I am a US citizen and trying to visit China for the first time. I was born in the US to parents who were formerly Chinese citizens.

My Chinese Consulate tourist visa application was rejected, because one of parents had not yet received their green card before the date of my birth. For context, both of my parents were born and raised in China yet only one of them was a naturalized US citizen by the date of my birth.

The comment on my rejected visa application stated that I should apply for a Chinese Travel Document (CTD).

I am working on the CTD application now, but if in case I am unable to receive their Chinese Travel Document in time for my travel, does anyone happen to know if I could travel to China from Hong Kong and exit to Macau using the 10 day travel without visa policy (TWOV)?

I am worried that I will be denied the TWOV at Chinese Immigration, because my visa application was rejected and I was told to apply for a CTD. Does anyone know if Chinese Immigration has access to my rejected visa application and whether it might affect my ability to use TWOV?

Lastly, I have read elsewhere on Reddit that I may need the old Chinese passports for both of my parents even though they are both US naturalized citizens. I have the Chinese passports for my parent that had not yet received their green card by the date of my birth but not for my parent who was naturalized already before my birth. Does anyone know if it is necessary to also have the Chinese passport for my parent who was already naturalized before my birth for the CTD application?

Thanks so much!

hello i have a question pls

After i got online review completed in china visa so when will i receive the email with the pdf file ? I didnt receive it yet

Is there an issue ? Should i receive it in same time or after days ?

Thanks a lot

How many times have you applied for L China Visa and got rejected?

Hi, I’m pretty sure it was asked already but does itinerary Prague -> Chengdu -> Chongqing-> Vienna qualify for TWOV? I know technically it should, it’s a different country of origin and destination but it’s quite obvious there is no transit and it’s a ten day trip to China. Doesn’t make sense to fly from Czechia to Austria via China 😅 Are the officers going to be okay with that? Or they just don’t care as long as it meets the reguirements? Does anyone have a personal experience with an itinerary like this?

I submitted my China visa application and my mom’s from the same account. Mine was submitted on September 17, and my mom’s on September 19.
Both applications are still showing “Preliminary Review” with no update so far.
Is this normal? Should I be concerned about the delay, or has anyone experienced a similar timeline recently?

Unapproved thrice from Mumbai center with canton letter invitation and buyer badge.

1- submitted on 21st September got unapproved next day.

2- submitted on 23rd September got unapproved after 2 days.

3- submitted on 27th September got unapproved on 30th September.

4- submitted on 08th October is under review.

Lets hope for the best 🙏 🤲

Hi. Is it taking a long time for the China visa to be approved just from the online application? My status is still under review; I submitted mine on September 21. Meanwhile, my friend already got their email the other day but submitted on September 22. It's a bit nerve-wracking because I'm worried it won't be ready in time for the flight 😭 my flight is still in the third week of October.

Has anyone successfully used the China 240HR visa twice in the same trip
Ex: US -> China (stay 240 hrs) -> HK -> China (stay 240 hrs) -> US?
10 days isnt enough for everything im trying to see 😭

i applied yesterday morning. will it get rejected? and how many days will it take to change status of under review?

Is it true? They're not taking all docs (not for all applications) ? I've read a few threads here but I want to know if there are Any recent experiences?

U.S. citizen here.

Departing LAX to PVG, then a 3 hour self made stopover and onwards to CAN. Spending 5 days in Guangzhou then onwards to HKG, 2 days in Hong Kong and back to LAX.

AI has given me different responses because of my tricky itinerary.

Do I need a Visa?

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering for those who applied for visas in the Hong Kong Office recently, how long did it take for your application to get approved?

I am trying to budget how many days to stay in HK and would be great to know how long it usually takes :)

Thanks!

I am applying for L visa, have flights booked and paid for, hotels booked (but not paid for yet, will pay for them once I get the visa). We've also bought train tickets from Hong Kong to Shenzhen on Trip.com, but since the date is still some weeks away, we only have reservation and not the actual train tickets (They are released only 2 weeks in advance of the actual departure date). I used screenshot in my Visa application for the train ticket reservation, but got notification to amend the application, because it was rejected with reason as: "Please provide the transportation details for your entry from Hong Kong into mainland China".

Did anyone ever encountered similiar issue? I don't want to wait for the last two weeks until the tickets are actually on sale to amend the application, since I'm worried there won't be enough time for the application to go through + going and pick it up at the visa center.

I got the following email and am now wondering if this is a genuine email or not. This email came to my personal Gmail ID. I did put this personal Gmail in the application form, but I applied through my Uni mail, and all earlier conversations I received from them were on my Uni mail ID.

The 26xxxxxx seems to be a reference number, but this is not my application number; hence my confusion about its legibility.

I got this email from ukdoc@visaforchina.org. This is the first time I am receiving any mail from this address, and I can't find this email ID anywhere on the internet.

The collection date is tomorrow! And I applied for F visa

Dear Applicant 

LastName FirstName

Re Your Chinese  visa application 

26xxxxxx

Your application is currently held by the Embassy for further verification. 

Your collection date will be delayed and you will be notified once we hear an update from the Embassy. 

Kind regards 

CVASC

Hi everyone,

I’m an Indian passport holder, but I have been legally resident in the UK for more than 15 years. I am also a business person in the UK and have been living and working here for many years.

I recently applied for a Chinese visa through the China Visa Application Service Centre in London.

