Promulgating Institution: State Council
Document Number: Order No. 637 of the State Council
Promulgating Date: 07/12/2013
Effective Date: 09/01/2013
Order No. 637 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
The Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Entry and Exit Administration of Foreigners, adopted at the 15th executive meeting of the State Council on July 3, 2013, is hereby promulgated and shall come into force on September 1, 2013.
Premier Li Keqiang
July 12, 2013
Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Entry and Exit Administration of Foreigners
Chapter 1: General Provisions
 
  Article 1     These Regulations are formulated pursuant to the Law of the People's Republic of China on Entry and Exit Administration (hereinafter referred to as the "Law on Entry and Exit Administration") with a view to regulating the issuance of visas, and standardizing the services for, and the administration of, foreigners staying or residing within Mainland China.
  Article 2     The State shall establish a work coordination mechanism for entry and exit services and administration of foreigners, and strengthen the overall planning, co-ordination and cooperation in this regard.
The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, based on their needs, set up their respective work coordination mechanisms for entry and exit services and administration of foreigners, enhance information exchange, coordination and cooperation, and properly provide services and carry out administration concerning the entry and exit of foreigners within their respective administrative regions.
  Article 3     The Ministry of Public Security shall, in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council, establish an information platform for services and administration of the entry and exit of foreigners so as to realize the sharing of relevant information.
  Article 4    In administering visa issuance and the stay and residence of foreigners within the Mainland China, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other departments of the State Council shall, via their respective official portal websites, in the premises where applications for entry-exit documents are accepted and in other venues, provide information on laws and regulations on the entry and exit administration of foreigners as well as other information that should be made known to foreigners.
Chapter 2: Categories and Issuance of Visas
  Article 5     The scope and the measures to issue diplomatic visa, courtesy visa and official visa shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  Article 6    Ordinary visas are divided into the following categories, with corresponding Pinyin phonetic alphabets to be indicated on different visas:
(1) C visa, issued to international train crew members, international aircraft crew members, crew members of ships on international voyages who perform crew services, aviation or shipping tasks, the accompanying family members of the ship crew, and drivers of vehicles for international road transport;
(2) D visa, issued to personnel entering the Mainland China for permanent residence;
(3) F visa, issued to personnel entering the Mainland China for exchanges, visits, observance trips and other activities;
(4) G visa, issued to personnel who transit through Mainland China;
(5) J1 visa, issued to resident foreign correspondents for resident foreign news agencies based in the Mainland China; J2 visa, issued to foreign correspondents entering the Mainland China for short-term news coverage;
(6) L visa, issued to inbound tourists; group L visa may be issued to tourists entering the Mainland China in the form of tourist groups;
(7) M visa, issued to personnel entering the Mainland China for commercial and trade activities;
(8) Q1 visa, issued to the family members of Chinese citizens who apply for residing in the Mainland China on the basis of family reunion, the family members of foreigners with permanent residence status in the Mainland China, as well as personnel who apply for residing in the Mainland China on the basis of foster care and other reasons; Q2 visa, issued to the relatives of Chinese citizens residing in the Mainland China who apply for entering the Mainland China for short-term visit and the relatives of foreigners with permanent residence status in the Mainland China;
(9) R visa, issued to foreign high-level talents needed by the State and talents in shortage with urgently-needed expertise;
(10) S1 visa, issued to the spouses, parents, children under 18 years of age, and spouses' parents who apply for long-term residence in the Mainland China for accompanying foreigners who reside in the Mainland China for work, study or other purposes, as well as personnel who need to reside in the Mainland China for other personal issues; S2 visa, issued to the family members who apply for short-term stay in the Mainland China for visiting foreigners who stay or reside in the Mainland China for work, study or other purposes, as well as personnel who need to stay in the Mainland China for other personal issues;
(11) X1 visa, issued to personnel applying for long-term study in the Mainland China; X2 visa, issued to personnel applying for short-term study in the Mainland China; and
(12) Z visa, issued to personnel applying for working in the Mainland China.
