Changes to visas and documents required

In accordance with the legal provisions, foreigners may change visa in following four circumstances:

(1) Where, after entry with a visa, a foreigner changes his or her purpose of stay or is granted entry conveniences in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State, visa can be changed:

To apply for a change of the F visa, the applicant shall be required to submit the certification letter issued by the inviting entity. A visa of zero, single, two or multiple entries valid for 1 year at most and the duration of stay for 180 days at most may be changed. For high-level talents needed by the Chinese government, a visa of multiple entries valid for 5 years at most and the duration of stay for 180 days at most may be changed.

To apply for a change of the J2 visa, the applicant shall be required to submit the certification letter issued by the foreign affairs office of people's government at the provincial level. A visa of zero entry and the duration of stay for 30 days at most may be changed.

To apply for a change of the M visa, the applicant shall be required to submit the certification letter issued by the inviting entity. A visa of zero, single, two or multiple entries valid for 1 year at most and the duration of stay for 180 days at most may be changed.

To apply for a change of the Q2 visa, the applicant shall be required to submit the letter, identity certification, and certification showing the relationships of family members issued by the individual being visited. A visa of zero, single, two or multiple entries valid for 1 year at most and the duration of stay for 180 days at most may be changed.

To apply for a change of the R visa, the applicant shall be required to submit the certification documents illustrating the conditions and requirements for the introductions of foreign high-level talents determined by the competent departments of the Chinese government as well as the certification letter issued by the inviting and receiving entities. A visa of zero, single, two or multiple entries valid for 5 years at most and the duration of stay for 180 days at most may be changed.

To apply for a change of the S2 visa, the applicant who visits a relative in China shall be required to submit the letter, foreigner residence permit and certification illustrating relationships of the family members issued by the individual being visited. Other applicants shall be required to submit the relevant certification documents showing humanitarian reasons. A visa of zero or single entry valid for three months at most and the duration of stay for 180 days at most may be changed.

To apply for a change of the X2 visa, the applicant shall be required to submit the letter issued by the educational and training institutions in China as well as the certification for admission to and entrance of a school. A visa of zero, single, or two entries valid for 1 year at most and the duration of stay for 180 days at most may be changed.

(2) Where the new passport is issued for the forthcoming expiration of the original one or for the exhaustion of the visa pages of the original one, the applicant must also provide the passport held for his/her current entry or the relevant certification issued by the embassy or consulate of his/her host country illustrating the taking-back of the original passport held for his/her current entry. A visa consistent with the type, validity period of entry and duration of stay of the original visa may be changed. A visa may be changed with entries valid for the remaining entries of the original visa.

(3) Where, after entry with a visa, a foreigner adds the accompanying persons, the applicant shall be required to submit the passport held for his/her current entry, and the birth certifications of the accompanying persons, a visa may be changed by reference to the provisions of item (2) of this section.

(4) To apply for a separate stay after entry with a group visa, the applicant shall be required to submit certification documents issued by the host travel agency. A visa may be changed by reference to the provisions of item (1) of this section. The cumulative duration of stay upon the change of visa may not exceed one year starting from the date of the current entry.