Our China Travel · 23 September 2026 · Original planning worksheet
Sources describe the same tourist visa requirement with different time bases, so the only safe method is to fix your own dates first and then test each requirement against them. Complete the tables in order and record the date you checked every line, because the rules and the posting that applies to you both change.
| Your date | What you wrote down | How you derived it | Date checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intended arrival in China | Your own booking or plan | ||
| Intended departure from China | Arrival plus the number of nights you plan | ||
| Length of stay you are requesting | Departure minus arrival | ||
| Length of visa you intend to request | Single entry, or a longer multiple-entry validity | ||
| Earliest date you may submit | Counted back from your arrival date | ||
| Latest date you should submit | The posted processing time plus your own buffer |
| Requirement as published | The time base it uses | Your converted minimum expiry date | Your actual passport expiry | Pass or fail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Six months of remaining validity | Measured from today, or from application | |||
| Six months of validity after arrival | Measured from your arrival date | |||
| Six months of validity after departure from China | Measured from your departure date | |||
| Six months beyond the visa you request | Measured from the end of the visa validity | |||
| Blank visa pages | A count, not a date | |||
| Facing blank pages for a multiple-entry request | A count, and the pages must face each other |
| Item | Exact form required | Who produces it | Ready by | Checked against which source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passport | Original, with the converted expiry date from Table 2 | You | ||
| Completed online application | The confirmation or barcode page produced by the system | You | ||
| Photograph | The size, background and expression rules of the posting you apply to | You | ||
| Proof of lawful residence | Only if you apply outside your country of nationality | You | ||
| Travel bookings or itinerary | Required or not, depending on the posting and the date | You or your agent | ||
| Invitation letter | Only in the categories that require one, with every field the posting lists | Your host or inviting entity | ||
| Employment or financial evidence | Only where the posting asks for it | Your employer or bank | ||
| Previous Chinese visa or passport record | Where you have an earlier record to declare | You | ||
| Extra documents for your personal circumstances | Minors, former citizens, changed names, prior service | You |
1. A passport validity rule quoted as "six months beyond the visa you request" converts by addition, not by a fixed date. A twelve-month visa plus six months gives 12 + 6 = 18 months of validity from the visa start.
2. A rule quoted from your departure date must be measured from the later of your two dates, because departure is always after arrival.
3. A processing time quoted in business days counts working days only. Four business days from a Thursday is the following Wednesday, not the following Monday.
4. A photo validity rule quoted as six months runs from the date the photograph was taken, not from the date you submit it, so write the shoot date on the back of your own copy.
5. A fee quoted in another currency needs the rate and the date: a fee listed in one currency and a fee listed in another are not comparable until you convert one of them at a dated rate.
1. The same six-month validity rule appears with at least four different starting points across the pages checked for this page, so look for the phrase that names the start, not the number six.
2. A requirement may apply only to applicants in one jurisdiction. A rule described for one country's applicants is not automatically the rule at your own posting.
3. A requirement may have been withdrawn. Where a page states that a document was dropped from a stated date, older pages still listing that document are describing the position before that date.
4. Where a guide and an official posting disagree, use the official posting for the jurisdiction that will process your application and write its address and retrieval date in Table 3.
5. A disagreement is a prompt to check further up the chain, not a reason to pick the version that is easier to satisfy.
Personal planning worksheet; blank cells contain no destination data and no requirement claims. Every requirement, fee and validity rule must be confirmed against the official source that applies to your nationality and the post that will process your application, and the date you checked it recorded above.