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Applying to study in China under 18: the guardian documents

Unofficial summary · Sources checked

An applicant under 18 for the Chinese Government Scholarship must submit the legal documents of his or her legal guardian(s) in China. That is section VI, item 11 of the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship.

If the parents are not resident in China, Order No. 42, Article 38 requires the school to make the parents formally entrust a foreigner or a Chinese citizen resident in China as the student's guardian and to provide related proof materials.

The document checklist tool prints the section VI items that match your answers; tick "I am under 18" and item 11 appears on the list. The tool asks your study level, whether you apply for the Scholarship, the teaching language, and three tick boxes — "I will study in China for more than six months", "I am under 18", and "I am applying for an arts or design programme" — then prints the applicable items with their item numbers; it does not check, store or submit documents.

Scholarship guide requirement

Section VI, item 11 of the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship (China Scholarship Council): an applicant under the age of 18 shall submit the legal documents of his or her legal guardian(s) in China.

Section VI, item 11 does not name the form these guardian documents must take, such as notarisation.

Order No. 42, Article 38

The English wording of Order No. 42 is this site's translation of the Chinese text.

Article 38 of the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security): a school that recruits an international student under 18 whose parents are not resident in China must require the parents to formally entrust a foreigner or a Chinese citizen resident in China as the student's guardian, and must require related proof materials to be provided.

A school may accept international students for short-term study in group form, but shall pre-sign an agreement with the foreign sending unit. For an elementary or secondary school that accepts international students for short-term study in group form, the foreign sending unit shall, in accordance with the law of its own country, pre-handle the legal procedures for the minors' entry and exit, and shall send a person to accompany the group and act as the student's guardian during the study period at the school.

Article 38 does not set a notarisation requirement for the entrustment.

Which tick box adds the item

For a Chinese Government Scholarship applicant the document checklist tool prints the section VI items that apply to the answers given. The "I am under 18" tick box is the one that brings item 11 — the guardian documents — into the printed list. The body that receives the application and the university may ask for more.

Questions people ask

What guardian documents does an under-18 scholarship applicant need?

Section VI, item 11 of the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship requires the legal documents of the applicant's legal guardian(s) in China. The item does not state the form those documents must take.

If my parents live outside China, what must the school do?

Order No. 42, Article 38 requires the school to make the parents formally entrust a foreigner or a Chinese citizen resident in China as the guardian and to require related proof materials. The article does not set a notarisation requirement.

Sources

Checked 10 October 2026 and 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or immigration advice, is not published by the bodies named, and the official text and the instructions of the body handling your application prevail if they differ.

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