  Article 7     A foreigner who applies for a visa shall fill out an application form, and submit his/her passport or other international travel documents, photos that meet relevant requirements and relevant materials on the reasons for application:
(1) To apply for a C visa, the foreigner shall submit a guarantee letter issued by the relevant foreign transport company or an invitation letter issued by the relevant entity in the Mainland China;
(2) To apply for a D visa, the foreigner shall submit the foreigner permanent residence status confirmation form issued by the Ministry of Public Security;
(3) To apply for an F visa, the foreigner shall submit an invitation letter issued by the inviting party in the Mainland China;
(4) To apply for a G visa, the foreigner shall submit the interline air (bus or vessel) tickets with confirmed dates and seat numbers to the destination country (region);
(5) To apply for a J1 or a J2 visa, the foreigner shall go through examination and approval procedures and submit corresponding application materials in accordance with the provisions of the State on resident foreign news agencies in the Mainland China and the new coverage activities of foreign correspondents;
(6) To apply for an L visa, the foreigner shall submit travel itinerary plans and other materials as required; if the foreigner enters the Mainland China for tourist activities as a member of a tourist group, he/she shall also submit an invitation letter issued by the relevant travel agency;
(7) To apply for an M visa, the foreigner shall submit an invitation letter issued by the commercial and trade partner in the Mainland China in accordance with relevant requirements;
(8) To apply for a Q1 visa, if the foreigner applies for residing in the Mainland China on the basis of family reunion, he/she shall submit an invitation letter issued by the Chinese citizen residing in the Mainland China or the foreigner with permanent residence status in the Mainland China and the proof of family relationship; if the foreigner applies for entering the Mainland China on the basis of foster care and other reasons, he/she shall submit the letter of authorization and other supporting documents; to apply for a Q2 visa, the foreigner shall submit an invitation letter issued by the Chinese citizen residing in the Mainland China or the foreigner with permanent residence status in the Mainland China and other supporting documents;
(9) To apply for an R visa, the foreigner shall meet the criteria and requirements determined by relevant authorities of the Chinese government on the introduction of foreign high-level talents and talents in shortage with urgently-needed expertise, and submit corresponding supporting documents in accordance with pertinent provisions;
(10) To apply for an S1 or a S2 visa, the foreigner shall, in accordance with relevant requirements, submit an invitation letter issued by the foreigner who resides or stays in the Mainland China for work, study or other purposes and the proof of family relationship, or submit the supporting documents proving that he/she intends to enter the Mainland China for handling personal issues;
(11) To apply for an X1 visa, the foreigner shall, in accordance with relevant requirements, submit the admission notice issued by the relevant admissions office and the supporting documents issued by competent departments; to apply for an X2 visa, the foreigner shall submit the admission notice issued by the relevant admissions office and other supporting documents as required; and
(12) To apply for a Z visa, the foreigner shall submit the work permit and other supporting documents in accordance with relevant provisions.
Visa-issuing authorities may, depending on actual circumstances, require foreigners to submit additional application materials.
  Article 8    A foreigner who falls under any of the following circumstances shall sit for face-to-face interviews as required by a Chinese visa-issuing authority stationed abroad:
(1) Where the foreigner applies for residing in the Mainland China;
(2) Where the personal identity information or reasons for entering the Mainland China of the foreigner need further verification;
(3) Where the foreigner has past records of being denied entry to the Mainland China, or being ordered to depart from the Mainland China by a prescribed deadline; or
(4) Where the foreigner falls under other circumstances for which face-to-face interviews are necessary.
Where a Chinese visa-issuing authority stationed abroad needs to verify pertinent information with relevant departments and entities in the Mainland China, the said departments and entities shall provide cooperation.
