20, or I94 to prove their legal residence in the US.
8. If the applicant was of Chinese nationality, this application is the first Chinese visa application after naturalization in a foreign country, please provide a photocopy of the personal information page of the Chinese passport. In addition, the last physical Chinese passport is needed for the visa application.
9.If the applicant's name has been changed, and it is the first time to apply for a Chinese visa after the name change, a photocopy of the name change document is required.
10. For the visa application by a minor of Chinese origin born in the US, please follow the guidance.
|
F | Issued to those who intend to go to China for exchanges, visits, study tours and other activities. | Invitation Letter issued by a relevant entity or individual in China | |
Z | Issued to those who intend to work in China | Valid “Notification Letter of Foreigner's Work Permit”or the original “Foreigner's Work Permit” | |
X1 | Issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of more than 180 days. | 1.Visa Application for Study in China (original JW201 / JW202 Form) 2. The original Admission Letter issued by a school or other entities in China. | |
X2 | Issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of no more than 180 days. | The original Admission Notice issued by a school or other entities in China. | |
S1 | Issued to those who intend to go to China to visit the foreigners working or studying in China to whom they are spouses, parents, sons or daughters under the age of 18 or parents-in-law, or to those who intend to go to China for other private affairs. The intended duration of stay in China exceeds 180 days. | 1. Invitation Letter 2. Photocopy of the personal information page of the inviting individual's passport and Residence Permit ( or photocopy of Z visa / X1 visa application documents) 3. The original proof of kinship between the applicant and the inviting individual (e.g. Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificate etc. ) *In case of private affairs, relevant supporting documents shall be provided upon request. | |
S2 | Issued to those who intend to visit their family members who are foreigners working or studying in China, or to those who intend to go to China for other private affairs. The intended duration of stay in China is no more than 180 days. "family members" refers to spouses, parents, sons, daughters, spouses of sons or daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandsons, granddaughters and parents-in-law. | 1. Invitation Letter 2. Photocopy of the personal information page of the inviting individual's passport and Stay or Residence Permit or visa 3. The proof of kinship between the applicant and the inviting individual (e.g. Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificate etc. ) *In case of private affairs, relevant supporting documents shall be provided upon request. | |
Q1
| Issued to those who are family members of Chinese citizens or of foreigners with Chinese permanent residence and intend to go to China for family reunion, or to those who intend to go to China for foster care. The intended duration of stay in China exceeds 180 days. "Family members" refers to spouses, parents, sons, daughters, spouses of sons or daughters, brothers,sisters,grandparents,grandsons, granddaughters and parents-in-law. | 1. Invitation Letter 2. Photocopy of the inviting individual's Chinese ID card or the personal information page of the foreigner's passport and photocopy of the Chinese Permanent Residence Permit 3. The original proof of kinship between the applicant and the inviting individual (e.g. Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificate etc. ) *In case of foster care, relevant supporting documents shall be provided upon request. | |
Q2 | Issued to those who intend to visit their relatives who are Chinese citizens residing in China or foreigners with permanent residence in China. The intended duration of stay in China is no more than 180 days. | 1. Invitation letter (which proves the relationship between the inviting individual and the applicant) 2. Photocopy of the inviting individual's Chinese ID certificate or the personal information page of the foreigner's passport and photocopy of the Chinese Permanent Residence Permit | |
R | Issued to high level foreign talents | “Confirmation Letter for High Level Foreign Talents” * spouse or minor child (under 18 years of age) submits proof of kinship (e.g. Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificate) to apply for S2 visa. | |
C | Issued to crew members | 1.Guarantee Letter from transport company 2. Photocopy of crew member ID (both sides) if any | |
D | Issued to those who intend to reside in China permanently. | The original Confirmation Form for Foreigners Permanent Residence Status | |
G | Issued to those who intend to transit through China. | An onward air (train or ship) ticket with confirmed date and seat to the destination country or region. |
4.3 The applicant or agent shall submit a full set of paper COVA application forms and the required documents at the Visa Office.
4.4 For those visa applications submitted after February 3,2023, the applicants pay the visa fee in the Visa Office at the appointed time written on the Pick-up Form. If the time of the Pick-up is "to be notified", please wait for the follow-up email from the Consulate General.
4.5 At present, only money orders or cashier's cheques are accepted. Please write “Chinese Consulate” in the blank of “Pay to……” on the money order or cashier’s cheque.
5. As of January 30, 2023, sf_visa@csm.mfa.gov.cn will no longer process visa application emails. For visa applications submitted by email before January 30, if they have got the the mailing reference number (Preview Pass Number), the applicant can continue to mail the physical documents following the email guidance to complete the process. If the application has not passed the preview by email, please submit the whole set of physical documents to the Visa Office by following the above-mentioned procedure.
6. Please note:
6.1 Applying for diplomatic, official, service visa or J1/J2 visa, please send an email to sf_visa@csm.mfa.gov.cn, and the staff will give corresponding instructions.
6.2 If the applicant goes to China to mourn or visit the critically ill relatives, he / she can email to sf_visa@csm.mfa.gov.cn during January 30 to February 2, with the title of the email indicating "name of the applicant + state of residence + emergency humanitarian". In addition to the above-mentioned application documents, he/she is required to provide photocopy of notice of critical illness or death certificate, the identity certificate of the critically ill patient or deceased (such as Chinese ID card or foreign passport personal information page) and proof of kinship etc..
6.3 If the original application documents are required,please submit both the original and photocopies (or faxed or printed copies). If the original documents are not required, photocopies (or faxed or printed copies) will be accepted.
6.4 If the COVA application form is not filled in properly or the application documents do not meet the requirements, the visa application may be denied. You need to fill in the form online and submit the application to the Visa Office again.
6.5 Please wear masks when entering the Visa Office, accept security check and follow the instructions of the Office staff. After the security check, please conduct a preview of the application documents at the Information Desk, and queue up at the designated window. If you are asked to supplement the application documents at the window, please follow the list of supplementary documents. If it can be done on the same day, you may re-submit the documents at the same window without lining up again . Otherwise, you need to come and line up on another day.
6.6 It is estimated that there will be a large number of applicants to apply for visas in the coming days. Please reasonably make your travel plan and decide the time to submit the visa application at the Visa Office.
7. Address of the Visa Office:
1450 Laguna Street, San Francisco, CA94115 (Entrance at Geary Blvd)
Office Hours: 9:30-14:30 (Monday to Friday, except weekends and holidays)
8. Inquiries
Email: sf_visa@csm.mfa.gov.cn
Hotline: 415-919-6008 or 415-872-9091 (Monday to Friday 9:00-12:00, 13:00-14:30, except weekends and holidays)
Annex: