Article Overview：
- Visa-Free Countries for China
- Detailed Explanation of Chinese Visa Photo Official Requirements:Requirements for Chinese Visa Photos
- How to make Chinese visa photo online for free
- Other Required Documents for Chinese Visa Application
Part1. Visa-Free Countries for China
Do I need a visa to go to China? Which countries enjoy visa - free entry to China?
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According to the List of Agreements on Mutual Visa Exemption Between the People’s Republic of China and Foreign Countries, the citizens of the following countries can enter China with ordinary passports: Albania,Antigua and Barbuda,Armenia,Azerbaijan,Bahamas,Bangladesh,Barbados,Belarus,Benin,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Ecuador,Fiji,Georgia,Grenada,Kazakhstan,Laos,Maldives,Mauritius,Moldova,North Macedonia,Qatar,Russia,San Marino,Serbia，Seychelles，Singapore，Solomon Islands，Tajikistan，Thailand，Tonga，Turkmenistan，United Arab Emirates
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It should be noted that there are some restrictions for the citizens of underlined countries when entering China with ordinary passports. For details, please refer to the official announcements of visa - free agreements issued by China.
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In addition, according to the announcements of China’s visa - free documents, visa - free services are also provided for those traveling to some tourist cities in China (traveling to the Pearl River Delta region, Hainan Island, and Guilin in tour groups). For details, please refer to the official visa - free announcement documentsChinese unilateral visa - free announcements.
Part2. Chinese Visa Photo Requirements
- When you are not within the scope of the above - mentioned visa - free policies, you need to apply for a visa to enter China.
- It should be noted that when applying for a chinese visa, you are required to provide your passport - sized photo. This photo must strictly meet the official requirements.
- For the official requirements of Chinese visa photos, please refer to the relevant announcements.Requirements for Chinese Visa Photos
- The standard specifications for Chinese visa photos The Chinese government has strict requirements for visa photos. The following is a summary of the photo specifications required.
| Background color | White or close to white |
| picture size | 1. Paper Photo: width: 33mm, height: 48mm 2. Digital Image: 2.1 Minimum acceptable dimensions : 354 pixels (width) x 472 pixels (height). 2.2 Maximum acceptable dimensions: 420 pixels (width) x 560 pixels (height). |
| Head size | 1. Paper Photo 1.1 Distance from the top of the head to the top of the photo:3-5mm 1.2 Top of hair to bottom of chin should measure :28mm - 33 mm 1.3 Distance from the chin to the bottom of the photo:at least 7mm 1.4 Head width: 15-22mm 2. Digital Image 2.1 Distance from the top of the head to the top of the photo:10-85px 2.2 from the bottom of the image to the level of the eyes:at least 256px 2.3 Head width: 191-251px |
| Size in Kilobytes | 40-120 (kilobytes) |
| Format | JEPG |
| Resolution (dpi) | 300 |
- Do I need to provide an electronic photo or a paper photo?
- Electronic photos are required to be submitted. When filling out the visa application form online China Online Visa Application (COVA), please submit the electronic passport photo as prompted on the website.
- If your photo meets the relevant requirements and passes the system review, there is no need to provide a paper photo.
- If you are informed that the electronic photo fails to pass the review during the online form - filling process, please provide 1 paper photo that meets the requirements when submitting the application materials.
- More requirements
Photos not only have requirements for size, format, etc., but also strict standards for the posture, expression, clothing, and accessories worn by the person in the photo.
3.1. Photo Quality
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| Acceptable | Unacceptable Low resolution and blurry photo |
Unacceptable Too dark or insufficient saturation |
Unacceptable Too bright / high contrast (facial highlights) |
Unacceptable Unnatural skin color |
Unacceptable Facial shadows |
Unacceptable Distorted photo |
3.2. Head position
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| Acceptable | Unacceptable Excessively large head proportion |
Unacceptable Excessively small head proportion |
Unacceptable Portrait not centered |
Unacceptable Incomplete facial features |
3.3. Expression
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| Acceptable | Unacceptable The mouth is opened too wide |
Unacceptable Eyes are closed |
Unacceptable The expression is unnatural |
3.4 Posture
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| Acceptable | Unacceptable Head tilted |
Unacceptable Head turned to one side |
Unacceptable Portrait in profile |
Unacceptable Head bowed or tilted upwards |
3.5 Glasses
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| Acceptable | Unacceptable Wearing thick - framed glasses |
Unacceptable Glasses frames obscuring the eyes or lens reflection |
Unacceptable Wearing tinted glasses |
3.6 Ornaments & Background
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| Acceptable | Unacceptable Wearing accessories |
Unacceptable With actions/other people |
Unacceptable Incorrect background color |
Unacceptable Clothing color similar to the background |
3.7 Obstruction
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| Acceptable | Unacceptable The portrait is blocked by a seal or other objects |
Unacceptable Hair covers the eyebrows, eyes or ears |
Unacceptable The face is blocked by ornaments |
Part3. Free Chinese Visa Photo Maker
Although the Chinese authorities have relatively strict requirements for visa photos, with the tool xpassportphoto, you can create a photo that meets the official requirements in just three steps.
Three steps to create a standard Chinese visa photo.
- Step one: Take a selfie.
- Step two: select the Chinese visa photo template, and upload your selfie.
- Step three: save your standard Chinese visa photo.
The following is a schematic diagram for creating a standard Chinese visa photo using the “xpassportphoto” tool.
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Part4. Other Required Documents for Chinese Visa Application
The visa materials required vary for different visa types. You can look up the necessary materials according to the visa you need. Please refer to the relevant announcements for details.Instructions for Applying for a Visa to China