  Article 9     A visa-issuing authority shall issue visas of the appropriate categories if the relevant visa applications are found to satisfy the visa-issuing conditions upon review. If a foreigner needs to apply for a residence permit after entering the Mainland China, the visa-issuing authority shall indicate on the relevant visa the time period for applying for the residence permit upon entry to the Mainland China.
Chapter 3: Administration over Stay and Residence
  Article 10    After entering the Mainland China with a valid visa, a foreigner may apply to the entry-exit administration of the public security organ of the people's government at or above the county level in the place of his/her stay for changing the visa if: the foreigner is allowed to change the reasons for stay in the Mainland China or is eligible for entry facilitation in accordance with State provisions; the foreigner uses a new passport; or, the foreigner needs to stay in the Mainland China separately from the inbound group due to objective reasons after entering the Mainland China on a group visa.
  Article 11     Where the visa held by a foreigner is lost, damaged or stolen in the Mainland China, or where a foreigner is robbed of his/her visa in the Mainland China, the foreigner shall promptly apply to the entry-exit administration of the public security organ of the people's government at or above the county level in the place of his/her stay for a replacement visa.
  Article 12     A foreigner who applies for the extension, renewal or replacement of a visa and for relevant documents of stay shall fill out an application form, and submit his/her passport or other international travel documents, photos that meet relevant requirements and relevant materials on the reasons for application.
  Article 13     Where the application of a foreigner for the extension, renewal or replacement of a visa or for relevant documents of stay meets the requirements on application acceptance, the entry-exit administration of the relevant public security organ shall issue an acceptance acknowledgement with a validity period not exceeding seven days, and decide whether to issue the visa/document of stay within the said validity period.
Where the application of the foreigner for the extension, renewal or replacement of a visa or for relevant documents of stay fails to meet the requirements on formalities or materials, the entry-exit administration of the relevant public security organ shall inform the applicant of all the formalities that should be gone through or all the application materials that should be supplemented/corrected at one time.
The applicant may legally stay in the Mainland China on the basis of the acceptance acknowledgement during the period when his/her passport or other international travel documents are retained for visa/document processing.
  Article 14     The decision made by the entry-exit administration of a public security organ on extending the duration of stay of a visa is valid only for this particular entry, and shall not affect the number of entries allowed under the visa and the total validity period of the entry visa. In addition, the cumulative duration of stay extended shall not exceed the original duration of stay indicated on the visa.
After the duration of stay is extended under the visa, the foreigner shall stay in the Mainland China during the extended period for the purposes prescribed under the original visa.
  Article 15     Residence permits are divided into the following categories:
(1) Residence permits for working purposes, issued to personnel working in the Mainland China;
(2) Residence permits for study purposes, issued to personnel studying in the Mainland China on a long-term basis;
(3) Residence permits for correspondents, issued to resident foreign correspondents of resident foreign news agencies in the Mainland China;
(4) Residence permits for reunion, issued to the family members of Chinese citizens residing in the Mainland China and the family members of foreigners with permanent residence status in the Mainland China for family reunion purposes, as well as to the personnel who need to reside in the Mainland China due to foster care or other reasons; and
(5) Residence permits for personal issues, issued to the spouses, parents, children under 18 years of age and spouses' parents who enter the Mainland China to accompany, in the long term, the foreigners who reside in the Mainland China for work, study or other purposes, as well as to personnel who need to reside in the Mainland China for other personal issues.
