Get your Chinese student visa

Located in the southeast of the Eurasian continent, China is well known as the ‘Flowery Kingdom’. Offering a plethora of undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs, China is considered one of the sought-after countries by international students for higher education.

Chinese universities operate under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. In China, the academic year is divided into two semesters: one begins in September and the other one in February. Some of the colleges follow tri-semester pattern as well. Some students choose to study in China because of the better placement opportunities.

All those students who want to study at Chinese universities must meet the requirements of both Chinese government and Chinese universities.

Requirements by the Chinese Government:

• Must be a real student or must hold a student or visitor visa
• No criminal record
• Some official sectors restrict the number of applicants from certain countries
• Should meet all the requirements and be in the state to finance their own studies or should have a guarantor

For more information regarding the requirements of the Chinese government, please visit the Ministry of Education.

There are various types of visa in China, wherein X Visa is designated as a student visa for all those candidates who wish to study in China. X Visa is issued to foreigners who come to China for study or intern practice for a period of six months or above.

Requirements of Chinese universities:

Chinese universities have different requirements for different levels of degree courses. Before applying, one must carefully view the requirements:

-          For non-degree language and culture programmes, one must have obtained a high school diploma

-          For Chinese-medium degree courses (i.e. degree courses taught in Mandarin, Chinese), one must have HSK examination results to prove their Chinese language proficiency. Candidates applying for a master’s degree must provide a copy of transcripts and recommendation letters

-          For English-medium courses, one must provide English proficiency test scores such as TOEFL or IELTS

With the changing trend, more and more universities have begun to offer international programs taught in English. Such programs no longer require HSK examination results and are very well suitable for international applicants.

Below is the lowdown of requirements for different degrees:

Type of Student	Application and admission requirements	Required Chinese language level	Study time
Short-term student	High school graduate or  equivalent (e.g. A-level). In some universities of China, any education background is accepted.	No requirement	1 - 20 weeks
Language student	High school graduate or  equivalent (e.g. A-level).	No requirement	1 - 2 years
Undergraduate or associate students	High school graduate or equivalent (e.g. A-level). A passing grade in China's college entrance examination is required. Note: GCSE* holders are not admitted onto degree programs by China's universities; those students should apply for a one- year program of Pre-College training (or International Foundation Year program) at the chosen university.	HSK level 4-6 (for Chinese-medium courses)	Undergraduate student: 4 - 5 years; Associate students: 2 - 3 years
Master's degree student	Must obtain a bachelor’s degree with at least two recommendations from professors. A passing grade in China's college entrance examination is required.	HSK level 5-8 (for Chinese-medium courses)	2 - 3 years
Doctoral student	Must obtain a master’s degree with at least two recommendations from professors. A passing grade in China's college entrance examination is required.	HSK level 5-8 (for Chinese-medium courses)	3 years
Transfer student	Student who is studying at another Chinese university should provide a sealed transfer letter from the Foreign Students' Office of current university; and meet other requirements according to degree level.	Depends	Depend

 * GCSE stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education, the basic qualification to get into colleges in UK.  The exam is taken by students between 13-16 years of age.

How to apply?

• Visit the visa office of the Chinese embassy or Consulate -General in the consular jurisdiction where you reside to submit the application
• If you cannot visit personally, then you may send someone else or a travel/visa agent to the visa office of the Embassy or Consulate -General in the consular jurisdiction where you reside for application process
• Mailed applications are not accepted and will be refused by most of Chinese embassies or consulates in overseas.

The processing time of visa is four working days and if you want to collect your visa before, then you must visit the express service and rush service which takes 2-3 working days in processing.

Documents to be submitted at the time of application:

• Must have a valid and actual passport. The passport must have at least six (6) months validity left before expiration and at least one blank page left in it.
• One completed visa application form with one recent passport photo
• Visa Application for Study in China (Form JW-201 or Form JW-202, original and copy)
• Admission Notice (original and copy) 
• Applicants who will study in China for more than one year shall also provide a Physical Examination Certificate for Foreign Citizen

Other interesting reads:

- ETS announces more dates for TOEFL

- Virtual UK education exhibition for Indian students