China 10-Year Visa Guide: How to Get a Multi-Entry Tourist Visa (2026)

A single-entry China visa covers one trip. Apply again next year and you start from zero: new form, new fee, new appointment. The 10-year version removes that loop. You pay the consular fee once, and for the next decade you can fly in as often as you like, staying up to 60 days each time. For anyone who has been to China twice, the math stops being close.

The fee also happens to be at a historic low right now. China has been running a temporary visa-fee reduction since December 2023, and the consulates extended it again in late December 2025, this time through December 31, 2026. Verify the current figure at your local consulate’s notice (for example the Los Angeles consulate) as of 2026-07, because this is a reduction, not a permanent price.

Who actually gets the 10-year visa

Eligibility runs on reciprocity. China hands out 10-year visas to citizens of countries that give 10-year visas to Chinese citizens. That is the whole logic, and it is why the eligible list is short.

As of 2026-07, citizens of these countries can get 10-year multiple-entry China visas:

| Country | Visa types offered | Max stay per entry | |---------|-----------|-------------------| | United States | L (tourist), M (business), Q2 (family), S2 (private) | 60 days (L/M), up to 180 days (Q2) | | Canada | L, M, Q2, S2 | 60 days (L/M), up to 180 days (Q2) | | United Kingdom | L, M, Q2 | 60 days | | Argentina | L, M | 60 days | | Brazil | L, M, Q2 | 60 days | | Israel | L, M | 60 days |

Each country name links to the issuing embassy’s visa section, or for Brazil to the COVA portal where Brazilian applicants apply. Which categories and per-entry stay limits a given passport actually receives follows that country’s reciprocal arrangement with China and the consulate’s current rules, so read the table as the common case rather than a guarantee. The embassy’s own visa requirements set the Q2 family visa for stays of up to 180 days, but the duration granted is decided case by case, and US and Canadian family-visa holders commonly report 60 to 120 days. Confirm your exact category and stay limit at your own consulate as of 2026-07.

If your passport is not on that list, you can still get a multiple-entry visa. Other nationalities more commonly receive 6-month, 1-year, or 2-year validity, depending on bilateral agreements and consular judgment.

One Canadian quirk worth knowing: for Canadian citizens, visa validity is tied to passport validity. A passport with six years left yields a six-year visa, not ten. US passports are valid for ten years, so the two line up.

There is also a real alternative now. China’s unilateral visa-free policy was extended through December 31, 2026 and covers 50 countries for 30-day stays on ordinary passports. Canada and the UK were added to that list in February 2026. If you are French, German, or Australian, you may not need a visa at all for short trips. The 10-year visa still earns its keep for frequent visitors, since it doubles your per-entry stay to 60 days and removes any doubt about future rule changes.

What it costs

The standard US fee for a China visa used to run as high as $185 for multiple entries under the reciprocity charge. The reduction that started in December 2023 brought US fees down sharply, and the embassy’s current fee notice lists $68 for US citizens’ multiple-entry visas of 12 months or more, the category that covers the 10-year L visa. That reduced schedule runs through December 31, 2026, per the notices the embassy and consulates published in late December 2025.

To put $68 in perspective: that buys a decade of unlimited entries for less than one night at a mid-range Shanghai hotel. That is a genuinely odd deal.

Two caveats. First, visa centers outside the US add their own service fee on top of the consular fee, and there is no single global price list for it. Each center posts its own schedule: the Toronto center, for example, currently quotes a combined visa-plus-service total of CAD 137.15 for Canadian citizens on regular processing, tax included, and notes the final amount is set by the center. Inside the US you pay the consulate’s visa office directly, with no service layer. Second, express processing costs extra: the Los Angeles consulate notice lists an additional $25 per visa for express service. Confirm the exact total where you apply, because the consular fee and any center fee are billed separately.

For UK applicants, the embassy’s December 2025 notice quotes reduced fees of £64 for standard visas, £128 for 5-year multiple entries, and £191 for 10-year multiple entries, also valid through December 31, 2026.

Eligibility rules before you apply

Check these four before you commit to an appointment.

Passport validity. Your passport needs at least six months of remaining validity and two blank visa pages. For the full 10-year term, more remaining validity is better, since some consulates cap visa length to the passport’s life.

Previous Chinese visas. A prior China visa is not required, but it helps. The embassy’s FAQ warns the visa granted can differ from what you requested in validity, entries, and stay length, at the consulate’s discretion; in our experience first-time applicants sometimes receive a shorter term, often 1 or 2 years, until a travel record exists. Do not treat a shorter first visa as a rejection.

Biometrics by age. Applicants aged 14 to 70 generally provide fingerprints. Some centers have paused fingerprinting for certain applicants at times, but plan on giving them.

Jurisdiction. You apply through the office that covers where you live, not where you happen to be. A June 2024 jurisdiction adjustment set six US consular districts: the embassy in Washington DC, the consulates general in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and the states of the former Houston consulate district, which the notice lists separately. Wintering in Florida with a New York license means applying through New York.

