STEPS OF CHINA ONLINE VISA APPLICATION:

STEP 1:Preparing Documents as Required(Please click)

STEP2:Complete your online application and Check the status(Please click)

STEP3:Submit passport and Make fingerprints(Please click)

STEP4:Make payment and Pick up(Please click)

Please read this guidance carefully before submitting your application:

1. The Chinese diplomatic missions in New Zealand reserve the right to interpret, amend and change the Chinese Visa requirements in accordance with the laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China. We also reserve the right to review, delay, refuse and cancel your visa without providing specific reasons. Based on the individual circumstances, the validity of a visa, length of stay and number of entries is decided on a case-by-case basis. The Chinese diplomatic missions in New Zealand are not liable for any financial losses resulting from any above scenario.

You are fully responsible and liable if your visa becomes invalid or unused due to change of personal or unforeseen circumstances. The Chinese diplomatic missions in New Zealand will not refund any fees in relation to your visa application.

2. The Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Christchurch has introduced China Online Visa Application system with effect from 15 June 2023(https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VISA/)China Online Visa Application (COVA) website.

3.All applicants, including diplomats and government officials, but excluding those who apply for visas to Hong Kong SAR of China and Macao SAR of China, are required to log in toand submit the application for preliminary assessment. After your application has been approved,you can go to the consular office to submit your passport and collect fingerprints without making an appointment（Before 31^st December,2024,the Chinese Consulate-Generalexempts the requirement of fingerprints collection for eligible applicants when applying for single or double-entry visas in the categories of business, tourism, short-term family visit, transit, and crew members.).Your application will be declined or you can be refused entry permission to China if you provide inaccurate, false or misleading information.

4.All applicants must visit the Visa Office at the booked time to have your fingerprints collected. The following applicants are exempted :

√Applicants who under the age of 14 or over 70;

√Diplomatic passport holders, or applicants who are eligible for diplomatic, official and courtesy visas;

√Applicants holding the same passport with fingerprints collected within 5 years (The exemption will only be granted when the biometric sticker visa is still identifiable. Otherwise, the exemption will only be granted at the Visa Office where the fingerprints were originally collected.);

√Applicants with all ten fingers mutilated or all ten fingerprints noncollectable.

5. It normally takes 4 working days to process visa applications. If you are asked to provide further documents or certain documents need to be verified, we will contact you for the processing time. You may request an express processing service but it must be approved by a consular officer.

6.You may not change or withdraw your visa applications once they have been accepted for processing. Any supporting documents your provided will not be returned and please make additional copies if you wish to keep them.

7. For New Zealand-born children with Chinese descent when travelling to China for the first time:

√If, at the time of the child’s birth, the child did not have the citizenship of New Zealand or any other country and at least either of the parents was a Chinese citizen, the child is recognized as a Chinese citizen by birth. The child is eligible to apply for a Chinese passport. Please refer to"申办中国护照注意事项".

√If, at the time of the child’s birth, the child had the citizenship of New Zealand or any other country and neither of the parents was a Chinese citizen who had acquired the permanent residence of New Zealand or any other country, the child is recognized as a Chinese citizen by birth. The child is eligible to apply for a Chinese Travel Document. Please refer to "申办中国旅行证注意事项".

√If, at the time of the child’s birth, the child had the citizenship of New Zealand or any other country and either of the parents was a Chinese citizen who had acquired the permanent residence of New Zealand or any other country, the child is not recognized as a Chinese citizen by birth. The child is required to apply for a Chinese Visa.

Things to note:Please be aware that the Chinese diplomatic missions in New Zealand have never had cooperation with any agencies, nor have given authorization to anyone to be the official visa agent. We do not recommend an agency you can use, and we treat all applicants equally, and no individuals or agencies will have privileges or exceptions for their visa applications.

STEP 1: Preparing Documents as Required

1. Basic Documents

1) Passport. Original passport with at least six months of validity and blank visa pages, and a photocopy of bio-data page of the passport.

2) ID Photo. Must be a recent color ID photo, facing forward and with white color background, and bareheaded.

3) Proof of legal stay or residence status (applicable to those applying for China visa who are not in their country of citizenship). For non-New Zealand passport holders, when you apply for your China visa in New Zealand, you must provide the original and photocopy of evidence of your immigration status in New Zealand, such as citizen endorsement, residence (RV/PR), work or student visa.

4) Previous Chinese passports or previous Chinese visas(applicable toforeigners who were Chinese citizens and have obtained foreign citizenship, or who have been issued China visas before).

If you are applying for a China visa for the first time, you should provide your previous Chinese passport and a photocopy of its data page. If you have obtained China visas before and want to apply for a China visa with a renewed foreign passport that does not contain any China visa, you shall present a photocopy of the previous passport's data page, as well as the pages with your previous China visas. (If your name on the current passport differs from that on the previous one, you must provide an official document of name change.)

5) For Children Born in New Zealand with New Zealand Citizenship and Chinese Descent applying for the first time, applicants shall also submit the following documents:

√Birth Certificate of the child and its photocopy；

√Photocopies of the parents’passport at the time of the child’s birth and the photocopies of the parents’passports when the visa application was submitted;

√Photocopies of proof of legal permanent residence status of the parents, including the citizen endorsement, PR residence etc., that the parents held at the time of the child’s birth and the valid ones when the visa application was submitted.

Things to note:

①For a child under 18 of Chinese origin, please refer to the additional classification and documentation(Birth certificate and valid passport of one of the guardians).

②For minor applicants, their applications are allowed to be submitted on-site by parents with the child not showing up.

