US Citizens: Get your China Visit Family and Friends visa with the TDS Washington DC Office

Please send TDS your current valid and signed passport. It must not expire within 6 months and must have at least two blank visa pages. Foreign Embassies cannot issue a visa on a page not labeled as a Visa page. Amendment and Endorsement pages in the back of the passport cannot be used for issuance of a visa.
A visa cannot be stamped on a page even if only one Small Stamp is on the visa page. If you do not have any blank visa pages in your passport, TDS can assist you in applying for additional pages. If your passport expires within 6 months, you must renew your passport and then we will secure your visa with the new passport.

If your passport expires between 6-12 months at date of submission for your visa you are only eligible to apply for a single or double entry visa, you are not eligible for the 1-2 or 10 year multiple entry visa.
Please complete and sign the Acknowledgment Statement required by the Chinese Embassy.

The Chinese Embassy would like for you to consider applying for a Passport Renewal before applying for your visa.

Please send 1 recent professional passport-type photograph.
No eye glasses or jewelry are to be worn.
New Chinese Embassy Passport Photo Guidelines Effective 05/12/2017 - Click Here

Common Problems to Avoid:

No smiling, photos should have a neutral expression
No jewelry of any kind
No eye glasses
No light colored shirt, please wear a dark color
Hair not pulled back away from face
No background light or shadows 

Please send a copy of your round trip airline tickets, itinerary or e-ticket, Cruise Itinerary or letter of confirmation from a Travel Agency confirming entry and exit from mainland China. The itinerary must show the applicant's name, date of arrival and departure from the country, flight or cruise information.

Issued to those who intend to visit their relatives or friends who are Chinese citizens residing in China or foreigners with permanent residence in China. The intended duration of stay in China is no more than 120 days.

1) An Invitation Letter issued by a Chinese citizen or a foreign citizen with a Chinese permanent residence permit who lived in China. The Invitation Letter should contain:
a) Information on the applicant (full Name, gender, date of birth, etc.)
b) Information on the visit (the purpose of visit, arrival and departure dates, place(s) to be visited, relations between the applicant and the inviting individual, financial source for expenditures)
c) Information on the inviting individual (name, contact number, address, signatures etc.)

2) Photocopy of the front and back of the Chinese ID or foreign passport and permanent residence permit of the inviting individual.

Until Further notice: Applicants applying to visit a friend or relative in China with a length of stay over 120 days must make a personal appearance at the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC. Travel Document Systems is unable to assist with securing this type of Family Visit visa at this time due to this change in policy by the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC.

Issued to those who intend to visit their family members who are foreigners working or studying in China, or to those who intend to go to China for other private matters. The intended duration of stay in China is no more than 90 days. "Family members" refers to spouses, parents, sons, daughters, spouses of sons or daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandsons, granddaughters and parents-in-law.

1) An Invitation Letter issued by the inviting individual (a foreigner who stays or resides in China for work or studies) which contains:
a) Information on the applicant (full name, gender, date of date, etc.)
b) Information on the visit (the purpose of visit, arrival and departure dates, place(s) to be visited, relations between the applicant and the inviting individual, financial source for expenditures, etc)
c) Information on the inviting individual (name, contact number, address, signatures etc.)

2) A photocopy of the inviting individual's (a foreigner who stays or lives in China for work or studies) passport and the front and back of their residence permit.

3) Photocopy of certification (marriage certificate, birth certificate or notarized certification of kinship) showing the relationship of family members between the applicant and the inviting individual.

Until Further notice: Applicants applying to visit a friend or relative in China with a length of stay over 90 days must make a personal appearance at the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC. Travel Document Systems is unable to assist with securing this type of Family Visit visa at this time due to this change in policy by the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC.

Photocopy of previous Chinese passports or previous Chinese visas (applicable to foreign citizens, those who were Chinese citizens and have obtained foreign citizenship).
If you are applying for a Chinese visa for the first time, you should provide your previous Chinese passport held and a photocopy of its data page.
If you have obtained Chinese visas before and want to apply for a Chinese visa with a renewed foreign passport that does not contain any Chinese visa you should present a photocopy of the previous passport's data page and the photo page if it is separate, as well as the previous Chinese visa page. If your name on the current passport differs from that on the previous one, you must provide an official document of the name change.

Documentations for a child with Chinese descent born in US
A child with Chinese descent born in US applying visa for the first time should provide the original and a photocopy of either parent's foreign passport or green card and Certificate of Birth besides other regular materials.

A child with Chinese descent born in US applying for a visa who has had a Chinese visa before could provide a photocopy of the former visa instead of either parent's foreign passport or green card or Certificate of Birth.

1) Media and Religious ministers or anyone who works for a religious organization for tourist visas must write a letter on the organization's letterhead declaring, passport number,  their name as it appears in their passport, when they plan to travel to China, where they plan to be while in China, what they will be doing in China and that they will NOT perform any religious activities while visiting China. Letter must be signed.

2) Applicants will only be issued a one month single entry visa, valid for a stay of between 10-20 business days.

Your passport must be signed to apply for a Chinese Visa, please be sure to sign the signature section on your passport before sending to Travel Document Systems.

Please Send One Completed and Signed Online Application Form along with the other necessary documents above to Travel Document Systems.

Electronic signatures are not accepted on ANY documents submitted to the Embassy. This includes the application form, business letter, invitation letter, where you stay letter, travel affidavit and any other form that a signature is required.

Application form MUST NOT be printed double sided your application will be rejected if it is not printed single sided.

Please send one completed and signed confirmation form that you are currently in the United States Click Here

The Completed Chinese Online Application Form (COVA) will be in pdf format, which will require Acrobat Reader to view.

Residents of Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin please select Chicago as your processing center when you open the Chinese application form.

Questions marked with a (*) are MANDATORY, if some of these questions do not apply to you , please tick "NOT APPLICABLE" to proceed.

Please be sure that all information is complete and accurate before you click the "Submit" button. Once the application is submitted you cannot make any changes. You can click the Save button which will save your application for 30 days, to return to your application click the "Retrieve an Application" button, you will need the application ID number and your Passport/Travel Document Number.

Travel Documents will make the appointment at the Embassy/Consulate once we have received all your documents, you do NOT need to go to the Embassy/Consulate.

Note: All applicants must sign the application form even if the form is completed by another person, except that a parent or legal guardian may sign on behalf of an applicant under the age of 18.