X1 & X2 Visa GuideUnofficial China student visa from Kenya: the X1 and X2 documents on the Nairobi visa centre pages and the embassy fee table
Unofficial summary · Sources checked
For an X1 visa in Kenya you are asked for the original and a photocopy of your admission notice and the original and a photocopy of "Visa Application for Study in China" (Form JW201 or Form JW202); for an X2 visa the centre's list asks for a round trip plane booking and a photocopy of the admission notice. Those two lists are printed by the Chinese Visa Application Service Center (Nairobi), the pages the embassy's table links to — not by the embassy itself (Nairobi visa centre, X1 documents page and X2 documents page). The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Kenya contributes the visa-type descriptions, the processing times and the fee table (Embassy of the PRC in Kenya, visa types and materials page; and its visa fees page).
Everything below is one mission's published pages as of their dates. Chinese posts elsewhere publish their own lists, and nothing here binds them.
Who says what
Two publishers are involved, and the distinction decides where you should go to check a detail:
- Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Kenya — its "Chinese visa types and materials" table gives one line per visa type with a link to the documents, and it states processing times. Both that page and the fees page carry a date line of 2026-07-09.
- Chinese Visa Application Service Center (Nairobi) — the pages the embassy's table links to, where the document lists are printed. Neither centre page carries a date line.
The embassy's table describes the two student categories as follows (Embassy of the PRC in Kenya, visa types and materials page): X1 is "Issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of more than 180 days", and X2 is "Issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of no more than 180 days". That 180-day line is what separates them at the application stage.
The documents, as printed
| Printed requirement | X1 (study over 180 days) | X2 (study of no more than 180 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Admission notice issued by a school or other organization in China | Original and photocopy, listed as item 1 | Photocopy only, listed as item 2 |
| Round trip plane booking | Not listed on the X1 page | Listed as item 1 |
| "Visa Application for Study in China" (Form JW201 or Form JW202) issued by Chinese relevant authorities | Original and photocopy, listed as item 2 | Not listed on the X2 page |
The X2 page lists two items: a round trip plane booking (item 1) and a photocopy of the admission notice (item 2). It has no JW201/JW202 line, and the X1 page has no plane-booking line. The admission-notice requirement on the X2 page is a photocopy, not the original plus a photocopy asked for on the X1 page.
Both centre pages close with the same two notes, printed under "Please be noted": first, that if necessary the consular officer may require the applicant to provide other supplementary materials, or require an interview; second, that the consular officer will decide whether or not to issue a visa and will decide the visa validity, duration of stay in China and number of entries based on the specific assessment of each application.
After you enter on an X1
The X1 page carries a reminder in its own name: holders of an X1 visa must apply for a residence permit from the immigration department of the local public security authority in the place intended to stay, within 30 days of entry to China (Nairobi visa centre, X1 documents page). The X2 page carries no such reminder. The steps that follow arrival are set out in /guides/residence-permit-for-study-after-arrival/.
Against the national rule
Regulations Article 7(11) — the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners, State Council Decree No. 637, promulgated 12 July 2013 and in force from 1 September 2013, in the English text published by the National Immigration Administration — says that for an X1 visa the applicant submits the admission notice issued by the admission institution and the certification documents provided by the competent authority, and that for an X2 visa the applicant submits such certification documents as the admission notice issued by the admission institution. The Nairobi X1 list covers both halves of that sentence: the admission notice, plus Form JW201/JW202, which the centre page describes as issued by Chinese relevant authorities. The X2 list names a photocopy of the admission notice together with a round trip plane booking. Article 7(11) itself says nothing about whether a document must be produced as an original or a photocopy, nothing about processing times and nothing about cost; those details below come from the Kenyan pages named above.
Processing times stated by the embassy
The embassy's visa types and materials page gives two figures (Embassy of the PRC in Kenya, visa types and materials page):
- Regular service: 4 business days
- Express service: 3 business days (urgent situation)
That is this embassy's statement about applications handled there, and the embassy adds that the figures are average and for reference only, counted from the date of passport submission. The two Nairobi document pages give no processing time.
Fees, stated by the embassy
The fees page is headed "Visa fee (KSH)（2023.12.11-）", so the figures carry effect from 11 December 2023 as printed, and the page itself carries a date line of 2026-07-09 (Embassy of the PRC in Kenya, visa fees page). The table is organised mainly by number of entries and validity period, and by nationality; a few rows for specific nationalities name visa categories, but no row names X1 or X2.
| Entry type and validity | (A) Kenya nationals | (B) Any other third countries |
|---|---|---|
| Single entry, valid for 3 months | 3000 KSH | 2300 KSH |
| Double entry, valid for 6 months | 4500 KSH | 3400 KSH |
| Multiple entry, valid for 6 months | 6000 KSH | 4500 KSH |
| Multiple entry, valid for 12 months | 9000 KSH | 6800 KSH |
| Group L visa | 2400 KSH | 1800 KSH |
The page has further rows for specific nationalities that are not shown above. Under the table it prints "Attention: If not listed separately, the Express 1/2 fee is 3700/2500", then a "PaymentMethods" line, "Visa applications must be forwarded to the Visa Application Service Center and pay for fees in the Visa Center.", and a notice pointing to the visa centre's website for service fees. The page does not say what distinguishes the two express figures, and neither X1 nor X2 appears anywhere in the fee table. Because both document pages state that the consular officer decides the number of entries, which row applies to your case is not known until the visa is issued.
Questions people ask
Are the X1 documents originals or photocopies?
Both. Item 1 on the X1 page reads "Original and photocopy of Admission Notice issued by a school or other organizations in China", and item 2 reads "Original and photocopy of 'Visa Application for Study in China' (Form JW201 or Form JW202) issued by Chinese relevant authorities" (Nairobi visa centre, X1 documents page). Bring the original along with a copy of each.
What does the X2 list contain?
The X2 page lists a round trip plane booking as item 1 and a photocopy of the Admission Notice issued by a school or other organizations in China as item 2 (Nairobi visa centre, X2 documents page). The X1 page lists no plane booking.
Where does the fee get paid?
At the visa centre. The fees page's payment line states that visa applications must be forwarded to the Visa Application Service Center and that fees are paid in the Visa Center (Embassy of the PRC in Kenya, visa fees page). A separate notice on that page points to the visa centre's website for service fees.
How long does processing take?
Regular service is stated as 4 business days and express service as 3 business days for an urgent situation (Embassy of the PRC in Kenya, visa types and materials page). Those are this embassy's figures, from the page with the 2026-07-09 date line.
Sources
- Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners — National Immigration Administration (English text published by the National Immigration Administration, State Council Decree No. 637)
- Chinese visa types and materials — Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Kenya
- X1 long-term study, required documents — Chinese Visa Application Service Center (Nairobi)
- X2 short-term study, required documents — Chinese Visa Application Service Center (Nairobi)
- Visa fees — Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Kenya
Checked 11 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary of the documents listed above: it is not legal or immigration advice and is not published by the National Immigration Administration, the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Kenya or the Chinese Visa Application Service Center, and where anything here differs from the official text or from what the visa office or exit-entry office handling your case instructs, those prevail.