  Article 16     A foreigner who applies for a foreigner residence permit shall submit his/her passport or other international travel documents, photos that meet relevant requirements and relevant materials on the reasons for application. He/she shall go through relevant procedures with the entry-exit administration of the public security organ of the people's government at or above the county level in the place of his/her stay, and keep his/her fingerprints and other human biological identifying information with the said administration:
(1) To apply for a residence permit for working purposes, the foreigner shall submit his/her work permit and other relevant supporting materials; if the foreigner is a foreign high-level talent needed by the State or a talent in shortage with urgently-needed expertise, he/she shall submit relevant supporting documents as required;
(2) To apply for a residence permit for study purposes, the foreigner shall submit letters stating the study period as issued by the admissions office and other supporting documents in accordance with relevant provisions;
(3) To apply for a residence permit for correspondents, the foreigner shall submit the letters and the reporter card verified and issued by competent departments;
(4) To apply for a residence permit for reunion, the foreigner shall submit the proof of family relationship and supporting documents relating to the reasons for application if he/she needs to reside in the Mainland China for family reunion purposes; or shall submit the letter of authorization and other supporting documents if he/she needs to reside in the Mainland China due to foster care or other reasons; and
(5) To apply for a residence permit for personal issues, the foreigner shall submit the proof of kinship, the residence permit of the relative to be visited and other supporting documents as required if he/she needs to accompany the relative on a long-term basis; or shall submit relevant materials proving that he/she needs to reside in the Mainland China for handling personal issues if he/she intends to enter the Mainland China for personal issues.
A foreigner who applies for a residence permit with a validity period exceeding one year shall submit a health certificate as required. The health certificate shall be valid for six months from the date of issuance.
  Article 17     A foreigner who applies for the extension, renewal or replacement of a residence permit shall fill out an application form, and submit his/her passport or other international travel documents, photos that meet relevant requirements and relevant materials on the reasons for application.
  Article 18     Where the application of a foreigner for a residence permit or the extension, renewal or replacement of the residence permit meets the requirements on application acceptance, the entry-exit administration of the relevant public security organ shall issue an acceptance acknowledgement with a validity period not exceeding 15 days, and decide whether to issue the residence permit within the said validity period.
Where the application of the foreigner for a residence permit or the extension, renewal or replacement of the residence permit fails to meet the requirements on formalities or materials, the entry-exit administration of the relevant public security organ shall inform the applicant of all the formalities that should be gone through or all the application materials that shall be supplemented/corrected at one time.
The applicant may legally reside in the Mainland China on the basis of the acceptance acknowledgement during the period when his/her passport or other international travel documents are retained for permit processing.
  Article 19     Where a foreigner who applies for the extension, renewal or replacement of a visa or residence permit, or applies for a document of stay, falls under any of the following circumstances, he/she may have the inviting entity or individual, his/her relative or the relevant specialized service agency to apply on his/her behalf:
(1) Where the foreigner is under 16 years of age, or where the foreigner is 60 years of age or older and moves with difficulty due to illness or other reasons;
(2) Where this is not the first entry application by the foreigner, and the foreigner has a good record of residence/stay in the Mainland China; or
(3) Where the inviting entity or individual takes measures to guarantee the expenses needed by the foreigner during his/her residence/stay in the Mainland China.
Where a foreigner who is a foreign high-level talent needed by the State, a talent in shortage with urgently-needed expertise, or a person under Item (1) of the preceding Paragraph applies for a residence permit, he/she may have the inviting entity or individual, his/her relative or the relevant specialized service agency to apply on his/her behalf.
  Article 20     The entry-exit administration of a public security organ may verify the truthfulness of the reasons for an application by face-to-face interviews or telephone inquiry with the applicant concerned, field investigation and other methods, in which case the applicant and the entities or individuals issuing the invitation letter or supporting materials shall provide cooperation.
  Article 21     The entry-exit administration of a public security organ shall not approve the application by a foreigner who falls under any of the following circumstances for the extension, renewal or replacement of his/her visa and residence permit, and shall not issue any document of stay to the foreigner:
(1) Where the foreigner is unable to submit application materials as required;
(2) Where the foreigner has practiced fraud during the application process;
(3) Where the foreigner violates relevant Chinese laws or administrative regulations, and is not suitable to reside or stay in the Mainland China; or
(4) Where the foreigner falls under other circumstances under which it is inappropriate to approve his/her application for the extension, renewal or replacement of the visa and residence permit or application for the issuance of a document of stay.
