Country Visa Guide Detail

All Pakistani students who wish to enter China for educational motive have to acquire a student visa. The Student visa for China is called X Visa. The X Visas has two types. The types of X visas are divided into two parts on basis of duration of your study programme in China.

X1 Student Visa

The X1 visa has validity of 5 years. It is for applicants from anywhere in the world taking admission in under graduate or post graduate full time study programmes having time duration of longer than 6 months. The X1 visa holders are allowed to have multiple entry visas enabling them to enter or exit China on X1 visa in the duration of 5 years. The holders of X1 visa had to apply for Temporary Residence Permit of China within 30 days of their entry in China. They will apply for Temporary Resident Permit of China at a local Exit and Entry Administration Bureau. By having Temporary Residence Permit of China the holders will be registered as temporary resident in the country for the duration of their study program.

X2 Student Visa

The X2 student visa has validity of 6 months. It is for international students belonging from any country of the world who wish to enroll in study program or course which has not more than 6 months study duration. That course can be training course, internship or language course which will be completed in 6 months duration. The holder of X2 student visa cannot have multiple entry visa they will only be granted single entry visa. However, in case of any exception or academic demand, the applicant can extend the visa for more than 6 months but the application for extension of X2 visa must be registered before 180-day mark.

After getting your offer letter or letter of acceptance from Chinese University where you had applied for admission you can visit Chinese Embassy or Consulate nearest to your area to know the perquisites of visa application. The international students belonging from UK, Canada, Australia and European countries can apply for student visa of China through CVASC (Chinese VISA Application Service Centre). All other international students will visit Chinese Embassy or Consulate in their home country and place their visa application personally. The visa application can be submitted through travel agency or study abroad consultants in case there is a genuine reason due to which you can’t come to Embassy in person. You cannot mail your visa application because it will be refused by Chinese Embassy. You can visit Chinese Embassy in business hours and working days anytime but it is preferable to visit before 11:00 am so that you can take all the needed information in detail without rush.

It is recommended to apply for student visa of china one month before your study programme commence in China. Applying three months before than your study programme commencement in China will be too early. Chinese Embassies are very efficient in their work, you can expect your visa application to be processed and approved within one week or two maximum.

• Valid passport of applicant ( the passport must be valid for at least 6 month and it must have at least one blank page for visa stamp)

• Completely and accurately filled student visa application form

• Two recently taken passport size photographs of applicant

• Acceptance letter or offer letter from Chinese university (it must be original and a copy of the same will also be required)

• Proof of paid visa application fee (the fee is around 600 USD)

• Resident permit (it is applicable to you If you are applying from a country where you are living on a resident permit, the Chinese Embassy will need a proof of your legal status in that country)

• Proof of arranged accommodation in China for the duration of your stay

• Arrangement of airplane ticket for your travel and return back to your country ( return ticket ensures that your sole intention of travelling to China is educational).

• Medical examination certificate (the applicant who are enrolled in a full time study program in China are required to prove that they are in good health, for that they will have medical examination certificate declaring them as fit to travel and stay in China for study)

• JW201 or JW202 form (The State Education Ministry of China issues JW201 and JW202 to international students. The JW201 form in for those students who are going to study in China on scholarship funded by the Chinese Government whereas the JW202 form is for those students who are going to study in China in self funding).

• Language Proficiency Test Certificate (IELTS, TOEFL for English language study program and HSK for Chinese taught study program) the applicant will also have to prove his proficiency in English or Chinese language during interview in Embassy for student visa.

The international student being granted X1 visa has to apply for temporary resident permit of China within 30 days of their arrival in Chinese soil. During 30 days, the X1 visa serves as a legal stamp for their stay but beyond 30 days they will need a resident permit which replaces their X1 visa. The resident permit will remain valid only until their study program ends in China. To apply for Temporary Resident Permit of China they will visit the local Public Security Bureau (PBS). After getting resident permit of china the students would also be needed to visit the local police station near their residence and register their name. The student will also be required to inform the local police station in case any family member or relative of resident permit holder comes to China to visit him. Moreover, if the student stay in China even after his/her resident permit has been expired, USD 72 to USD 1,440 will be charged as fine and 15 days of detention will be sentenced as a punishment.

International students studying in China on X1 visa and having a resident permit can do part time job after getting permission from their hosting Chinese University and immigration department of China. The students will write an application to their hosting Chinese university for consent to work part time and also certificate from employer will be required. After getting consent letter from your hosting Chinese university you will visit local police station near your residence and have your residence permit marked with part time work. But according to Chinese law international students are not allowed to change your job frequently. International students are allowed to work 20 hours a week part time on their residence permit. Their work can include paid internships and traineeships as well.

Since the process of studying abroad in China requires arrangement of documents and following a peculiar procedure, it can be confusing. The students who are unable to grasp the whole process, they can take guidance from study abroad consultants for their student visa. By taking services of study abroad consultant, your chances of visa application approval gets higher as they are professional in this field and they handle many student visa cases on daily basis. To contact study abroad consultants in various cities of Pakistan you can visit this section.