Travel Guide · Visa and Entry
China Visa & Entry Document Checklist (Print This List)
Every document you need for the visa application, the flight check-in and the immigration desk — compiled from 1,000+ traveller arrivals we have handled at Chengdu Tianfu airport.
Before the consulate
- Passport (6+ months validity, 2 blank pages) + photocopy of the photo page.
- Printed COVA form and appointment confirmation.
- Two recent 33×48 mm photos.
- Flight bookings in and out of China.
- Hotel bookings for every night (or an invitation letter if staying with friends).
- Day-by-day itinerary in English or Chinese.
- Proof of funds if requested (3 months of bank statements).
For the 240-hour visa-free transit instead
- Confirmed onward ticket to a third country within 240 hours.
- Hotel booking for your first night (screened at the transit counter).
- Printed return/onward itinerary — officers often ask where you go next.
At immigration on arrival
- Completed arrival card (handed out on the plane).
- Return address in China written in Chinese characters if possible — show your hotel booking screen.
- Proof of onward travel within your allowed window.
Photocopies worth carrying
Keep one photocopy set of your passport, visa and first hotel, stored separately from the originals. Losing a passport in China is manageable if you can show the copies at your consulate plus a police report ( obtainable at any station, usually within an hour ).
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