Advice on VISA Application

For entry into China, non-Chinese citizens should apply for a visa at the Chinese Embassy or Consulate in the region they live. The simplest way is to apply for a tourist ("L") visa, which should give you enough time to attend the conference and participate in pre/post conference activities. Please contact the Embassy or Consulate in your region for specific instructions. An invitation letter is not required for obtaining a tourist visa. The regular processing time is 4 working days. Although the rejection rate is usually low, we urge our attendees to apply for Chinese visas several weeks prior to the conference, so that we have enough time to exploit a backup procedure, which is more time-consuming than the usual procedure, to help you get a visa in case your original application is rejected.

More information on obtaining a tourist ("L") visa to China can be found here. To fill the application form Q1, you should check the Tourism box.

 

Obtaining a Chinese Visa for a US Passport Holder Only

In the United States it is highly recommended that you use a visa application service. These companies will assist you in making your application and for a small fee they will submit your application materials and return your visa to you from the embassy or consulate. While NAS does not personally endorse any particular visa service, below you will find contact information for a visa service that you may wish to consider:

CIBT – The Global Passport and Visa Professionals in Washington, DC:   http://www.us.cibt.com/. 

 

Invitation Letter for Business VISA

If you have problem on obtaining a tourist visa, please contact with Mrs. Hao Wei, foreign affairs secretary of Xiamen University , to prepare for the Invitation letter for Business (“F”) visa to China. Information on visas can be obtained from the website of the Chinese embassy, and a country by country listing of Chinese embassy websites is available from the Chinese Foreign Ministry website: 

Please CAREFULLY READ the instructions on the web pages concerning visa application (listed below). Visa requirements vary with time and place, and you should inform yourself about what is needed for the country in which you live.

VERY IMPORTANT:  Register before requesting for an invitation letter; we only provide invitation letters for our registered attendees.

Situation A:

In most countries, an invitation letter signed by Mrs. Hao Wei, foreign affairs secretary of Xiamen University, is acceptable and usually good enough for visa application. To request such an invitation letter, please send an email to weihao@xmu.edu.cn with the subject “NAS 2012 Invitation” in the following format. 

Your title  Your name Your department (if any) Your institute Your mailing address Line1 Your mailing address Line2 Your mailing address Line3 (if any) Additional information required by the embassy (if any) Other requests (if any)

Please note:

a)     In some countries additional information such as your passport number is required to be shown in the invitation letter. In such case, do include the additional information in the email so that we can prepare your invitation letter properly.

b)    A scanned copy of your invitation letter will be sent to you by email within a week after the receipt of your request. If a hard copy is desired, please denote this as “Other requests”.

Situation B:

In a few countries, the invitation letter has to be signed by an officer in Chinese government and bearing an authority stamp. Please send an email to Mrs. Hao Wei, foreign affairs secretary of Xiamen University, with the subject "Government invitation" and include all the information required here. START EARLY because this procedure is very time-consuming.