2.Supporting Documents Based on Visa Category and Purposes of Travel

Please read the attached file below to find out the details:Supporting Documents Based on Visa Category and Purpose of Travel（Please click）.

STEP2: Complete your online application and Check the status

Please complete your China Online Visa Application Form through the China Online Visa Application （COVA）（https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VISA/）and check the status(Your application and all your documents will be under assessment. During this stage, we may leave you messages through your application. The status will be updated.This means we may need more information from you before we can make a decision on your application. Submit your application again until we confirm that no further information is needed.).

All applicants are required to complete the online application form, including diplomats, government officials, but excluding visa applications for Hong Kong SAR of China and Macao SAR of China.

Things to note:

(1) Applicants should apply for visa based on their actual place of residence and the consular divisions of the Chinese Embassy and Consulate General in New Zealand.Your application will be declined or you can be refused entry permission to China if you provided inaccurate, false or misleading information.

(2) You must upload an ID photo of yourself and also it must meet the visa photo requirement (Click here to check the photo requirement). Your application will be declined if you uploaded a photo of someone else. You will have to complete the online application again and re-book for your visa submission appointment.

(3) Applicant who was born in China (including Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan Province), you must enter your name in Chinese characters, if applicable.

STEP3: Submit passport and Make fingerprints

Submit in Person by the Applicant

There is no need to make an appointment to submit application materials. Applicants must go to consular office in person to submit their passports and collect fingerprints (except for those people mentioned in the first partof this article（NO4.）. Please bring relevant materials if required. Applicants under 14 years old do not need to come to the office, and their guardians can do it on their behalf. After successfully submitting the application, please keep the pick-upform issued properly. The pick-up form is the only proof to collect your passport and visa.

Please bring the following documents:

(1)Original passport and photocopy of the bio-data page;

(2)ID photo (Recent, frontal, white background,48×33mm) (if the uploaded photo is not qualified).(Click here to visit Photo Requirements for Chinese Visa Application)

(3)Previous Chinese passports :applicable toforeigners who were Chinese citizens and have obtained foreign citizenship, or who have been issued China visas before.If not, please submit entry and exit records issued by the New Zealand Immigration Service.

(4)Original or photocopy of supporting documents if needed. (Please read the attached fileSupporting Documents Based on Visa Category and Purpose of Travel.)

(5)Courier package:If you wish to have your passport to be returned by  post orcourier(handling service fee is not required). Please make sure that:

①The recipient's name, address and telephone numbers will be on the package；

②There should be the tracking number on the courier package.

Submit via Post or Courier (Handling Service Fee Applies)

(Only for applicants who do not require fingerprintcollection)

Applicants who are exempted from collecting fingerprint can have their applications submitted via post or courier service to the corresponding consular office of the Embassy or Consulate-General in New Zealand in accordance with consular district jurisdiction of your residential address in New Zealand. For postal applications, an additional NZ $15 postal application handing service feewill be added to the total application fee.

Please include the following documents when sending your application:

(1)Original passport and photocopy of the bio-data page;

(2)ID photo (Recent, frontal, white background,48×33mm) (if the uploaded photo is not qualified).(click here to visit Photo Requirements for Chinese Visa Application)

(3)Previous Chinese passports :applicable toforeigners who were Chinese citizens and have obtained foreign citizenship, or who have been issued China visas before.If not, please submit entry and exit records issued by the New Zealand Immigration Service.

(4)Original or photocopy of supporting documents if needed. (Please read the attached file Supporting Documents Based on Visa Category and Purpose of Travel.)

(5)Courier package:Please make sure that:

①The recipient's name, address and telephone numbers will be on the package；

②There should be the tracking number on the courier package.

(6)Postal Address：

Name：Consular Office，Consulate General in Christchurch of China in New Zealand；Tel: 0064-3-3433650；

Address：108 Hansons Lane, Upper Riccarton, Christchurch, 8041.

Things to note:

Application fee can be made via internet banking. An email containing details of payment information will be sent to you once your applications have been issued.When making the payment online, please make sure to follow the instructions included in the email.

STEP4:Make payment and Pick up

1. You will be given a pick-up form when submitting your application in person at the consular office. You must bring the pick-up form for passport collection and make the payment for your visa application.

2. You may appoint someone to collect your passport, your nominated person must also present the pick-up form for passport collection and make the payment for your visa application.

3. If application is submitted by post or courier service, or you have requested your passport to be returned by post or courier service after submitted your application to the consular office in person. We will return your passport using the courier package you provided.

Things to note:

(1) We do not accept express processing service of visa application if applications are sent by post or courier, or you have requested your passport to be returned by post or courier after submitted application to the consular office in person.

(2) The Chinese diplomatic missions in New Zealand will not responsible for any loss, damage to your passports and documents, or delays caused by the post or courier.

Table of visa fee and processing time(All fees accepted in New Zealand dollar, per person)

Visa fee waiver countries based on bilateral agreements(Last update on 1 November 2017)

How to pay

1.The applicants who collect the passport at the consular office can pay by:

①Credit card (Visa and MasterCard only);

②EFTPOS;

③UnionPay (Credit card, Debit card, QuickPass);

④Internet banking;

（You will be given information on how to make the payment when you submit your passport to our office.）

2.The applicants wish to have passport to be returned by postorcourier must provide us Prepaid courier package and Make payment by Internet banking.

Please make sure you have entered all required information and correct amount when paying your fee.

①Particulars：name；

②Code：pick-up form number；

③Reference：Visa；

Things to note:

We do not accept payments made by cash, personal cheque, company cheque and direct credit. Credit card payments only available at the counter and we cannot process payments by providing credit card numbers.