Who deals with visa matters in Shanghai?

pysong · 21 Aug 2023, 05:59

According to the Administrative Law of the People's Republic of China on Entry and Exit of Foreigners, foreigners entering China should apply for a visa at the Chinese diplomatic missions or consular offices or other institutions authorised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.To get more news about Visa services, you can citynewsservice.cn official website.

When applying for a visa, a visa notice issued by an authorised Chinese organisation should be presented. The visa notice could be obtained from the Chinese host organisation, or the Chinese side of a joint venture, or the guarantee company of the foreign representative office and the wholly foreign-invested enterprise, after being reviewed by the relevant supervising commission, office or bureau and approved by the authorised organisation.

Invitations related to foreign trade should be submitted to the Municipal Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission for examination and approval and issuance of visa notice; invitations related to tourism should be submitted to the Municipal Tourism Administration Commission for examination and approval and issuance of visa notice; the enterprises registered in Pudong New Area inviting foreigners to come to China for business activities should submit the application to the Pudong New Area Government for examination and approval and issuance of visa notice; the authorised group companies shall issue visa notices to foreigners invited by their related enterprises for trade or investment activities; other visa matters shall be handled by the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government (SHFAO) for issuance of visa notice.

Can a visa be extended?

The validity period of a visa refers to the period during which the holder is allowed to enter China and is not related to the length of stay in China. The length of stay refers to the period the holder is allowed to stay in China from the date of entry. If the visitor does not complete his/her work within the period of stay, he/she should go to the Entry and Exit Administration of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau to extend the visa. A 30-day extension could be granted to an "F" visa if the application is submitted by the holder's host organisation, while a 90-day extension could be granted if the application is submitted by the host organisation's supervisory commission, office or bureau, and the visa could be extended repeatedly within one year. The "L" visa can only be extended once for 30 days.
To enter China, foreigners must apply for visas at Chinese diplomatic missions, consular posts or other foreign-based agencies authorised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.

Aliens holding letters or telegrams from authorized organizations in China and ordinary passports issued by countries having diplomatic relations or official trade relations with China may apply for visas at port visa offices authorized by the Ministry of Public Security if they have an urgent need to travel to China and there is no time to apply for visas at the above-mentioned Chinese overseas offices for the following reasons
(1) Being invited by the Chinese side at short notice to attend a trade fair in China;

(2) Being invited to China to bid or formally sign an economic or trade contract;
(3) Coming to China under a contract to supervise export shipment, inspect import goods, or check the completion of a contract;
(4) Being invited to install equipment or make emergency repairs;
(5) Coming to China at the request of the Chinese side to settle claims;
(6) Being invited to China for scientific or technological consultation;
(7) Being a last-minute replacement or addition, approved by the Chinese side, to an invited delegation or group that has already received visas to travel to China;
(8) To visit a patient in critical condition or to make funeral arrangements;
(9) as persons in immediate transit who, due to force majeure, are unable to leave China on the original aircraft within 24 hours or are required to leave China by other means of transport;
(10) as other invitees who really do not have enough time to apply for visas at the above-mentioned Chinese agencies abroad, but have letters or telegrams from the designated competent authorities approving the application for visas at the port visa agencies.