Hi everyone! This is my first post here on Reddit. I usually lurk and don’t comment on posts, but wanted to make a post regarding my experience applying for the L visa(Tourist Visa) and offer some tips and guidance especially if you are aiming to receive one for 10 years, stay in China up to 90 days, and M entry.
First, you must create an account (https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VISA/). After you know which email and password to use, you will receive a verification code that will get sent to your email (complete the quick puzzle as this is a process to make sure you are ‘human’), and you have 5 minutes to input the verification code. You can look at the guidance on visa application first, and then afterwards, click ‘Start my application’. Choose the embassy/consulate that is within your jurisdiction (for me it is San Francisco as I reside in Sacramento/Northern California). This is very important as you will not be allowed to apply at other consulate locations.
*Extra note: Please remember you email and password especially as you will need to login to check your status. If you type in the wrong password numerous times, your account will get locked. Additionally, you need to wait 5 minutes to send another verification code if you made a mistake with your account and/or password (the pop up will say ‘error’, but if you wait 5 minutes, you should be cleared and you will receive a new verification code).
- Application Process – (https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VISA/) Everything is online now and the process is a lot more simplified, especially since you are no longer required to submit hotel accommodation details. The guide on the website will give you all the info you need when you fill out the online application.
- Details to note: If you are applying for a L visa with 10 year validity and are aiming t stay up to 90 days with multiple entry, make sure you note: Visa validity of your application (months) = 120 months, Maximum duration of stay of your application (days) = 90 days, and Entries of your application = Multiple. However, it is important to note that the Chinese consulate officer reviewer will make the final decision of how much months/days they want to give you, so there may be a chance you could be given a L visa with 10 year validity period but the maximum duration of stay is 60 days when you receive your visa for example. Additionally, if you are already holding a L visa, but plan to ‘renew’ it, as your current one will expire very soon (possibly in the next 6 months) and you plan to travel to China soon after the 6 months or later, you can do that (I helped a few family members complete their application recently as they had to renew it).
- Information on your travel: I matched the limit of 90 days here as I put 2026-10-27 to 2027-01-25 as my proposed date of arrival and date of departure days, so I could be given a L visa that can allow me to stay up to 90 days.
- Countries you have visited in the past 12 months: Make sure you list all the countries/regions you visited in the past year. China doesn’t seem to prefer people who travel to ‘high risk’ areas. I believe there is no official list of high risk regions from China, but I have seen a lot of cases for people who have traveled to Turkey as an example, where you may be subjected to stricter or longer periods of. application evaluation after you submit.
- Visa Photo: Personally, I had a family member who helped taker a picture of me against a wall with an ‘attached white pillow cloth’ in the background. However, I later figured out that the application really just wants a plain white background, so I highly recommend to take a picture standing behind a wall, and use (https://www.remove.bg/upload) to remove the background and make the background color ‘white’. You may need to adjust the lighting/add a white-ish filter on your photo (make it slightly lighter/whiter) if the application continues to reject your photo. You can also refer to the link here for the requirements of the Chinese visa photo (https://www.visaforchina.cn/SYD3_EN/qianzhengyewu/jichuzhishi/changjianwenti/355135188537315328.html). Make sure to remove all earrings, necklaces( just simply any accessory that is shown your face). You can wear glasses, as long as the frames don’t look heavy/thick (Mine were quite thick so I decided to not wear them)
- Work Information: The application does ask if you are employed or not and past work history. Please prepare the name of your employer, address of your employer, and your supervisor name and their contact information. It doesn’t have to be super detailed, as I highly doubt they call every applicant’s previous workplace. For example, I only wrote down my supervisor’s first name and general phone number of the company).
Overall the documents I had in advance while filling out my application were:
- Passport (must upload passport online, input details including passport number, and upload blank visa pages)
- Proof of Residence within the Consular Jurisdiction of the Consulate – Driver’s License or State ID
- Last Chinese visa/residence permit – I worked in China before, so I uploaded my most recent residence permit which had already expired. If you have a previous Chinese visa which either expired or will expire, prepare that in advance as you need to upload it online.
- Other documents that the applicant considers necessary to provide, or additional documents required after review by the Consulate General: If you are just renewing your visa or just applying for the visa for the first time, this field is usually left blank as it is optional. This is a section for applicants who think they may need to submit more documents for other specific or unique reasons (some may upload proof of resignation if one has worked in China before and is applying for a travel visa, etc)
- Work Information (basic work history, first name of supervisor and general phone number is sufficient) & Visa Photo (see above for details)
*I reviewed all of my information, double-checking to see if all information is correct and then submitted my application. You are then proceeded to page where you are given a Barcode of the application form you submitted and then wait for the preliminary review to be finished (website says the review is finished within 5 business days). For me, it was quite fast as I submitted my application on July 29, 2026 and got an update/preliminary review approved the next afternoon on July 30, 2026. However, this would depend on how much workload the consulate has (I helped submit my brother and his wife’s application a week later, and it took them around 3 business days to get an update).