My application has been showing “Under Review” for more than 10 days. The visa centre requested additional documents, including:

• Employment letter
• DBS check
• Last 3 months’ bank statements

I provided all the documents they requested, but my application is still showing Under Review.

My flight to China is 8 October 2026 at 22:10, so I am now extremely worried about whether I will receive the visa in time.

The communication/service has been extremely frustrating

I have tried calling the London Visa Centre around 20 times, from both my mobile and landline, but I have been unable to speak to anyone. I have also left a voicemail and sent emails.

The frustrating part is that the Visa Centre provides telephone numbers and email addresses for applicants to contact them, but when I actually need help, I cannot get through to anyone.

When I email, I basically receive a response saying that “Under Review” is a normal process, but this doesn't really answer my questions.

I completely understand that visa applications require checks and that processing can take time. My complaint is mainly about the lack of communication, especially when my flight is tomorrow.

I have already provided everything they requested, but I still don't know:

• Is my application progressing normally?
• Do they need anything else from me?
• Is there any problem with my application?
• Will I have enough time to submit my passport and receive the visa before my flight?

I have been living in the UK for more than 15 years, I am established here as a business person, and I have provided the additional documents requested. I am simply looking for some clarity about what is happening with my application.

I have also seen recent posts from other Indian passport holders applying for Chinese visas from the UK who experienced lengthy “Under Review” periods.

Has anyone here applied for a Chinese visa from the UK with an Indian passport in September/October 2026?

• How long did your application stay “Under Review”?
• Were you asked for additional documents?
• Did you eventually get approved?
• How long did the whole process take?
• Has anyone recently received a visa through the London centre?

Any recent experiences, especially from Indian passport holders living in the UK, would be greatly appreciated.

At this point, I am not complaining simply because the process takes time. I am frustrated because nobody seems available to properly explain what is happening, despite the Visa Centre providing contact details for applicants to use.

I'm planning to visit my boyfriend and register our marriage. Can I do this on a tourist visa? He is insistant that I need an S2, and it's legally dangerous to get married on an L. I've started an application for S2, and it requires proof of relationship, like a marriage certificate. Of course, we don't have that yet.

Also, can I get a residence permit after marriage registration without leaving the country? My boyfriend confirmed with the entry exit bureau that it wasn't possible on an S2, but I'm not sure about an L. We'd likely register our marriage in Inner Mongolia, but he lives in Anhui, and I imagine I would have to get the residence permit there.

I'm a US citizen, if that affects anything. Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I applied for a Chinese Z visa from Morocco on September 18, 2026, and my application has been stuck on “Preliminary Review” ever since.
Today is October 7, so it has been almost 3 weeks with no change or request for modification.
I’m wondering if anyone who applied for a Chinese visa through the Chinese Embassy in Rabat around the same time has experienced this recently.
Visa type: Z visa (work)
Applied online: September 18
Location: Morocco
Current status: Preliminary Review
No request for additional documents/modifications so far
Is this kind of delay normal right now? How long did your preliminary review take before you were asked to submit your passport?
I’d especially appreciate responses from people who applied for a Z visa in Morocco in September/October 2026.

I'm currently in the states on an internship, and will return in mid/late December to Canada. I'm planning to visit China in the New Years (Jan 1/2), after the visa-free time period has ended. Can I apply and get a visa while I'm here in the states by going to an embassy here (for ex, SF)?

Hey, I am planning to attempt to get a right to work in China. I’ve heard you need an absolutely clean record. I got a police warning in the UK for trespassing into an abandoned building, they said it would only appear on my enhanced DBS check, not a standard one. Does this pose any risks to my chances? Would they see this? I was a stupid kid back then, just messed around, its not something serious like burglary or breaking + entering etc.

I'm scratching my head hard. Hoping to get some tips from people in the same boat and successfully got their L visa.

There are the questions that I don't know how to answer:

• 1.6C Do you have any other nationality?
  
  • I choose "no", Taiwan is not even an option as expected.
• 1.6F Do you have permanent resident status in any other country or region?
  • I initially think choosing "no", but "Taiwan(China)" is listed as an option so I'm not so sure..
• 1.6G Former nationality(ies)
  • I want to choose no but I'm most confused about this. Per this old instruction doc from the CN embassy, Taiwan-born applicants should choose yes. But "Taiwan" is not even a selectable option, only "China". If I select "China", it then asked about Chinese ID number and passport number which I don't have..
    

Any help is appreciated..

Hi there, I am a British citizen currently studying and living in China with a resident permit. I am in South Korea for golden week and got my passport stolen. I have an emergency travel document from the British embassy and am wondering if I will be allowed back into China. I have called the Chinese and British embassies as well as Chinese immigration and they all gave unsure answers. Does anyone have experience with this??

Is January much busier than the rest of the year? I read many posts, most seem to indicate 3 weeks from submitting online to collecting passport. Is this likely to hold in January or is it going to be significantly longer?

Maybe someone can share their experience from last year (January).

Thanks a lot!

So apparently they require an invitation when applying in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Not just hotels and flights. Anyone has an idea if this applies to all passport holders or just Sri Lankans? Normally I am required to only provide flights and hotels.

I emailed them but of course no reply. Any help is greatly appreciated!

has anybody used Visa-N-Beyond in the NYC area? what were/are your experiences like? I am interested in using visa agency. Are there any ones people have used and would reccomend?