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China student visa requirements: Article 7 and the UK and US embassy lists side by side

Unofficial summary · Sources checked

If you have been admitted to a school in mainland China and are applying for an X1 or X2 visa, the baseline is Article 7 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners (State Council Decree No. 637), published in English by the National Immigration Administration: a filled-in application form, your passport or other international travel document, qualified photos, and material relating to the purpose of the application. For X1, Article 7, item (11) adds the admission notice issued by the admission institution and the certification documents provided by the competent authority; for X2, it adds such certification documents as the admission notice. On top of that baseline sit two further layers: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' own general instruction, and the list published by the embassy or consulate-general that takes your application.

What Article 7 of the Regulations requires

Article 7 states: "A foreigner applying for a visa shall fill out the application form, and submit his or her passport or other international travel documents, qualified photos, and material relating to the purpose of application."

Item (11) of Article 7 covers the two student categories:

"(11) To apply for the X1 visa, the applicant shall, in accordance with relevant provisions, submit the admission notice issued by the admission institution and the certification documents provided by the competent authority; to apply for the X2 visa, the applicant shall, in accordance with relevant provisions, submit such certification documents as the admission notice issued by the admission institution."

Article 7 ends with a further provision: "The visa authority may, in light of specific cases, require a foreigner to submit additional application material."

Article 7 names categories of material. It does not name Form JW201 or Form JW202, and it does not name the elementary-stage confirmation form; those names appear in the Ministry's instruction and in the embassy lists below.

What the Ministry's general instruction covers

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes its own instruction, "Visa Application Instructions of the People's Republic of China", on its consular services website (cs.mfa.gov.cn). Under "Basic Documents" it asks applicants, "as required by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General in your locality", to fill in the visa application form online and submit the passport and photo, proof of legal stay or residence, and the previous Chinese passport or previous Chinese visa, with the specifics to be taken from the "Guidance on Visa Application" section of the China Online Visa Application System (consular.mfa.gov.cn/VISA/) or from the website of the embassy or consulate-general in their locality.

For the two student categories the Ministry's instruction lists:

  • X1 Visa — the Admission Letter issued by a school or other admitting entity in China, and 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 Ministry's category entries define X1 as issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of more than 180 days, and X2 as issued to those who intend to study in China for a period of no more than 180 days.

The four lists side by side

Regulations, Article 7 Ministry's Visa Application Instructions Embassy in the UK, "Part Two: How to Apply for a Visa" Embassy in the US, "Requirements and Procedures" (Updated September, 2025)
X1 Admission notice issued by the admission institution; certification documents provided by the competent authority (item (11)) Admission Letter issued by a school or other admitting entity in China; Confirmation Form for Study in China (Form JW201 or Form JW202) (1) 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 Elementary Stage) For foreign higher education institution students: Confirmation Form for Study in China (Form JW201 or Form JW202) and a photocopy of the Admission Letter. For foreign elementary, junior/senior high school students: Confirmation Form for Elementary Stage Students Study in China
X2 Such certification documents as the admission notice issued by the admission institution (item (11)) Admission Letter issued by a school or other admitting entity in China Original or photocopy of the Admission Notice issued by a college, university or other educational institution in China Admission Notice issued by a school or other entities in China; Information Form for Foreign Students' Short-term Visit (Form DQ, if have)

Basic documents each page lists

Beyond the X1 and X2 items, each page has its own list of documents that accompany any application.

  • Regulations, Article 7 — the application form, the passport or other international travel documents, qualified photos, and material relating to the purpose of the application.
  • Ministry's Visa Application Instructions — the online application form, passport and photo, proof of legal stay or residence, and the previous Chinese passport or previous Chinese visa, taken as required by the embassy or consulate-general in your locality.
  • Embassy in the UK — an original passport with at least six months of remaining validity and blank visa pages, plus a photocopy of the bio data page; one recently-taken colour passport photo (bare-head, full face) against a light background; proof of legal stay or residence status for non-British applicants; and, for applicants who once held Chinese nationality, the Chinese passport last held with a photocopy of its data page, permanent residency and naturalization paper, or photocopies of the data page of the previous passport and previous Chinese visa where the current passport contains no Chinese visa. Where the name on the current passport differs from the previous one, an official document of name change is required.
  • Embassy in the US — the notice divides its list in two. Documents to be uploaded online: the passport bio-page and a blank visa page (remaining validity more than six months, at least two blank visa pages), the latest Chinese visa or Chinese residence permit, proof of residence, and for a foreigner in the US a photocopy of green card, visa, I-20 or I-94. Documents to be submitted on-site as originals: the passport original, the application info-page showing "Passport to be submitted" status and the barcode, the old passport containing a Chinese visa or residence permit still within validity, and any other original documents consular officials ask to be submitted on site.