IMPORTANT NOTE:
- You must log in to your account to see/check the status yourself. The consulate will not send an email or call you regarding a change of status on your preliminary review, so I recommend checking daily to keep an eye out.
- Should you have any issues or questions with the visa processing (especially if it is taking unusually long), you can call and/or email the Consulate. Unfortunately, many applicants experience little to no help from calling and/or email due to lack of in-depth responses or simply no responses at all, though some has said it may have gotten the consulate’s attention to ramp up the processing, so please keep this in mind.
**Once approved, you have up to 30 days to go the Chinese Consulate and submit your passport**
Submitting the application and passport in-person
My family and I came from Sacramento to San Francisco to submit my passport in-person on August 14, 2026, which was a Friday and arrived around 9:50AM. Surprisingly, on this day, there was not a long line , as we were able to just go in, get a queue number from the machine (click the button and you will get a queue number printed out), and wait for our number to be called. I was behind 40 parties, but the queue numbers went by quickly and within an hour and 15-ish minutes, my queue number was called.
*There is a brief security check when you enter the consulate FYI but nothing too serious*
One important information to note – the consulate officer at the window only wanted my passport, as that was sufficient enough since they can input our passport info on their computer and pull our application details there. The website does say to print your barcode number and print out a page where it indicates your preliminary review is approved and the next step is to submit your materials in person. Turns out they did not need that at all (not even the main guard in the front door asked me for that). However, I do think it is recommended to have the barcode either printed out or saved on your phone just in case. In a nutshell:
- Passport
- Barcode of your application
is sufficient enough when you go in person to submit for the visa.
**I printed out a physical copy of my visa application, just in case, even though the website does not tell you to do that). I felt like it wasn’t worth it and I had a strong feeling they could just pull our application online anyways but wanted to be extra prepared. After this experience, I would skip out on printing the visa application (save some extra paper you know)
After submitting the visa, the officer told us we can come back on Wednesday to pick up our passports. This surprised us, but my guess is because they counted Friday (that day) as the first official working day (we also submitted before noon time which helps) to review our visa application once more with the physical passport (the visa processing time is around 3-4 days). The officer will give you a ticket receipt, which you must bring back when you return to the consulate for pick-up. Please make sure not to lose it. I know that if you happen to lose the ticket receipt, you will have to let the guard or the visa officer workers know, but I am not sure what their alternative solutions regarding that.
A lot of people recommend avoiding Mondays and Fridays, as those two days tend to be busier with longer lines, which I agree, but due to my schedule, only Friday was possible for me, so I am glad it worked out as the day wasn’t busy.
If you are in a rush to obtain your visa, you can let the officer know you want to expedite your visa (express service costs an extra $25, which makes the processing time is around 2 business days.
Returning to the consulate to pick up passport
My family and I came back the next Friday (August 21, 2026) arriving around close to 10:30AM (you are free to pickup your visa anytime. The experience this time was quite the opposite, as there was a longer waiting line to submit the visa and passport materials (there was a long line of people outside the consulate). Since we are just picking up the passport this time, you can just let the main security guard know you are picking up your passport/visa and you will line up on the left side inside the consulate (there is a separate window for picking up passport/visa located on the left side, inside the consulate, and you do not need a queue number for that- just simply line up there). I dropped off my mom first to so she can get ahead in line early. After parking my car, I told the guard that my mom was already in line, but apparently, I would need to get my mom to come out and get me. Luckily, I saw my mom in the front, so I was quickly allowed in.
*If you have a family member/friend/etc who you dropped off to get ahead in line and they have to get you, they can try letting someone in line know that they need to get you. I believe most people in line will understand, so hopefully this tip works*
The line to submit our ticket receipts took a little longer than usual (turns out the window was closed and then re-opened not too long after I was waiting with my mom). Around 20-30 minutes go by, and we gave our ticket receipts to the lady at the window and we were re-directed to the main payment and pick-up window (adjacent from the window we went to). We were given the passports, though since we submitted on behalf of other family members, there were 7 passports for us to pick up, so the officer had to make sure we were affiliated with each other (she opened each passport page and asked what is our relationship). Then, we made the payments and left the counter. *The cost is $140 per visa (no tax included in the cost) and you can only make the payment with credit card, or money orders/cashiers checks (Cash is not acceptable).
*As of today’s date, Sept 02, 2026, the cost is $140 USD. The cost could be adjusted in the future should the Chinese consulate decide to change their pricing. I will update the post if the costs are changed.
My mom and I double checked our passports to make sure our visas were approved and pasted on one of our blank visa pages before leaving. I do know that if the visa happens to be rejected, then you wouldn’t be charged (though I have a strong feeling they would let you know in advance if any of the visas were rejected).
Other details that I am aware of but do not have direct experience, which may be helpful for future applicants(who are renewing or first time applicants) to consider
- If you have a previous Chinese visa that expired on an old passport, you can still bring it just in case. However, if you are applying to get a new Chinese tourist visa, and your current one will expire soon on an older passport especially, they will need that old passport, so they can cancel it.
