China Non-Commerce Visa Application Requirements (F Visa)

F visa had been used as business visa before M visa was introduced. F visa is now changed for noncommercial visit. F visa is issued to those who intend to go to China for research, scientific, cultural exchange on behalf of a US employer. It is usually issued for single, double entry or multiple entry with duration of stay up to 90 days per visit. Chinese Consulate may issue you a visa with limited entry, shorter duration and validity at their discretion. In order to apply for China F Visa, please prepare and send in your application according to the detail requirement explained below.

Please prepare your application paperwork according to the instruction below

1 Actual passport, plus a photocopy of the name page

Please submit your actual passport. Visa will be issued in the passport.
Passport should have at least 12 months validity left. Otherwise, you must renew your passport first. If you need passport services, please visit our expedited passport services section.
Passport should have at least 2 blank visa pages. The last 3 pages in US passports are not visa pages. These are amendment pages, reserved by the US Department of State for amendment to the passport. They won't be acceptable for visas. If your passport has no blank visa pages left, you may add additional visa pages. If you need passport services, please visit our expedited passport services section.
If you have a valid China visa in another passport, you will need to submit that passport together with the new passport when applying for a new visa.
Non-US passport holders must provide a photocopy of the US Green Card (Exception: notarized copy is required, if you reside in CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, WI. Origin US Green Card is required, if you reside in AZ, Southern CA, HI, NM, Pacific Islands) or a valid long term US residence visa such as: L, H, F, TN. Please note B1/B2 visa doesn't count.
Some non-US passport holders (holding passport from countries on the attached list ) are required to apply in person.

2 One Visa Application Form V.2013 per person

Please fill out the application form on your computer, print a hard copy and sign it.
Hand written form is not acceptable.
All fields are mandatory. If a section doesn't apply, please type in "None" or "N/A'. Incomplete form will be rejected.
Please check for omission and error before you print the form. Change or correction is not allowed on the printed form. You must print a new form in case of any change or correction.
Please print out and submit only single-sided pages of the application, not back to back.
Please do not use staple. Paper clip is fine.

3 One recent passport-type photograph

Full face, frontal with a plain white or off-white background, 33mm (wide) x 48mm (tall) in size.
Photo printed on regular paper or photo of poor quality is not acceptable.
Photo needs to be taken within 6 months.
Please use paper clip to attach the photo face-down (avoid scratching) to the form. Do not staple or glue the photo.
Please refer to the link for China visa photo specific requirement.

4 An invitation letter from China

One of the following invitation letters is required.

An Invitation Letter of Duly Authorized Unit or a Confirmation Letter of Invitation issued by Chinese Government.

An Formal Invitation Letter issued by an institution in mainland China.

The invitation letter issued by the Chinese institution must include all the 8 elements below:

Applicant's personal information such as: name, date of birth, passport number, full name of the institution which the applicant works for in the US and the job title.
Major purpose of the visit (academic exchange, research, etc.). Please note "teaching" is not accepted as purpose for F visa.
City the applicant will visit
Date of arrival and departure
What kind of relationship between the Chinese institution and the US institution?
Who will bear the cost of the applicant's accommodations in China?
China inviting person's information such as: full name, job title, detail institution address, fax , phone number of the inviter
Official seal of the institution and signature of the inviter.

Invitation letter from Chinese institution must be printed on their official letterhead, showing institution address, phone and fax number. The letter must also bear the official seal of the institution.
Good quality scanned or fax copy of the invitation letter is acceptable in most cases. However, original invitation and/or personal interview may be requested at Consulate's discretion.

Click for a sample invitation letter for Chinese Business Visa

Business Invitation FAQs

5 Submit the online Visa Service Request Form

This is the best way to tell us your application is coming as well as your return address and contact information so that confirmation and status updated can be sent to you via email.
Multiple applicants can be entered using one service request form.
Please print two copies of the confirmation page.
Please include one copy with the documents you ship to us and keep one copy for your records.

6 Payment for visa processing, service and shipping

Chose A Service Level	Time needed			All Fees
Chose A Service Level	Review	Processing	Shipping	Embassy Fee	Service Fee	Shipping	Total
Regular Service	1 day	6-15 days	1 day	$140	$99	$29	$268
Express Service	1 day	4-6 days	1 day	$160	$129	$29	$318
Express Plus Service	1 day	2-3 days	1 day	$160	$179	$29	$368

Express Plus is not available for all states, please click here or call for details.
Processing time means the time Chinese Consulate needs to process visa application. It doesn't include the return shipping time. Day of receiving is not processing day.

Remarks:

We accept money order, cashiers check, certified check or cash. Please make check or money order payable to VisaRite Service. and write your service request confirmation number in the memo.
You can write the total amount on one check or money order, no need to send separate checks or money order.
Personal check or starter check is not acceptable.
You may also pay by credit card. If you select this option, please fill out and sign one credit card charge authorization form and enclose it in your application package. Credit card payment is subject to 3% surcharge.
If you have paid online, please include a copy of payment confirmation email with your application. Do not send in the credit card payment authorization form in this case.
Return shipping fee listed is for return addresses within the continental U.S. If your return address is in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or Canada, please include an extra extended delivery area fee of $10.00 per order. If you need to ship back to other international address, additional fee and time is needed, please call for detail.

7 Additional requirement based on jurisdiction

Although the requirement for Chinese visa largely remains the same across different Chinese Consulates, there are some special rules pertaining to each different Consulate. Click here to see if there is additional requirement for your jurisdiction.

8 Additional requirement for Chinese descendants

Click for additional requirement for Chinese descendants. Skip it, if you are not.

Our Mailing Address

Please send your application with all required items listed above by FedEx, UPS, DHL, Express Mail, register mail or other traceable courier service to:

VisaRite Service Center
460 Van Emburgh Ave
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Tel: (201) 445-7088