China Q1/Q2 Family Visit Visa: How to Visit Relatives Without the (2026)

Your relative sends you a scanned invitation letter, you fill in a form, you show up at a visa center with a folder of photocopies. That is the Q2 version, and for a two-week trip to see your in-laws it genuinely works that well.

The Q1 version is a different animal. It carries a 30-day deadline after you land, a residence permit application at the local public security bureau, and kinship documents that may need notarization, authentication, or an apostille before you even book your flights. Applicants who confuse the two end up either buried in paperwork for a holiday trip, or stranded on a visa that expires mid-stay.

One question decides: Q1 or Q2

Will you stay longer than 180 days? If not, apply for the Q2. The Chinese embassy in the US defines the split by intended duration of stay: Q2 for visits of up to 180 days, Q1 for anything longer (verify at us.china-embassy.gov.cn as of 2026-07).

A few weeks or a couple of months with family? Get the Q2. Less paperwork, faster turnaround, no errands after you land. The Q1 earns its hassle only when you are actually moving to China for family reasons.

The invitation letter: where applications die

More refusals trace back to this one page than to anything else in the file. Your relative in China writes it, signs it, and sends you a scan. Chinese consulates publish a standard format (see the Kota Kinabalu consulate’s template), and it breaks into three blocks:

1. Applicant information. Full name exactly as it appears on your passport, gender, date of birth, passport number.

2. Visit details. Purpose of the visit, arrival and departure dates, places you will visit, your relationship to the inviter, and who pays for the trip. Be concrete: “visiting my daughter and her family for Spring Festival” beats “visiting China.”

3. Inviter information. Full name, phone number, home address, China ID number (18 digits), handwritten signature, and date. If the inviter is a foreigner with Chinese permanent residence instead of a citizen, their passport number and residence permit number go here.

A template your relative can use

邀请信 (Invitation Letter)

致：中华人民共和国驻[城市]总领事馆

本人[邀请人姓名]（身份证号：XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX），现邀请我的[关系，如父亲/母亲/儿子/女儿]
[申请人姓名]（护照号：XXXXXXXXX）于[入境日期]至[出境日期]来华探亲。

在华期间，申请人将居住于：[详细地址，如：北京市朝阳区XX路XX号XX号楼XX单元XX室]。
在华期间所有费用（包括交通、住宿、生活费等）由[邀请人/申请人]承担。

邀请人签名：____________
电话：____________
日期：2026年__月__日

（附：邀请人中国身份证正反面复印件）

The 2026 wrinkles

Some consulates now want the letter hand-signed in Chinese characters, with a copy of the inviter’s ID card (front and back) attached. Traveler reports say the ID copy should be hand-annotated with a usage restriction such as “仅用于XX签证申请” (only for use in this visa application), signed and dated on the copy itself. The annotation reads like an anti-fraud formality, but consulates enforce it, so do not leave it out.

One practical note from the official format rules: the letter may be submitted as a fax, photocopy, or printout, but the consular officer can demand the original. Keep the signed paper with your relative until your visa is issued.

Kinship proof: photocopies vs. certificates

This is where Q1 and Q2 really diverge.

For Q2, a scan or photocopy of a birth certificate or marriage certificate usually works. If you were born in China and later became a foreign citizen, your old Chinese household registration booklet (户口本) or a Chinese notarized birth certificate is the strongest evidence. Traveler reports say digital copies are accepted at many consulates, though an officer can still ask for paper, so keep the originals handy.

For Q1, plan a multi-step document chain and start weeks early. The kinship document gets notarized first, then authenticated or apostilled. China joined the Hague Apostille Convention with effect from 7 November 2023 (notice from the Chinese Embassy in the US), and the convention now counts more than 130 contracting parties (HCCH). If your documents were issued in a member country, an apostille generally replaces the old double authentication: once apostilled, a document can be used in China directly, with no further consular authentication by a Chinese embassy (Chinese MFA apostille guidance). Countries outside the convention still need the full notarization-plus-authentication chain. Which route applies depends on where your certificate was issued, so confirm the current rule with your Chinese consulate before you book; this is the requirement that has shifted most in recent years. Budget a few hundred dollars and several weeks for the whole process.

Former Chinese citizens who naturalized elsewhere face one extra requirement: your original Chinese passport, even if expired, plus proof of any name change between passports. The system cross-references, so disclose the history rather than hoping it goes unnoticed.

