yoeri Posted August 10, 2015 at 01:02 PM Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 at 01:02 PM A friend of mine brought this to my attention. I am planning to go to China at the end of august to study for one year until (more or less) the end of June, 2016. My passport expires in December 2016. Can this be a problem? I have read that my passport needs to have at least 6 months validity before arriving in China, but not whether it should have at least 6 months validity when leaving China. I have not found a clear answer so far and have not received a response from the visa application centre in my home country yet. Does anyone maybe have more information on this? The thing is that if I have to renew my passport, the passport number on the new passport will be different from the one mentioned in my JW202 form, which I need for the visa application. Could this be a problem? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted August 10, 2015 at 01:29 PM Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 at 01:29 PM I am planning to go to China at the end of august to study for one year until (more or less) the end of June, 2016. My passport expires in December 2016. Can this be a problem?To my knowledge, no. As you noted, your passport has to be valid for at least 6 months after your planned arrival in China, but that's it. If your passport would happen to expire in China, you can get a new passport through your embassy (and then there are some bureaucratic steps to take to make sure your residence permit in your old passport is still good). In your case, you'll likely be long back in your own country by the time your passport expires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gato Posted August 10, 2015 at 02:45 PM Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 at 02:45 PM Just make you keep your old passport with your visa after you get your new passport. Your visa will still be valid even though it's physically on your old passport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted August 10, 2015 at 03:36 PM Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 at 03:36 PM Ignore your friend. No country in the world is going to care how long your passport is valid for when you leave, only when you enter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoeri Posted August 10, 2015 at 03:44 PM Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 at 03:44 PM Yes but it could be that the minimal requirement of 6 months should be during the whole stay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted August 10, 2015 at 04:02 PM Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 at 04:02 PM Yes but it could be that the minimal requirement of 6 months should be during the whole stay? If that was a requirement, they would write 'six months valid at the time you're planning to leave China'. If you insist on worrying about this, you can get a new passport before going to China. However, since China doesn't require six months of validity on leaving the country, it would be a waste of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted August 10, 2015 at 04:04 PM Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 at 04:04 PM It could be they require you to have a full set of teeth and be able to run a mile in under 8 minutes. Doesn't seem to be the case though. (actually, that says 6 months from date of visa application, which is even less stringent) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoeri Posted August 10, 2015 at 07:14 PM Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 at 07:14 PM Yeah I guess so, still try to contact the visa application centre tomorrow and otherwise I will try my luck and just head over there and apply for the visa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted August 10, 2015 at 07:20 PM Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 at 07:20 PM Yoeri, you're free to worry if you want to, but why ask here if you're not going to believe the answers you get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoeri Posted August 10, 2015 at 07:27 PM Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 at 07:27 PM I do believe the answers ;) Just still try to get the confirmation from them tomorrow and otherwise I'll head over there anyway. Thanks for the help everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbradfor Posted August 13, 2015 at 06:28 AM Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 at 06:28 AM FWIW, this is what the China Embassy states at http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/faq/ : "Your passport must valid at least for one year, and not altered/damaged/smudged in any way." That's it. That said, I do have a vague memory of the 6 months after the END of your stay requirement. I might have my countries wrong, but I remember a near panic when I realized my child's passport expired about 8 months after our trip, which isn't enough for a 3 month stay (I believe the stay of an L visa then) plus 6 month window. IIRC, what ended up happening is that my wife and I got 3 month stay, while my child got 1 month stay, keeping it within the 8 months left on the passport. This was several years ago, so it's quite possible that got changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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