- For ABCs(American born Chinese) or a lot of Asian Americans who are first time applicants, there is a good chance the consulate will ask you to submit a proof your parent’s info, specifically whether they held permanent residency or were naturalized/was already holding US citizenship) before you were born. I know of someone who is going through this, and am checking to see what updates they have, but if anyone has experience with that, it would be great to share your insights/experience here.
**Asians who have distant Chinese ancestry or even a Chinese-ish last name (like Koreans named Hwang) may also be applied to this scenario as there is a good chance the Chinese consulate will ask for any copies of your parents US passports, US naturalization papers and US/etc birth certificates) Thank you to one of the commenters for sharing this experience.
**If you have a hard time submitting any proof of parent holding a PR, citizenship, or naturalization papers before you were born, you can consider submitting your birth certificate and one of your parent’s current US passport online. Thanks to one of the commenters for suggesting this method!
Other comments/suggestions:
- I highly suggest applying for the L visa up to 10 years, apply to stay up to 90 days, with M(multiple) entries, as the cost is the same, whether you apply for single entry, one year visa, or not (unless you have a specific or unique reason).
- You are allowed to visit China without the L visa under the 240-hour transit visa (entry to certain ports). For more info, visit here (https://www.visaforchina.cn/YYC3_EN/qianzhengyewu/jichuzhishi/changjianwenti/362332771198308352.html) and this guide from Trip.com (https://www.trip.com/guide/visa/china-visa-free-transit.html) The general rule is quite straightforward, as long as your transit from the originating country/region is not the same as your next country/region to visit after China should work: (e.g: US->China->Japan, or US->Korea->China->US, or US->Thailand->China->Hong Kong->US) Extra tip: Hong Kong and Macau’s Immigration is separate from China’s immigration, so Hong Kong and Macau will work as the ‘third transiting country/region’
- Otherwise, the only locations for US citizens to visit in China without a visa and if you do not plan to utilize the 240 hour transit, is Hainan Province up to 30 days (https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/hainan/visa-free.htm). *US citizens do not need visa to travel to Hong Kong SAR (stay up to 90 days) and Macau SAR(stay up to 30 days)
- **For those who are planning to travel China very soon, I recommend you to submit your online visa application at least a month or even up to two months prior to your travel. Please give yourself some extra time buffer as processing times for visa can vary and there is always a chance processing can delay due to each consulate’s workload or the nature of your application which may or may not require extra screening from the consulate. Applying 3 weeks in advance can be a little risky as the online review (up to 5 business days, and visa processing (up to 4 business days) could take longer. I applied for my L visa really early in advance. Even though I do not have concrete plans to travel to China again this year, I wanted to receive the visa in advance (hence the tentative dates I put on my application for end of October and leave China end of January).
- **Please be mindful of the Holiday schedule of the SF Chinese Consulate Holiday Calendar. The consulate observes both Chinese national holidays and US national/federal holidays. This year’s calendar can be found here: https://sanfrancisco.china-consulate.gov.cn/eng/zytz/202512/t20251211_11770654.htm As you can see Chinese Spring Festival (mid February this year) and the Chinese National Holiday (1st week of October) is quite long.
- If you prefer to mail your documents and receive the passport back via email (especially for those that live quite far from the Chinese consulate) you can check out this service provider who can help submit your docs on behalf and mail back to you (https://www.freechinavisa.org/touristvisa.php).
- Should the overall process be too overwhelming, you are free to go apply via a China travel agency, and they usually provide Chinese visa application services. Expect to pay a bit more (for example, the Chinese travel agency inside an Asian grocery store (which happens to be very close to where I live), charges at least 2x the price($280 through a travel agency vs $140 doing it yourself), but the admin fees are worth if you do not want to deal with the hassle.
- For those who are considering to apply for China travel visa in Hong Kong, it is possible for tourists to apply there, but please keep in mind you are not guaranteed and there is a good chance you may not receive the standard 10 year Chinese Travel visa (for U.S. citizens mainly), and you may receive a single entry to China only. You can review the threads here (https://www.reddit.com/r/Chinavisa/comments/1fdhgbo/just_applied_for_10year_lvisa_in_hong_kong_us/) and https://www.reddit.com/r/Chinavisa/comments/1fe5fh6/update_on_10year_lvisa_application_process_in_hk/ from hearing someone’s experience, though things either changed now or may have stayed the same. I assume it is generally easier to get a 10 year visa if you are considered a ‘resident’ in another country. When I studied in Seoul full time (and held a ARC- Alien Registration card, which is a resident card for foreigners residing in Korea), and applied for the China travel visa, I was able to secure a 10 year visa (though only up to 60 days, which was not a big deal for me, but keep in mind, you most likely will get a travel visa you can stay up to 60 days max, instead of the 90 days).
That is it! I hope my experience was helpful to anyone who may be curious, especially for those who plan to apply for the L visa in San Francisco.