Visa Application

Work Visa FAQs

Work visa (Type Z visa)

A Z visa means you are permitted to work legally in China. You will be assigned a number with your work visa. You must ensure that you are in possession of the Z visa prior to arriving in China. You do not want to work in China (or in any other countries) without the permission from the administration.

Basically there are three steps:
1, Get police check and diploma authenticated by the Chinese embassy/consulate
2, (Your host university/school) apply for a “Notification Letter of Foreigner’s Work Permit
” or “Work Permit Notification Letter” in short
3, Apply for work visa at the Chinese embassy/consulte

Please refer to: Steps to Apply for a Work Visa

It depends; the fastest application can be done in 3-4 weeks. Normally
1. Document authentication takes one week;
2. Work permit notification letter application takes 2-4 weeks;
3. Visa application takes about 3-4 days;

Authentication:
– Regular service: 4 business days
– Express service: 2-3 business days
– Rush service: 1 business day. (Available only in extreme emergencies and subject to approval by the consular officer.)

Work Permit Notification Letter
There is no guarantee for this process, it usually takes 2-4 weeks.

Visa Application:
Normally it takes 4 business days to process a visa application although some applications require longer processing time. You will be notified of the estimated collection date either on your pick-up slip or by phone later.

A resonable timeframe for the whole process is 30-60 days; so be prepared to leave at least 1-2 months‘ time to obtain your work visa.

You can apply in your home country or in the country where you study or work (for more than one year, with valid visa/proof). Note that you cannot apply in the country where you are travelling.

Please refer to the Chinese embassy/consulate website in each country of application. For example, for United States, authentication costs $25 per item, and visa application fee is $140 per person.

No. You may visit the Visa Office anytime during business hours unless otherwise required by a consular officer.

No. You don’t need to. You can ask a friend/family/agent to submit your application. Also you need someone to collect it.

No. Mail-in visa applications are not accepted. Mail-back service is also not provided. Your passport and visa needs to be picked up by a person. The person can be your friend, family, agent or anyone you trust.

You may apply for a visa at a Chinese Embassy or Consulate General based on your residence. You need to complete and sign the visa form and prepare necessary supporting documents and have your friend or a visa service help submit your application. You don’t have to appear in person unless required by a consular officer.

Yes, you may travel with both passports provided that your visa is still valid and the personal details including your name, sex, date of birth and nationality on both passports are exactly the same.

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