Visa Requirements for China

All students studying in China will need a visa. You will receive guidance on the visa process from a Study Abroad advisor. It is your responsibility to apply for your visa. You will be informed of deadlines for submission of required documents by a Study Abroad advisor. You can contact one of our Study Abroad advisors with any questions or concerns. You must submit all required documents to a Study Abroad advisor.

Before Starting the Visa Process

  1. Prior to applying for study abroad, check the expiration date on your passport. Visa approval requires that your passport be valid for a minimum of six months past the end date of your program. If necessary, you can apply to renew your passport through the local post office, or county clerk office.
  2. Complete your profile and application in the Compass. All students applying for the BJTU exchange program in China must fill out a profile and application on the Compass database. 
  3. Upload a scanned copy of your passport, and add your health insurance information (name on policy and number) under the ‘Insurance’ tab.
  4. Upon acceptance into the program, you will receive an email from the RIT Global office notifying you of the results and providing instructions with next steps.

Types of Visas

If you plan to attend the BJTU exchange program for 6 months (or one semester), you will need to apply for an X2 visa. 

If you plan to study at BJTU for more than one year, you will need to apply for an X1 visa.

Required Documents

For both the the X2 visa application (6 month study in China) and the X1 visa application (one year or longer study in China), the following documents are required:

  • Valid passport 
  • Visa application (form V.2013) 
  • Recent color passport photo 
  • Proof of legal stay or resident status (only for non-U.S. citizens) 
  • Original and photocopy of the admission letter from host university 
  • Original and photocopy of the “visa application for study in China” (form JW202)

Costs

The application fee for U.S. citizens is $140.00 USD for a single entry or multiple entry visa. 

For non-U.S. citizens, single entry visa is $30.00 and double entry visa is $45.00.

Multiple entries for 6 months is $65.00. Multiple entries for 12 months is $90.00.

NOTE: Visa fees may vary for citizens of certain countries. Please check with the closest consulate or embassy of the People’s Republic of China to confirm your fee. Also, students using a visa processing company may have additional fees paid directly to the company. 

Acceptable methods of payment are credit card (MasterCard or Visa only), money order, cashier’s check, or company check. Check or money order should be made payable to “Chinese Embassy”, or to “Chinese Consulate in (name of city)”. Personal checks are not accepted.

Frequently Asked Questions

During your advising meetings, the study abroad advisor will review the process with you. Upon approval of your study abroad application, the study abroad advisor will work with you to collect the necessary documents.

The first step is to complete your application for the exchange program. The RIT Global office will then submit your application materials to the host university.

Processing time is approximately one month. Upon acceptance of your application, BJTU will submit the request for your JW202 to the Chinese Ministry. BJTU will forward your Admission letter and JW202 to the RIT Global office.

You should start collecting the remaining documents needed for your visa application and apply for your visa at the Embassy or Consulate of the People’s Republic of China.

You can apply for an appointment and submit your documents in person. Alternatively, you have the option of working with a visa company, such as Travisa or Travel Docs, who can submit the visa application on your behalf. The study abroad advisor can help you get started.

You should plan to submit your visa application as soon as possible after you receive your admission letter and JW202.

In addition to the visa items listed above, you must also provide the following: 

  • Photocopy of previous Chinese passport(s) or previous Chinese visas 
  • If applying for a Chinese visa for the first time, you should provide your previous Chinese passport and copy of the data page 
  • If you obtained a Chinese visa before and want to apply for a new visa with a renewed foreign passport that does not contain your previous Chinese visa, you should provide a photocopy of the previous passport’s data page and photo page, and a copy of the Chinese visa page.

Students applying for an X1 or X2 study visa will need to leave their passport at the Chinese Embassy or Consulate (or submit passport by mail if applying through a visa company) until the visa is approved.

The visa will be issued approximately 4 business days after the application is submitted to the embassy/consulate.

  • Book your airline ticket 
  • Arrive at BJTU according to the requested registration date on your admissions letter 
  • Register at the Center for International Education 
  • If you are planning to live off campus, you must also register with the local police station