10 Year China Visa In Old Passport
China is one of the few countries that allow foreign nationals to enter in their old passports and not the new one. It has been a policy since 2017 once China enacted the passport law that took effect on 1 Jan 2018. In this article, you will find out more about the policy and how it benefits people who have obtained Chinese visa in an old / expired passport. Also, you can learn whether you can use the same Chinese visa to enter China again in the future.New rules will allow how to get a china visa up to 10 years in old passport. The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China has announced that from January 1, 2019, Chinese visa applicant can submit the previous 10-year valid foreign passport for a visa application and take Visa photos instead of current foreign passport (recent no-more than 6 months validity).There are abundant report that the 10 year visa is available in China again. But always there is a lot of misunderstandings and misinformations. Let me add my experience to this confusion.
Luckily, you don’t have to apply for a Chinese Visa again. The Chinese government allows you to travel carrying both passports: a current valid US passport without a visa and an expired passport with the valid ten-year Chinese visa. If you lose your passport, however, you will have to apply for a visa again.
How to apply for a 10-year Visa to China
After all the documents are ready, you can head for the Chinese consular office in charge of your residence address and normally you don’t have to make an appointment. For Canadian citizens, they need to go to the CVASC. It’s advised to make an appointment on the website of CVASC to save queue time. Then just wait for the result for about four working days and collect your passport and visa on the date shown on your pick-up slip.
2. For the 10-year L visa, do I need to show flight and hotel arrangements each time of entry?
No, you just need to show flight and hotel arrangements for the first entry.
FAQs
1. Can US and Canadian citizens actually get the 10-year China visa? For US citizens, yes; while for Canadian citizens, it depends on the remaining validity of their passports because the longest validity of the visa shall not exceed the remaining validity of the passport. That is, if a Canadian’s passport is not valid for more than 10 years, he or she cannot get a 10-year China visa.
3. If my passport expires within ten years, will my 10-year China visa also expire? For US citizens, the 10-year China visa is still valid and they can enter China by carrying both your old and new passports, provided that the personal details on both passports are consistent. While for Canadians, their visa expires along with their passport.
4. Can I work on a 10-year China visa? Definitely not. If you are on a 10-year M visa, you can conduct commercial activities, but it is not equivalent to taking a job in China.
Further Reading:
10-year China Visa for Argentine Citizens
In Argentina, the 10-year Chinese visa is only for Tourist (L) and Business (M) purposes, with the price being 2,470 pesos. The passport should be valid for at least six months when submitting the application. The max. stay length is 90 days after each entry.