On December 6th 2016 the Chinese Embassy in Washington announced a change to the visa photo guidelines and policy for Chinese travel visas. The new policy has since been adopted by the Chinese consulates in Chicago and San Francisco.

Many of the photos we have received since the change do not comply with the new policy and have been rejected by the Chinese visa office, please follow the information below to avoid delays.

There are 5 main points to pay special attention to:

1. No glasses can be worn.
2. No jewelry can be worn. Jewelry of any type cannot be visible in the photo.
3. The photo must have a plain white background, even a photo with an off white background         will be rejected.
4. The photo must have been taken within the last 6 months.
5. Pay special attention to the image size detailed in the guide below.

The image size (size of the actual head shot within the photo) is extremely important and often the most difficult to comply with.
The overall size of passport type photos taken in the USA is 2x2 inches which does not comply with the sizing requirement this will not be a problem as traveldocs will cut the photo down to the required size for you.
Ask the photographer to pay special attention to the image size in the Photo Requirements Guide, the overall image size must be correct for the Chinese visa office to accept the photo for your visa application.
We strongly recommend taking the guide with you to the photo store to present to the photographer.

The Chinese government will not issue a visa if the photo does not comply with their requirements.

Download Chinese Visa Photo Guidelines PDF