Short answer
You need an L visa, China's tourist visa, if you are not covered by a visa-free route: your passport is not on the 50-country unilateral visa-free list, your country has no mutual visa-waiver agreement with China, and your itinerary does not qualify as transit.
Apply online through COVA, the China Online Visa Application system, then hand in your passport and documents in person at a Chinese Visa Application Service Center (CVASC), or at the embassy if your country has no centre. Standard processing is 4 working days; expedited service runs about 2 to 3 working days.
Cost depends on nationality, because fees are set on a reciprocity basis. US citizens pay $140 (reduced from $185, the reduction runs to 31 December 2026), plus $25 for rush, $37 for express, and whatever service fee your visa centre adds.
Who actually needs an L visa
Most travellers who would once have queued for a tourist visa do not need one in 2026. Work through the four routes below first: they are not interchangeable.
| Route | Who it covers | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Unilateral visa-free | Passports from 50 countries: 35 in Europe (including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia), Australia and New Zealand, 7 in Asia, 6 in the Americas | Up to 30 days per entry, counted from 00:00 the day after arrival, running to 31 December 2026 |
| Mutual visa-waiver agreements | Around 29 countries, among them Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Qatar and the UAE | No visa. Most allow 30 days per entry; Albania, Armenia, Bosnia, Georgia and Kazakhstan use a 90-days-in-180-days rule |
| 240-hour transit | 57 nationalities, entering through 65 ports across 24 provincial-level regions | Up to 10 days if you travel onward to a third country. A separate 24-hour transit waiver covers every nationality |
| Hainan 30 days | 61 nationalities | Hainan province only. It is not a route to the mainland |
If none of those rows fits, you apply for a visa. The clearest case is a US passport: the United States is on neither the unilateral list nor the mutual list, so US citizens need an L visa unless their trip qualifies as transit. Use our guide to visa-free entry to rule the waivers in or out, and the transit rules if you are only passing through.
Documents
The file is short but unforgiving about detail, and most centres still want paper documents at the counter even when you have uploaded copies.
- Passport. At least 6 months of validity beyond your planned exit from China, and at least 2 completely blank visa pages. Bring any older passport that holds a previous Chinese visa.
- Photograph. Printed 33mm x 48mm, white background, taken within 6 months. For the COVA upload: 354 to 420 px wide by 472 to 560 px high, JPEG, 40 KB to 120 KB.
- COVA form. Completed online, then printed and signed by hand. Print the confirmation page with its barcode and keep the form number.
- Day-by-day itinerary. Dates, cities, transport between cities, and where you sleep each night.
- Round-trip flight booking. A reservation printout showing entry and exit flights is normally enough.
- Hotel bookings. One for every night. If you are staying with friends or family, use an invitation letter plus a copy of the host's ID instead.
- Invitation letter, where your nationality requires one. Group tours use one from an authorised tourism unit; other cases use a host's letter.
- Children. Minors need their own passport and visa, a birth certificate, and consent paperwork if only one parent travels.
Where to apply
There are two submission channels, and your country has one or the other.
- Chinese Visa Application Service Center (CVASC). The common route. The centre receives documents, checks the file, collects fingerprints and fees, and returns the passport. It is a counter, not a decision maker.
- The embassy or consulate visa section directly. Used where no centre operates, and some consulates only accept applications from residents of their own consular district.
Appointment rules vary by location: some centres take walk-in submissions, others ask you to book online and turn away unscheduled arrivals. Apply in the country where you legally reside.
Fingerprints are collected in person on the day you submit. Applicants under 14 and over 70 are exempt, along with a few other categories such as diplomatic passport holders, so postal-only applications are rare.
Timeline and cost
Processing counts in working days from when the centre accepts a complete application, not from when you start the form.
| Option | Typical processing | Extra fee (US citizens) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 4 working days | Included in the $140 visa fee |
| Rush | About 2 to 3 working days | +$25 |
| Express | Shortest turnaround offered where available | +$37 |
Working days exclude weekends and public holidays, and postal or courier steps add a day or two. Fees are set on a reciprocity basis by nationality, so there is no single global price. For US citizens the fee is $140, reduced from $185, and the reduction runs to 31 December 2026. Rush adds $25 and express adds $37. The visa centre also charges its own service fee, which varies by country, so read your centre's fee page. Fees are paid at submission and are not refunded after a refusal.
The visa states your number of entries (single, double or multiple) and your permitted stay on each entry. A common L visa allows up to 30 days per entry. US citizens can be issued a multiple-entry visa valid for up to 10 years, with stays of 60 days per entry commonly granted. All of it is at the consulate's discretion, so never book a trip longer than the stay your visa shows.
The itinerary they ask for
This is the part applications most often get wrong, usually because it is vague or disagrees with the attached hotel bookings. What is wanted is a one-page list: arrival date and flight, each night's city and hotel, transport between cities with dates, and departure date and flight.
City-level detail is enough: unrequested extras slow a review. Our visa itinerary template has the full structure, a worked example and the mismatches that cause delays.
Frequently asked questions
Do US citizens need a tourist visa for China?
Yes, unless the trip qualifies under the 240-hour transit scheme. The United States appears on neither the 50-country unilateral visa-free list nor the mutual visa-waiver list, so a US passport holder visiting for tourism needs an L visa.
How long is an L visa valid, and how long can I stay?
Both are decided by the consulate. A common L visa gives a single entry with a stay of up to 30 days, used inside the validity window printed on the sticker. US citizens can be issued a 10-year multiple-entry visa with stays commonly of 60 days per entry. Entries, validity and stay are three different numbers.
How far in advance should I apply?
Allow two to three weeks, and more around Chinese holidays and summer, when demand rises and centres close. The 4 working days are rarely the bottleneck; appointment availability is.
Can I apply by post or through an agent?
Fingerprints are normally taken in person, so a fully remote application is rarely possible. Agents can carry documents to the counter, and many centres sell extras such as document checking or no-queue submission.
Do I need confirmed flight tickets to apply?
A reservation or itinerary printout for your entry and exit flights is normally enough, though requirements differ by centre. If you must show a paid ticket, pick a fare you can change.
Is the visa fee refunded if my application is refused?
No. Fees are collected at submission, and neither the visa fee nor the centre's service fee is returned after a refusal. You can apply again with a stronger file, which means a second fee.
Can I extend an L visa inside China?
Extensions are possible but not automatic, and you must apply before your permitted stay expires, at the exit and entry administration of the local public security bureau. Whether one is granted, and for how long, is their decision. Overstaying is treated as a serious immigration matter.
Do children need their own visa?
Yes. Every traveller, including infants, needs a passport and a visa. Children under 14 are exempt from fingerprint collection but still need the form, photo and birth certificate, plus consent from the other parent where only one parent travels.
Related reading
More pre-flight setup: the digital arrival card, hotels that take foreign guests, and attraction booking.
Compiled from Chinese visa application service centre documentation, COVA guidance and consular notices, cross-checked 28 September 2026. Visa-free lists, fees, photo specifications and processing times change with little notice and differ by nationality and consular post: the document list published by the centre handling your own application is authoritative. Nothing here is legal or immigration advice.