welcome to the Duke global travel office guidance for entry visas to the People’s Republic of China.

If you have any questions, please write the Global Travel Office (GTO). 

Of note:

A. We cannot apply for an entry visa to the People’s Republic of China (China) – no matter your citizenship or the type of visa we are pursuing – until we are within 90 days of your intended arrival date in China.

B. Once you are within that time frame, please initiate the visa process by emailing a color photo or scan of your passport biographical page and your flight itinerary to the Global Travel Office.

C. If it is too early to apply, you can still begin pulling together the materials outlined below as soon as you know you will visit China in order to be prepared to apply once we are within the allotted window.

D. If you have other international travel during those 90-days for which you will need your passport, if you are a U.S. passport holder, we can explore securing a second passport for you to process your visa while you travel on your primary passport. Certain other nationalities offer their citizens a second, limited validity as well, and you can email GTO for more information.

The list of required items for a PRC short-term stay visa is as follows:

  1. Applicants must have at least 6 months of validity, from the date of your intended departure from China, left in the passport booklet and on any legal status in the country from which you are applying.  Note: if you have a Visiting Scholar, Student Visa, or a Permanent Residence/Green Card for the U.S., you must also have at least 6-months of validity on that status to be able to apply for your China Visa from within the U.S. otherwise, you will have to apply in your home country.
  2. Applicants must have at least two completely blank visa pages and provide a digital, color photo or scan of these pages. Note: the pages must be consecutively numbered and cannot be 'endorsement' pages or pages that do not explicitly indicate they are for 'visas.'
  3. Applicants must provide one digital, color headshot to begin the process. This photo must meet the standards of the Chinese Embassy. This photo must meet the PRC Embassy’s Chinese visa photo requirements. Note: We recommend travelers have a friend or family member take a photo of the applicant, standing against a white/off-white wall, with a "resting, neutral facial expression" (no glasses or headwear) and bright lighting. Please email photos to GTO for review/editing.
  4. Applicants must provide a digital, color photo or scan of either an NC driver’s license, utility bill or lease/mortgage statement proving residency and matching the address of the applicant.
  5. Applicants must complete the online China Visa Application Intake Form.
    1. Please note these questions are directly from the Chinese Online Visa Application (COVA), which we will complete on your behalf (as is allowed). There are additional questions regarding Duke’s financial support of your travels and associated with DKU, your inviter (which we will provide from records at Duke and DKU).
    2. We will draft and secure your DKU invitation letter for your China Visa Application.
    3. If you have an invitation from a non-DKU host, please email it to GTO to ensure it is in the correct format and contains the information required by China.
  6. Applicants must complete, sign, scan and email back the COVA Visa Application Statement.
  7. Past travel: As of March 2024, the PRC Embassy has announced that they wish to know all countries other than the U.S. and PRC that the applicant has visited in the last 12 months only (previously it was the last 5 years).  If the traveler has visited any countries in the Middle East and Africa, please email these details to GTO as you may have to fill out a supplemental form.