Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners

Chapter Ⅲ Administration of Stay and Residence

Article 10 Where, after entry with a visa, a foreigner changes his or her purpose of stay or is granted entry conveniences in accordance with relevant provisions of the State, or where a foreigner starts using a new passport or needs to stay separately from his or her tour group after entering China with a group visa due to objective reasons, the applicant may apply to the exit and entry administration authority of the public security organ of the local people's government at or above the county level in the place of his or her stay for a change of visa.

Article 11 Where the visa of a foreigner in China is lost, damaged, destroyed, stolen or robbed, the applicant shall, in a timely manner, apply to the exit and entry administration authority of the public security organ of the local people's government at or above the county level in the place of his or her stay for reissuance of the visa.

Article 12 To apply for extension, change or reissuance of a visa, or for a stay permit, a foreigner shall fill out an application form and submit his or her passport or other international travel documents, qualified photos, and material relating to the purpose of application.

Article 13 Where a foreigner's application for extension, change or reissuance of a visa, or for a stay permit, meets the acceptance provisions, the exit and entry administration authority of the public security organ shall issue a receipt of acceptance valid for a period of time not exceeding 7 days, and make a decision on whether to issue the visa within the validity period of the receipt of acceptance.

Where the procedures followed or material submitted by a foreigner for extension, change, or reissuance of a visa or for issuance of a stay permit does not conform to relevant provisions, the exit and entry administration authority of the public security organ shall, in a one-off manner, notify the applicant of the procedure(s) to be followed and the material to be supplemented and corrected.

During the period of time when the applicant's passport or other international travel documents are retained for processing his or her application for a visa or permit, the applicant may stay in China legally on the strength of the receipt of acceptance.

Article 14 The decision made by the exit and entry administration authority of the public security organ to extend the duration of stay specified in a visa is only valid for the current entry and does not affect the number of entries or the validity period of the entry specified in the visa. However, the total period of extension shall not exceed the original duration of stay specified in the visa.

When the duration of stay specified in the visa is extended, a foreigner shall adhere to the purpose specified in the original visa and stay within the extended duration of stay.

Article 15 Residence permits are divided into the following types:

(1) The residence permit for work is issued to persons who work in China;

(2) The residence permit for study is issued to persons who pursue long-term studies in China;

(3) The residence permit for journalists is issued to resident foreign journalists of permanent offices of foreign news agencies in China;

(4) The residence permit for reunion is issued to family members of Chinese citizens and family members of foreigners with permanent residence status in China who need to reside in China for family reunion, and to persons who need to reside in China for fosterage or other purposes; and

(5) The residence permit for personal matters is issued to spouses, parents, children under the age of 18 or parents-in-law of foreigners residing in China for work, study or other purposes, who apply for long-term visit to China, as well as for persons who need to reside in China for other personal matters.