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China student visa requirements: the document list by visa type

Unofficial summary · Sources checked

A student visa application for mainland China is built from three layers: the basic documents every applicant submits under Article 7 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners; the study documents that depend on the visa type; and any further material the visa authority asks for in the individual case. For X1, Article 7, item (11) requires the admission notice issued by the admission institution plus certification documents provided by the competent authority, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Visa Application Instructions and the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom name as Form JW201 or Form JW202. For X2, both of those lists name the admission letter alone. The X1 or X2 visa check prints the document list for the study length you enter and tells you to read the page of the mission where you will apply.

Where an official document is published in Chinese, the English given here is this site's translation.

What the Regulations require

Article 6, item (11) sets the two categories: the X1 visa is issued to persons who apply for long-term study in China, and the X2 visa to persons who apply for short-term study in China. Article 36, items (4) and (5) of the Regulations define the terms: short-term means staying in China for a period not exceeding 180 days (including 180 days), and long-term or resident means residing in China for a period exceeding 180 days. The Visa Application Instructions' category table puts the same line on the two visas: X1 is issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of more than 180 days, and X2 to those who intend to study for a period of no more than 180 days.

Article 7 sets the base list for any visa application: the applicant fills out the application form and submits his or her passport or other international travel documents, qualified photos, and material relating to the purpose of application.

Article 7, item (11) then adds the study documents:

  • X1 — the admission notice issued by the admission institution and the certification documents provided by the competent authority, submitted in accordance with relevant provisions.
  • X2 — such certification documents as the admission notice issued by the admission institution, submitted in accordance with relevant provisions. Article 7, item (11) words the X2 requirement as "such certification documents as" the admission notice and does not name a second document.

The final paragraph of Article 7 is the one that closes the list: the visa authority may, in light of specific cases, require a foreigner to submit additional application material.

What the Ministry's Visa Application Instructions list

The Visa Application Instructions of the People's Republic of China on the China Consular Services site give the general instruction. Under "Basic Documents", as required by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General in your locality, you fill in the visa application form online and submit the applicant's passport and photo, proof of legal stay or residence, and the previous Chinese passport or previous Chinese visa — for specific requirements the text refers you to the "Guidance on Visa Application" section of the China Online Visa Application System or to the website of the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General in your locality.

Then, "together with the following":

  • X1 visa — the Admission Letter issued by a school or other admitting entity in China; the Confirmation Form for Study in China (Form JW201 or Form JW202).
  • X2 visa — the Admission Letter issued by a school or other admitting entity in China.

The instructions add a note under X1: the holder must, within 30 days of entering China, apply for a residence permit at the exit-entry administration of the public security bureau of the people's government at or above the county level of the intended place of residence. The instructions give no fees and no processing times.

What the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom lists

The Embassy of the PRC in the United Kingdom publishes its own list, Part Two: How to Apply for a Visa for China (Mainland only); the page carries a time stamp of 1 July 2020, and it states what the UK missions ask for. Requirements of other missions may differ.

Its "Basic Documents" section reads:

  1. Passport — original passport with at least six months of remaining validity and blank visa pages, plus a photocopy of the bio data page.
  2. Photo — one recently-taken colour passport photo, bare-head and full face, against a light background, with a reference to "Photo Requirements for Chinese Visa Application".
  3. Proof of legal stay or residence status — for non-British applicants, a valid British visa or other proof of legal stay, residence, employment or study in the U.K.
  4. Photocopy of previous Chinese passports or previous Chinese visas — for foreign nationals who once held Chinese nationality: the Chinese passport last held, a photocopy of its data page, and permanent residency of the foreign country and the naturalization paper, when applying for a Chinese visa for the first time; photocopies of the data page of the previous passport and of the previous Chinese visa where the current passport contains no Chinese visa; and, where the name differs between passports, an official document of name change.

For the two student categories:

  • X1-Visa — (1) the Admission Letter issued by a college, university or other educational institutions in China; (2) original or photocopy of "Visa Application for Study in China" (Form JW201 or Form JW202); (3) original or photocopy of the "Confirmation Form for Elementary Stages Students Study in China issued by Chinese relevant authorities", for the elementary stage.
  • X2-Visa — original or photocopy of the Admission Notice issued by a college, university or other educational institution in China.

The UK page repeats the post-entry rule for X1: holders shall, within 30 days from the date of their entry, apply to the exit/entry administrations of the local public security bureau in the proposed places of residence for foreigners' residence permits.