  Article 22     Where a foreigner holding a residence permit for study purposes needs to take on off-campus odd jobs to support his/her study or to do internship, he/she shall obtain the consent of the relevant school, and apply to the entry-exit administration of the relevant public security organ for indicating the information on the place and duration of odd jobs for supporting study or the internship on his/her residence permit.
A foreigner whose residence permit for study purposes contains no information prescribed by the foregoing Paragraph is not allowed to take on off-campus odd jobs to support his/her study or to do internship.
  Article 23     Where a foreigner residing/staying in the Mainland China has no valid passport or valid international travel documents because the passport or international travel documents have been lost, damaged or stolen, or because the foreigner has been robbed, if the foreigner is unable to apply for a replacement with relevant China-based institutions of his/her native country, he/she may apply for exit formalities with the entry-exit administration of the public security organ of the people's government at or above the county level in his/her place of stay.
  Article 24     Foreigners shall stay in the prescribed areas if the entry-exit documents held thereby have prescribed the areas where the foreigners are allowed to stay, or if the foreigners are allowed for temporary entry to the Mainland China by entry-exit border inspection authorities and are restricted in the areas where they are allowed to stay.
  Article 25     A foreigner who falls under any of the following circumstances in the Mainland China shall be considered as committing illegal residence:
(1) Where the foreigner overstays beyond the period of residence/stay prescribed in the relevant visa or document of residence/stay
(2) Where the foreigner for whom entry visa is not required overstays beyond the visa-free period and fails to apply for any document of residence/stay;
(3) Where the foreigner engages in activities beyond the prescribed areas of residence/stay; or
(4) Where the foreigner falls under any other circumstances of illegal residence.
  Article 26    Where an entity that employs a foreigner for work or enrolls a foreign student finds any of the following circumstances, it shall promptly report relevant information to the entry-exit administration of the public security organ of the local people's government at or above the county level:
(1) Where the foreigner employed leaves his/her job or changes the place of employment;
(2) Where the foreign student enrolled leaves the original enrollment entity because he/she has graduated, completed study or dropped out of school, or because he/she is unable to graduate due to certain reasons;
(3) Where the foreigner employed or the foreign student enrolled has violated provisions on entry-exit administration; or
(4) Where the foreigner employed or the foreign student enrolled has died, gone missing or fallen under other circumstances.
  Article 27     Entities engaging in financial, education, health care, telecommunications and other services may apply to the entry-exit administrations of public security organs for verification of the identity information of foreigners if such verification is necessary for processing relevant business.
  Article 28     The issuance and management of the documents for foreigners who reside or stay in the Mainland China for diplomatic purposes or official duties shall be governed by the provisions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Chapter 4: Investigation and Repatriation
  Article 29     Public security organs may set up repatriation sites according to actual needs.
Where a foreigner is detained for examination in accordance with Article 60 of the Law on Entry and Exit Administration, he/she shall be sent to a detention house or a repatriation site within 24 hours.
Where a foreigner is unable to be immediately deported or expelled due to weather conditions, his/her health conditions or other reasons, the foreigner shall be detained in a detention house or repatriation site pursuant to relevant legal instruments.
  Article 30    Where the areas under which a foreigner may engage in activities are restricted in accordance with the Article 61 of the Law on Entry and Exit Administration, a written decision on restriction of the areas of activities shall be issued. Such a foreigner shall report to the relevant public security organs at the specified time, and shall not change the living residence or leave the prescribed areas without the approval of the decision-making authority.
  Article 31     Where a foreigner is deported in accordance with Article 62 of the Law on Entry and Exit Administration, the organ making the deportation decision shall determine the specific period during which the deported foreigner is not allowed to enter the Mainland China in accordance with the law.
