China Travel Permit Issuing Service Guide

To put it bluntly, China Travel Permit is to turn “I want to go to those niche corners in China that are not fully open on the map” into a customs clearance script of a legal pass. It’s neither like the L-word tourist sign that everyone can take, nor the cool and casual way of the port landing sign “when it comes” – you need 30 days in advance, run to the window, deliver the right materials, and then leave 30 working days for the police uncle to slowly review. In other words, it’s a special ticket for “explorers.”

Don’t book air tickets in a hurry; first, confirm whether you want to apply for a China Travel Permit

Many people confuse “travel visa” with “travel permit.” I mean, if you just go to the Imperial Palace in Beijing, the panda base in Chengdu, the Bund in Shanghai, and other mature routes, you can travel freely with an ordinary L visa. But once you look at Motuo in Tibet, Tashkurgan in Xinjiang, Yubeng in Deqin in Yunnan… These names sound like places with their own filters, and most of them belong to “non-open areas.” According to the twenty-fourth article of the Exit and Entry Administration Law, if foreigners want to enter these areas, they must apply for the National Immigration Administration card (2023) separately. In a word, the visa allows you to “enter China,” and the travel permit allows you to “enter the forbidden area.”

One picture to understand: what does a China travel permit look like?

It looks like a visa sticker, but the head will read “Foreign Travel Permit,” and the validity period is generally 30 days or 60 days, with a maximum of 90 days. The key difference is: Label position: it is not pasted on the passport, but is a single light blue paper, which is carried with the passport. Note column: it will manually write “Restricted Area” + the specific county name, and the border police will know where you are going and which mountain pass you can’t pass at a glance. In other words, even if your Chinese visa is valid until 2030, without this little blue paper, you will still be blocked at the checkpoint 5,000 meters above sea level to drink the northwest wind.

Where to deliver it? Don’t choose the city wrong.

The official documents are a little twisted. I’ll translate them for you.

1. In the province you are in, you can go to the Exit and Entry Administration above the “prefecture-level city” of the province. For example, if you live in Chengdu, you can directly go to the reception hall of Tianfu New District of Chengdu Entry and Exit Administration; don’t go to the Shuangliu County branch – probably no one will take over.
2. Only county-level units authorized by the Ministry of Public Security can receive materials. Want to confirm? Call the local 12367 in advance, and the provincial white-run (National Immigration Administration, 2023). By the way, I’d like to remind you that the window for accepting travel permit applications is usually in the same line as the “visa extension” and “residence permit.”

Material list of China Travel Permit: actually, it’s four sets, but don’t let the English translation mislead you.

The official requirement (National Immigration Administration, 2023) is to write like a paper catalog. I’ll help you break it into a “real person executable” version:

1. “Foreigner Visa Certificate Application Form” (received on-site or downloaded from the official website, must be machine printed; handwritten returns +50%).
2. A 2-inch white background color photo, 33 × 48 mm in size, 3–5 mm from the top of the head to the frame — don’t take the U.S. visa photo to develop; the face proportion is not suitable for Chinese taste.
3. Original passport + copy (information page, the latest Chinese entry seal).
4. “Proof materials related to the reasons for staying in the area” – the most abstract sentence, but you can understand it as: Hiking enthusiasts → submit the itinerary note + safety commitment issued by the mountaineering association or outdoor company; The reception plan with the official seal of the photography group → travel agency, including the specific villages and shooting points; Invitation of friends → copy of the ID card of the interviewee + invitation letter (indicating that “I voluntarily assume all safety responsibilities in the forbidden area”). The key is authenticity. I mean, the immigration officer may WeChat your Chinese contact or even let the local police station check. If the person who answers the phone is confused, it’s probably rejected in seconds.

Travel agency? Yes, but you need 60 days in advance.

The official green light for travel agencies is: if the group trip will step on the restricted area, the reception plan, the list, and a copy of the passport and visa page must be reported to the provincial public security exit and entry 60 days before entry (National Immigration Administration, 2023). In other words, if you want to save time, don’t think about “going to Tibet next week.” Honestly, sign a contract with the travel agency that does the special line, and let them help you run the materials. The price is generally floating at 1,200 – 2,500 yuan/person, including accident insurance, approval, translation, and window labor. Don’t be greedy to find agents that only do ordinary L visas; they can’t even find the system entrance.

30 working days after acceptance, what are you auditing?

The official caliber is “the authenticity of the application matters,” but it is translated into “human words”:

1. Are you a spy?
2. Whether your route will really cross the military management area – satellite map + field visit to grassroots police stations;
3. If you lose contact, is there anyone in China who knows the assets, social security, and driver’s license of the contact person, or even checks the water meter at night? In the interview, don’t wear a suit to recite “love Chinese culture,” and dress like you want to go climbing. The more detailed the GPS track and camp coordinates, the brighter the eyes of the immigration officer. I mean, they are afraid of “you having an accident,” not “you coming.”

China Travel Permit fee and payment: cheaper than you think.

Unified charge of the State Administration of Immigration:

Note that only Alipay / WeChat / UnionPay cards are accepted, and the cash window is basically canceled. The two thousand or three thousand yuan of agency travel agency is a premium for “running errands + insurance + risk,” not an official fee.

Practical Tips: 5 details for immigration officers to smile and add seconds.

1. Add coordinate footnotes to the itinerary list: mark the “north latitude and east longitude” of each hiking/shooting point on the right side of the itinerary with small letters, and the immigration officer will think you are very professional.
2. Invite people to attach “social security flow” – a social security record with a red seal for nearly half a year, which is more effective than writing ten sentences of “I guarantee.”
3. Set the return ticket on the last day of the validity period, and then let the airline give you a confirmation letter stating “issued,” suggesting that you will not be detained.
4. The paperclip should be used for the material clip, and the colorful long tail clip should be eliminated.
5. On the day of the interview, a quick-drying garment with a search and rescue slogan was stuffed in the backpack. The details suggest that you understand outdoor risks, and the immigration officer will understand that “you are not here to make trouble.”

China Travel Permit Future trend: e-Travel permit pilot + “negative list” shortened.

Beijing, Lhasa, and Urumqi have pilot “electronic travel cards” in the fourth quarter of 2023. The system directly pushes the verified two-dimensional code to the “immigration App,” and the police scan the code and release. According to insiders, before the end of 2025, the list of non-open areas will be dynamically evaluated, and some eco-tourism areas may be downgraded to “report preparation.” At that time, hikers will “fill in the form online + pass immediately” like the Schengen visa (Gao & Xie, 2023). In other words, the earlier you understand the process, the more you can get the first dividend in the window period.

Conclusion

China’s travel visa issuance service guide is not mysterious; it just sets up a security gate for foreigners who want to go further. As long as you break down the route into enough detail, prepare enough materials, and have enough conversation, that seemingly cold little blue paper is far easier to get than you think. I wish you would remember this article when you set up your tent under the starry sky of the Grand Canyon and wave your hand to the sentry on the northern ridge. After all, they are the most

More travel topic: Travel

References

Gao, Y., & Xie, B. (2023). Digitalization of Frontier Travel Permits in China: A Pilot Study. Journal of Border Security, 15(2), 45–59.

National Immigration Administration (2023). Service guide for foreigners to issue travel permits. Government affairs service platform of the State Administration of immigration https://s.nia.gov.cn/mps/bszy/wgrcrj/sqwgrlxz/201903/t20190313_1005.html