China Visa Invitation Letter Requirements: Contents, Seals, and Proof

Chinese visa invitation letter requirements depend on which visa you are applying for. Family visit visas (Q1, Q2, S1, S2) use a personal letter from a relative in China; business and non-commercial exchange visas (M and F) use a corporate letter from a registered Chinese organization. Both formats have specific content, signature, and seal rules set out by the Chinese Embassy, and both must be backed by documents proving the host’s identity or legal standing. China’s Exit and Entry Administration Law makes the host legally responsible for what the letter says, so consular officers read these documents closely.¹

Which Chinese Visas Need an Invitation Letter

Four family visit categories and two business or exchange categories require an invitation letter.

The family visit visas are:

Q1, for family members of Chinese citizens or foreigners with Chinese permanent residence who plan to stay longer than 180 days.
Q2, the same family relationships but for visits of 180 days or fewer.
S1, for immediate family members visiting a foreigner who works or studies in China, for stays over 180 days.
S2, the same as S1 but for stays of 180 days or fewer.

The business and exchange visas are the M visa (commercial and trade activities) and the F visa (non-commercial exchanges such as research visits, lectures, or cultural programs). Both use the same corporate letter format.²

One boundary worth flagging. Tourist (L) visas no longer require an invitation letter; the Chinese Embassy and consulates in the United States dropped that requirement, along with air tickets, hotel bookings, and itineraries, in January 2024.² Work (Z) and student (X) visas do not use a personal invitation letter either; they rely on government-issued documents such as the Notification Letter of Foreigner’s Work Permit or the JW201/JW202 study confirmation form.

What a Family Visit Invitation Letter Must Include

The invitation for Q1, Q2, S1, and S2 visas follows the personal format in the embassy’s Annex 1 template. The letter has to state:

The host’s full name, gender, date of birth, Chinese ID number (or foreign passport number and Chinese permanent residence card number for a foreign host), current address in China, phone number, and email.
Whether the visit is a short-term stay or long-term residence, the planned arrival date, and the length of stay in days.
The guest’s full name, gender, date of birth, nationality, and passport number.
The specific family relationship between guest and host.
The host’s handwritten signature and the date.

For Q visas, “family members” covers spouses, parents, children, children’s spouses, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and parents-in-law. The host must be either a Chinese citizen living in China or a foreign national holding a Chinese permanent residence permit.²

S visa hosts work under a different rule. The host is a foreigner who stays or resides in China for work or study, and does not need permanent residence; the passport and residence permit or current visa serve as proof of legal stay.³ If the host’s residence permit has fewer than three months left, the visa application center strongly recommends the host extend it before issuing the invitation.⁴

What a Business or Exchange Invitation Letter Must Include

The M and F letter uses the corporate format in the embassy’s Annex 2 template. It has to cover three blocks of information:

The invited person’s name, gender, date of birth, and passport number.
The reason for the trip, arrival and departure dates, locations to be visited, the relationship between the guest and the inviting organization, and who will cover expenses.
The inviting organization’s full registered name, address, telephone number, the legal representative’s signature, and the date.

All three blocks must appear in the body of the letter itself, not just on letterhead.²

The inviting entity must be a Chinese organization registered with the government and able to produce a current business license or organization certificate. Some government-authorized invitations carry a barcode and are called PU or TE letters, though these are not required for every business visa application.⁵

Signatures and Seals

This is where letters most often fail on format. A family visit letter needs the host’s handwritten signature. Digital signatures and scanned image signatures inserted into the file are not accepted.⁶

A business or exchange letter needs the organization’s official seal, and it has to be a real seal impression. That means either the entity’s official chop registered with the local public security authority, or a special foreign affairs seal. A printed image of the seal or a digital reproduction does not count.²

Supporting Documents from the Host

An invitation letter on its own is never the complete package. Consular staff need proof that the person or entity behind the letter has the standing to issue it, and the required proof depends on who is hosting.

A Chinese citizen host provides a clear photocopy of both sides of their Chinese National Identity Card.³

A foreign host with Chinese permanent residence (for Q visas) provides photocopies of the passport bio-page and both sides of the permanent residence permit.³

A foreign host on an S visa provides the passport bio-page plus a residence permit (for S1 hosts) or a residence permit or current visa (for S2 hosts).³

A corporate or institutional host for M or F visas provides a copy of the current business license or organization registration certificate. Some consulates waive this on repeat invitations from the same company.²

All copies need to be legible, and the business license or residence permit must be current.

Proving the Family Relationship

For family visit visas, stating the relationship in the letter is not always the end of it. The consulate may want to see the underlying document.

Q1 and S1 applicants (long-term stays over 180 days) submit the original of a document proving the family connection, such as a marriage certificate or birth certificate, and also upload a photocopy through the online system. S2 applicants provide a photocopy of the relationship document. Q2 applicants are generally not required to submit separate relationship proof beyond what the invitation letter states, though consulates can ask for more at their discretion.³

If the document proving the relationship was issued in the United States, it needs a U.S. apostille before it can be used in mainland China. China joined the Hague Apostille Convention in November 2023, and the Chinese Embassy and consulates in the U.S. no longer provide consular authentication for these documents; the apostille replaces that older process. The consulate does note that an apostilled document “may not necessarily be accepted by relevant Chinese authorities,” and it recommends checking with the specific Chinese office requiring the document about format, content, translation, and time-limit requirements before applying for the apostille.⁷

Why Invitation Letters Get Returned

Consular staff compare the invitation letter against the passport and the application form for consistency. Mismatches in names, passport numbers, and dates are among the most common reasons applications get sent back for correction.⁴ Other recurring problems include using the wrong template for the visa type, missing a handwritten signature or a real seal impression, and using a host whose residence permit is about to expire. A returned application means a delay while the fix is made, not a permanent bar on applying.

1
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China
2
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States of America. Requirements and Procedures for Chinese Visa Application
3
Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York. Requirements and Procedures for Chinese Visa Application
4
Chinese Visa Application Service Center. Most Common Reasons for the Returned Visa Cases
5
Chinese Visa Application Service Center. Document Requirements for Chinese Visa Application
6
Chinese Visa Application Service Center. Invitation Letter Requirements and Documents
7
Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco. Notice on the Abolition of Consular Authentication Services After Chinas Accession to the 1961 Hague Convention