The application, step by step

Step 1: Fill out the COVA form

Start at the official China Online Visa Application portal, consular.mfa.gov.cn/VISA, which links to the COVA form at cova.mfa.gov.cn. This is the only legitimate starting point. The booking system for appointments, AVAS, lives at avas.mfa.gov.cn.

The form covers personal details, passport data, travel history, employment, and trip purpose. For a 10-year visa, select multiple entries and request the maximum validity.

A few things that actually trip people up:

• Match your passport exactly. Not roughly. Middle names, birth city, passport number. A mismatch is the most common reason an application stalls.
• Be straight about travel history. The form asks for the past five years of international travel. The system is not judging your spring break. It does notice inconsistencies.
• Purpose of trip. For an L visa, “tourism” or “sightseeing” is a complete answer. You do not need a narrative.
• Save your application number. You need it to track status and book the appointment.

Step 2: Gather the documents

China dropped the flight-booking and hotel-reservation requirements for tourist visas starting January 1, 2024, so the list is short:

1. Passport. Original, six-plus months validity, two blank pages.
2. Printed COVA form. Signed, with your photo attached and the barcode readable.
3. One passport photo. 33mm by 48mm, white background, no glasses, full face. Off-spec photos get rejected at the counter.
4. Proof of residence. A driver’s license, utility bill, or bank statement placing you inside the consulate’s jurisdiction.
5. Copies of past Chinese visas. If you have them. They support a longer validity term.

No bank statements, no employer letter, no invitation letter for a standard tourist case.

Step 3: Submit in person

With rare exceptions you submit at the counter, not by mail. At most US locations walk-ins are accepted, but booked appointments through AVAS get priority.

The visit runs about 15 to 30 minutes when the queue is short, longer in peak season. Expect a document check, fingerprint collection if you are in the 14 to 70 band, and a few basic questions about your trip.

Step 4: Wait and track

Standard processing is about four business days for the consular review. With the intake day, plan on roughly a week total. Track status with your COVA reference number until it reads ready for collection.

Step 5: Pay and pick up

Fees are paid at pickup, not submission. Bring whatever your center accepts: card, cash, or money order.

Inspect the visa before you leave the counter:

• Name spelling matches the passport
• Validity shows the full term you expected
• Entries reads “MULT”
• Type reads “L”

Mistakes caught at the counter are fixed for free. Mistakes caught at the airport are not.

What the visa lets you do

Be specific about the rights and the limits.

Allowed:

• Unlimited entries. Enter and exit as often as you want during the 10-year window.
• 60 days per stay. Each visit can run up to 60 consecutive days.
• One extension per visit. You can apply for a stay extension at the local Exit-Entry Administration Bureau. Travelers commonly report grants of roughly 30 days, but the length is discretionary and decided case by case, so do not bank on a specific number.
• Any port of entry. Air, land, or sea.
• Tourism, business meetings, family visits. The L visa covers non-work, non-study travel.

Not allowed:

• Employment. Working for a Chinese employer needs a Z visa.
• Study. Even a short language course needs an X visa.
• Journalism. That is a J visa.
• Residence. The visa is for visits, not settlement.

Why get the visa if your country is visa-free

A fair question if you hold a passport on the 48-country waiver list. You can already enter for 30 days free. Three reasons still push toward the visa.

Longer stays. The waiver caps you at 30 days. The visa gives 60 per entry. A month matters when you are visiting family or moving slowly through several provinces.

No per-trip uncertainty. With the visa you book a flight and go. You are not checking each year whether the waiver got renewed. Visa-free access is a unilateral decision that China extends in chunks, most recently through December 31, 2026. The visa is a 10-year authorization that is far harder to revoke mid-trip.

Different rules at the border. A visa answers the “purpose of entry” question before you arrive. For frequent business visitors especially, that removes friction.

Mistakes that delay applications

Applying too early. Consulates generally issue the visa within a window before your travel date. Submitting many months out can get the application returned. Aim for 4 to 6 weeks before departure, and no more than about 3 months.

Wrong jurisdiction. Each center covers specific states or provinces. Applying outside yours gets the file bounced. Check the jurisdiction map first.

Photo problems. The 33mm by 48mm white-background photo is non-negotiable. Glasses are out. Hair over the ears gets flagged. The photo check is where most applications hit their first delay, so get it right before you go in.

Inconsistent details. If your form lists an employer in one state but your proof of residence shows another, or your travel history does not line up with your passport stamps, it slows things down. Consistency beats polish.

FAQ

Bottom line

If you expect to enter China more than once in the next few years, the 10-year visa pays for itself quickly, and the current reduced fee makes it cheaper than most single-entry visas elsewhere. The application takes one in-person visit and about a week of processing. The fee reduction only runs through December 31, 2026, so if you have been putting it off, this is the year the numbers favor. Verify the fee and document list at your consulate’s official notice as of 2026-07 before you apply.