  Article 32     A foreigner shall bear the costs for deportation on his/her own. Where the foreigner cannot afford the deportation costs, and has previously been illegally employed, the entity or individual that has illegally employed the foreigner shall bear the deportation costs; if the foreigner falls under other circumstances, the entity or individual that provides guarantee measures for the residence/stay of the foreigner in the Mainland China shall bear the deportation costs.
Foreigners shall be deported by the public security organs of local people's governments at and above the county level or entry-exit border inspection authorities.
  Article 33     Where a foreigner is ordered to depart from the Mainland China by a prescribed deadline, the decision-making authority shall first deregister or confiscate the foreigner's original entry-exit document, then process the formalities for stay for the foreigner and prescribe the time period for departure which shall not exceed 15 days.
  Article 34     Where a foreigner falls under any of the following circumstances, the visa or document of residence/stay held thereby shall be declared void by the issuing authority:
(1) Where the foreigner's visa or document of residence/stay has been damaged, lost or stolen, or where the foreigner has been robbed of his/her visa or document of residence/stay;
(2) Where the foreigner is ordered to depart from the Mainland China by a prescribed deadline, or is deported or expelled, but his/her visa or document of residence/stay is not confiscated or deregistered;
(3) Where the original reasons for residence have changed, but the foreigner fails to report relevant information to the entry-exit administration of the relevant public security organ within the prescribed period, and still fails to do so despite the issuance of an announcement by the public security organ; or
(4) Where the foreigner falls under any of the circumstances prescribed by Article 21 and Article 31 of the Law on Entry and Exit Administration under which no visa or residence permit shall be issued.
The issuing authority may declare certain visas or documents of residence/stay void on the spot or by announcement in accordance with the law.
  Article 35     The visa or document of residence/stay held by a foreigner shall be deregistered or confiscated by the relevant public security organ if it falls under any of the following circumstances:
(1) Where the visa or document of residence/stay is declared void by the issuing authority or has been fraudulently used by others;
(2) Where the visa or document of residence/stay has been obtained by providing forged or altered information, by fraudulent means or by other illegal means; or
(3) Where the holder of the visa or document of residence/stay has been ordered to depart from the Mainland China by a prescribed deadline, or has been deported or expelled.
The organ that decides to deregister or confiscate the visa or document of residence/stay shall promptly inform the issuing authority of the same.
Chapter 5: Supplementary Provisions
  Article 36     For the purpose of these Regulations:
(1) Number of entries under a visa shall refer to the number of entries to which the visa holder is entitled during the validity period of the entry visa;
(2) Validity period of an entry visa shall refer to the valid time range during which the visa holder may enter the Mainland China on the visa. Unless otherwise indicated by the visa-issuing authority, a visa shall come into force on the date of issuance, and shall expiry at 24:00 pm Beijing time on the very day of expiry;
(3) Duration of stay under a visa shall refer to the period of stay granted to the visa holder after each entry to the Mainland China, commencing from the day immediately following the day of entry;
(4) "Short-term" shall refer to a period of stay not exceeding 180 days (including 180 days) in the Mainland China;
(5) "Long-term" and "resident" shall refer to a period of stay exceeding 180 days in the Mainland China.
The examination and approval time period, and the validity period of an acceptance acknowledgment, of the entry-exit administrations of public security organs prescribed herein shall be calculated based on working days, excluding rest days and public holidays.
  Article 37     Upon approval by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chinese visa-issuing authorities stationed abroad may entrust relevant local agencies to provide services relating to the visa applications by foreigners, such as application acceptance, data entry, consulting services, etc.
  Article 38     The templates of visas shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Security, while the templates of documents of residence/stay shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Public Security.
  Article 39     These Regulations shall come into force on September 1, 2013. The Detailed Rules of Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Entry-exit Administration of Foreigners, approved on December 3, 1986 by the State Council, promulgated on December 27, 1986 by the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and revised on July 13, 1994 and April 24, 2010 by the State Council, shall be simultaneously repealed.