VISA Application

Foreigners coming to China for study shall apply for a study purpose visa at the Chinese  embassy/consulate in their country of nationality or country of  residence.

There are two types of visas for study purpose: X1 type visas are usually issued to  students planning to study for over 180 days; X2 type visas are usually issued  to students planning to study less than 180 days.

Documents sent by DUT, including the Admission Notice and the Visa Application for Study  in China, and some other designated documents, will be required by the Chinese embassy/consulate.

The list of Chinese diplomatic missions overseas can be checked on the website of  Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Important  Notice for Immigration Affairs

I.  For international students who are coming to China with new visas, please check  the visa type and read the following notices respectively:

If  you are holding an X1 visa: You must register at the university and apply for  a residence  permit in  30 days after the entrance of China, otherwise illegal stay is constituted. Usually there is only one entry permitted on your visa. Since early registration  is not entertained and it usually takes 3-5 days for the preparation of  documents required for the residence permit application, it is suggested that  you enter China around 1 week before the registration date.

If you are holding an X2 visa: The number of entries permitted and the duration of  each stay (by days after each entrance) are indicated on the visa. You shall  remember the expiration date clearly, and register at the designated date on  your Admission  Notice.

In particular, travelling from Hong Kong S.A.R, Macau S.A.R and China Taiwan to  mainland of China counts an entry.

2.  For international students who are already staying or residing in China, please  check your visas, stay permits or residence permits, and read the following  notices respectively:

If you are holding a residence  permit: You  shall assure that, on the date of registration, there are still over 30 days  left to the expiry of the validity period. After registration, you need to apply  for a new residence permit for study.

If you are holding a visa of  another type: You shall assure that, on the date of registration, there are  still over 7 days left to the expiry of the duration of the stay. After  registration, you need to apply for a residence permit, or a change to a study  purpose visa. If the application is failed, you have to go back home to apply  for a new study purpose visa overseas, and re-enter China and register with the  new visa.

If  you are holding a stay  permit, you  cannot apply for a new visa or residence permit in China. You have to go back  home to apply for a new study purpose visa overseas, and re-enter China and  register with the new visa.

3.  About trip planning.

Registration  is not accepted if a) too early; or b) you are holding an expired visa/residence  permit; or c) the rest time to the expiration of your visa/residence permit it  not adequate for necessary formalities. Therefore, you should better make your  trip plan carefully to avoid entering China too early before the registration,  which make the visa expire at the registration time. Expired visas will cause  failure of registration and other unnecessary troubles.

Moreover,  if you have to apply for a residence permit after registration, it will take  about one month to get your passport back. If you have to apply for extension of  stay or more entries for your visa, it will take about 3 weeks to get your  passport back. During this time, you cannot travel to other places except for  the Beijing city. You should better take it into consideration.

4.  About giving up admission.

If you decide to give up the admission to DUT, you shall not use the documents  issued by DUT to apply for a visa nor use that visa to enter China. According to  the orders of the government, the university shall report all the admitted but  unregistered students to the immigration. If you are holding a study purpose  visa in China but does not register in the corresponding university, the visa will be canceled and you will be penalized for illegal stay.

5.  For residents of Hong Kong S.A.R, Macau S.A.R and China Taiwan.

Students holding travelling certificates issued to Hong Kong S.A.R, Macau S.A.R and China Taiwan are all Chinese citizens. Degree programs (undergraduate, graduate) do  not accept registration with such travelling certificates. Non-degree programs  (exchange, visiting, Chinese language) students with such travelling certificates can process the immigration formalities by themselves.

6.  Penalty of violation.

Staying with an expired or invalid visa/residence permit is a violation of law. The violator should be fined (500 RMB Yuan per day), be detained for investigation, and/or be deported.

 For more details, please see:http://sie.