The US notice also sets out the Embassy's consular jurisdiction — Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Delaware, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and Puerto Rico — and asks applicants to confirm that they live in those states before submitting.

Where the UK and US lists differ

Original or photocopy. The UK page's X1 entry says "Original or photocopy" for Form JW201 or JW202 and for the elementary-stage confirmation form, and its X2 entry says "Original or photocopy of Admission Notice". The UK page's Important Notices, item (3), adds that original documents required will be returned once verified at the Chinese Visa Application Service Center or the Chinese Embassy or Consulate General, and that where not otherwise specified a copy of a document can be in the form of a fax or computer printout. The US X1 and X2 rows name their documents without the words "original or photocopy", except that the US X1 row asks for a "Photocopy of the Admission Letter" from higher education students; the US notice handles the question in its basic documents section instead, by separating documents to be uploaded online from documents to be submitted on-site as originals, with "Other original documents that the consular officials asked to be submitted on-site" as the last item of the on-site list.

Form DQ on the X2 row. The US X2 row lists the Admission Notice and then the "Information Form for Foreign Students' Short-term Visit (Form DQ, if have)" — the condition is the notice's own wording. The UK X2 entry names the admission notice and lists no Form DQ; the Ministry's X2 heading names the admission letter and lists no Form DQ.

The pupils' confirmation form. The UK X1 entry places the Confirmation Form for Elementary Stages Students Study in China as its third item, marked "(for Elementary Stage)". The US X1 entry instead splits applicants into two groups: foreign higher education institution students, who submit the Confirmation Form for Study in China and a photocopy of the Admission Letter, and foreign elementary, junior/senior high school students, who submit the Confirmation Form for Elementary Stage Students Study in China. The US X1 row adds that for foreign elementary, junior/senior high school students residing in China for family reunion purposes, application for an X1 visa is not compulsory. The Ministry's X1 heading names the admission letter and Form JW201 or Form JW202 and does not list the elementary-stage confirmation form.

Each list is a statement by the page that publishes it. The Ministry's instruction points applicants to the requirements of the embassy or consulate-general in their locality.

After you enter China on an X1 visa

The UK page's X1 entry states that holders of an X1 visa 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. The Ministry's X1 heading states that 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 site's page on the residence permit for study after arrival follows that step.

Questions people ask

Which visa matches the length of my programme?

The Ministry's category entries describe X1 as issued to those who intend to study in China for more than 180 days and X2 as issued to those who intend to study in China for no more than 180 days. The US notice uses the same 180-day line in its X1 and X2 rows. The choice between the two is set out on this site's X1 or X2 page.

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

Yes, under Article 7's final paragraph: "The visa authority may, in light of specific cases, require a foreigner to submit additional application material." The US notice expresses the same idea for the documents presented on site, with "Other original documents that the consular officials asked to be submitted on-site", and the Ministry's instruction says, in its S2 heading, that for other personal affairs relevant supporting materials shall be provided as required by the consular officers.

Does the UK list accept a photocopy of Form JW201 or JW202?

The UK page's X1 entry says "Original or photocopy" of the "Visa Application for Study in China" (Form JW201 or Form JW202). The US X1 row names the Confirmation Form for Study in China (Form JW201 or Form JW202) without stating whether an original or a photocopy is needed, and the Ministry's X1 heading names Form JW201 or JW202 without that marking either.

What must I do after entering China on an X1 visa?

The UK page and the Ministry's instruction each give a 30-day step: apply for a residence permit at the exit-entry administration of the public security bureau, within 30 days of entry, at the place where you intend to reside.

Whose list applies to my application?

The Ministry's instruction answers this directly: the basic documents are required "as required by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General in your locality". The US notice applies to applications made to the Chinese Embassy in the US through the new COVA system, which the notice says officially launched at that Embassy on 30 September 2025, and it asks applicants to confirm they live in the states it lists.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary prepared by X1 & X2 Visa Guide, is not legal or immigration advice, is not published by the National Immigration Administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or any embassy, and if the official text or the instructions of the visa office or exit-entry office handling your case differ from what is written here, the official text and those instructions prevail.

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