China Tourist visa (L)
The L visa is for travel to China as a tourist. Nationals of the 50 visa-free countries do not need it for stays of up to 30 days; everyone else, and anyone staying longer, applies for it before departure.
Key facts
- Code
- L
- Purpose
- Tourism
- Stay per entry
- Usually 30 days per entry; 60 or 90 days are granted case by case
- Entries
- Single, double or multiple
- Validity
- 3 months for single entry; up to 10 years multiple entry for some nationalities (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and others under reciprocal arrangements)
Who needs it
Tourists whose nationality is not on the visa-free list, and visa-free nationals who plan to stay longer than 30 days.
Documents
- Passport valid for at least six months with two blank pages
- COVA online application form, printed and signed
- Recent passport photo meeting the consular specification (also uploaded to COVA)
- Round-trip flight bookings
- Hotel bookings for the whole stay, or an invitation letter from a host in China with a copy of the host's ID
- Proof of residence status if applying outside the country of nationality
The general procedure is on the application page; the full document checklist is on the documents page.
Good to know
- A 10-year multiple-entry L visa allows repeated stays of the granted duration (typically 60 days) but the passport must remain valid for each entry.
- Hong Kong and Macao are separate immigration areas; leaving the mainland for either counts as an exit.
Sources
- Visa categories and application requirements — Chinese Visa Application Service Center (CVASC) (retrieved 6 September 2026)
- Regulations on the Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners — visa categories (Article 6) — National Immigration Administration (retrieved 6 September 2026)
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