Where the two lists differ

Document X1 X2 Text that says so
Application form Fill out Fill out Regulations, Article 7 (form); Visa Application Instructions, Basic Documents (fill in online)
Passport or other international travel document Submit Submit Regulations, Article 7; Visa Application Instructions, Basic Documents
Qualified photo Submit Submit Regulations, Article 7; Visa Application Instructions, Basic Documents; UK page, I.2 (bare-head, full face, light background)
Passport with at least six months' remaining validity and blank visa pages, plus bio page photocopy Required Required UK page, I.1
Proof of legal stay or residence Required Required Visa Application Instructions, Basic Documents; UK page, I.3 (applicable to non-British applicants)
Previous Chinese passport or previous Chinese visa Where applicable Where applicable Visa Application Instructions, Basic Documents; UK page, I.4 (former Chinese nationals)
Admission Letter / Admission Notice Required Required Regulations, Article 7, item (11); Visa Application Instructions, X1 and X2; UK page, X1 (1) and X2
Form JW201 or JW202 Required Not listed Regulations, Article 7, item (11) (certification documents of the competent authority); Visa Application Instructions, X1 ("Confirmation Form for Study in China"); UK page, X1 (2) ("Visa Application for Study in China")
Confirmation Form for Elementary Stages Students Where the elementary stage applies Not listed UK page, X1 (3) only
Any further material Visa authority may require it Visa authority may require it Regulations, Article 7, final paragraph

Three points fall out of that table. The admission document is called the "admission notice issued by the admission institution" in Article 7, item (11), the "Admission Letter issued by a school or other admitting entity" in the Visa Application Instructions, and the "Admission Letter" or "Admission Notice issued by a college, university or other educational institution" on the UK page — three wordings for one item, and this page does not tell you which to prefer. The same form numbers carry two names: "Confirmation Form for Study in China" in the Ministry's instructions, "Visa Application for Study in China" on the UK page. And the UK page says "original or photocopy" for the JW form and the admission notice, while the X1 and X2 entries in the Ministry's instructions do not say whether originals or photocopies are accepted. Take all three wordings to the office handling your application.

The Ministry's instructions say the basic documents are required "as required by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General in your locality" and point to that mission's own website or to the guidance in the China Online Visa Application System. What appears on the UK page is the UK missions' statement.

After you enter China

Both texts give the same 30-day period for X1, in slightly different words: within 30 days of entering China, apply at the exit-entry administration of the public security bureau of the people's government at or above the county level of the intended place of residence, per the Visa Application Instructions, or to the exit/entry administrations of the local public security bureau in the proposed places of residence, per the UK page. Neither the Visa Application Instructions nor the UK page puts a 30-day residence permit note under X2; in both, that note stands under X1.

What this site's visa check does

The document checklist tool is a separate page; the visa check is the one that sorts the type. On /tools/visa-type/ you enter the length of study in days, or a start date and an end date, where you will live, and whether you plan an off-campus internship or work-study. It applies one line of its own — more than 180 days gives X1, 180 days or fewer gives X2 — and that line matches Article 36, items (4) and (5) of the Regulations, which define short-term as a stay not exceeding 180 days (including 180 days) and long-term as a stay exceeding 180 days. It then prints the documents for that visa as listed by the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom, plus the steps after entry that fit your answers. Its day counting covers the length of study only: it does not count the 30-day residence permit period or any other deadline. It shows one embassy's document list, and it does not decide a visa — Chinese embassies and consulates decide visa applications, and exit/entry administrations decide residence permits.

Questions people ask

Does an X1 visa holder have to apply for a residence permit?

Yes. The Visa Application Instructions state that the holder must, within 30 days of entering China, apply at the exit-entry administration of the public security bureau at or above the county level of the intended place of residence; the UK page states the same 30 days from the date of entry, at the exit/entry administrations of the local public security bureau in the proposed places of residence.

Can the visa office ask for documents that are not on these lists?

Yes. The final paragraph of Article 7 of the Regulations states that the visa authority may, in light of specific cases, require a foreigner to submit additional application material.

Does every Chinese embassy ask for the same documents?

The Ministry's instructions tie the basic documents to the local mission: they say the basic documents are required "as required by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General in your locality" and refer you to that mission's website or to the guidance section of the China Online Visa Application System. The list on the UK page is what the UK missions ask for.

Do the Regulations say how many days separate X1 from X2?

Indirectly. Article 6, item (11) describes the X1 visa as issued for long-term study and the X2 visa for short-term study, and Article 36, items (4) and (5) define short-term as not exceeding 180 days (including 180 days) and long-term as exceeding 180 days. The Visa Application Instructions give the figure in the category table: X1 for study of more than 180 days, X2 for study of no more than 180 days.

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 above, and where the official text or the instructions of the body handling your application differ from this page, the official text and those instructions prevail.

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