How to apply

Two failure points deserve extra attention. First, your name. Enter it character for character as printed on your passport, including spaces, hyphens, and middle names. “O’Brien” stays “O’Brien,” not “OBrien.” Name mismatches are the most common form error and an easy refusal.

Second, the photo. Chinese visa photos are 48 x 33 mm on a plain white background, and the centers are picky about them. A studio that regularly does Chinese visa photos is worth the small fee; a photobooth gamble before your appointment is not.

On timing: the US embassy’s visa FAQ puts standard processing at about four working days, with expedited service at three working days for an extra fee (check the current figures, as of 2026-07); other centers publish their own schedules.

Fees depend on your nationality and your entry count. The Chinese Embassy in the US currently runs reduced rates under a temporary cut extended through 31 December 2026: US$140 for a single-entry visa for US citizens, plus a US$25-per-visa surcharge for express service (fee notice, as of 2026-07). Most other nationalities pay less, and some countries have special rates. Always re-check the fee table on your own visa center’s page at visaforchina.cn, because the numbers move.

After you land

Q1 holders have a hard deadline. Within 30 days of entry, you must apply for a residence permit at the exit-entry department of the local public security bureau, in person (legal basis: Article 30 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law; procedure at the National Immigration Administration). Miss the window and you face fines for every day of overstay. Book the appointment during your first week in China, because the required paperwork (health check, registration form, photos) takes time to assemble.

Every foreign visitor must register their address. Hotels do this for you automatically. If you stay at your relative’s apartment, someone needs to register you at the local police station within 24 hours of arrival, with your passport and the full address. Many families skip this step for years without incident, but it is the law, and it matters the day you apply for a residence permit or an extension.

Q2 extensions are possible inside China. Apply at the same exit-entry administration office before your permitted stay runs out, under the stay-extension provisions of the Exit and Entry Administration Law (legal text via the Beijing Municipal Government portal). The National Immigration Administration’s English guide caps each Q2 extension at 180 days and requires you to file at least seven days before expiry (NIA visa-extension guide); cumulative extensions cannot exceed the stay your visa originally granted. In practice an extension mirrors your original duration, so start the application a week or two early rather than the day before expiry.

What trips people up

1. Invitation letter in the wrong language. Your relative wrote it in English; the consulate wanted Chinese, or the reverse. Check your specific consulate’s preference. When unsure, write it bilingual.

2. Address mismatch. The letter says one address, your relative’s registered address says another. Chinese addresses are granular: building number, unit number, apartment number. Copy from the property document, not from memory.

3. Unreadable kinship proof. A 1985 birth certificate in a language the visa officer cannot read. Get a certified translation before applying, not after the refusal.

4. Former Chinese citizens hiding their old passport. If you once held Chinese citizenship, disclose it and include the old passport. Consulates cross-reference the records; surprise discoveries go badly.

5. Invitation from the wrong person. The inviter must be a Chinese citizen or a foreigner with Chinese permanent residence, domiciled in China. A Chinese friend who lives in Munich cannot invite you on a Q visa.

6. Applying for Q1 when Q2 would do. The Q1 is slower, pricier, and starts a 30-day clock the moment you land. Reserve it for genuine relocation.

FAQ

Before you book the flights

Match the visa to the trip, not the other way around. For anything under six months, that means Q2: a hand-signed invitation letter from your relative, photocopies of your kinship documents, an appointment at your visa center, and roughly four working days of waiting at the embassy counter (processing times per the embassy’s visa FAQ; your local center’s pages are on visaforchina.cn). Save the notarized-document marathon for the Q1, and only when you are truly moving in with family.

Sources

• Chinese Visa Application Frequently Asked Questions, Chinese Embassy in the United States
• Format Requirements of Invitation Letter, Chinese Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu
• Legal Provisions Related to the Entry and Exit of Foreigners, Beijing Municipal Government (30-day residence permit rule)
• Application for a Foreigner’s Residence Permit, National Immigration Administration of China
• Guide on Visa Extension, Replacement and Reissuance for Foreigners, National Immigration Administration of China (Q2 extension cap)
• Chinese Visa Application Service Center (visaforchina.cn), appointment and fee information by country
• Apostille (HCCH 1961 Convention), Hague Conference on Private International Law
• What is an Apostille? (FAQ), Chinese Consular Services, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Notice on the Abolition of Consular Authentication Services After China’s Accession to the 1961 Hague Convention, Chinese Embassy in the United States
• Notice on Extension of Visa-Fee Reduction, Chinese Embassy in the United States (reduced fees through 31 December 2026)