China Visa Documents Checklist for Korea Residents (2026)

Eight documents, one consulate, no Korean required of you.

Why this checklist exists

If you are an English-speaking expat in Korea preparing a China L tourist visa, the documents are the part that takes the most time. The trip is not the hard part. The list is.

The Chinese consulate in Korea wants exactly eight things. Not five. Not twelve. The list has not moved in months. Most of the rejections we see in our files are not exotic — they are the same five or six small mistakes, repeated on the same handful of documents.

This is the same checklist Havenus uses internally for our China L cases. It is written in English because that is the language you are reading in.

If you would rather hand the whole file off, the full 2026 Guide walks through pricing, processing time, and how we handle the Korean side. This page focuses on one thing only: what each document actually is, where you get it, and what gets it bounced.

The eight, in one breath

1. Application form
2. Passport copy
3. Headshot photo (3.5 × 4.5 cm)
4. ARC, both sides (외국인등록증)
5. Original Entry/Exit Record (출입국사실증명서)
6. Hotel voucher
7. E-ticket
8. Travel itinerary

The same eight whether you carry a US passport or any other passport. The price changes. The list does not.

1. Application form

A one-page form, in English. Havenus sends our own version as part of the intake email — it is laid out for English readers and matches the consulate's data fields. The official Chinese embassy form is also accepted. Both go in with a wet signature.

What gets it bounced: missing fields, mismatched English name spelling, no signature.

2. Passport copy

The bio page — the one with your photo. Passport must be valid for at least six months past your travel dates. We collect the copy first; the original goes to the consulate later, when the file is filed.

What gets it bounced: bad scans (cropped corners, glare on the laminate), passport less than six months from expiry.

3. Headshot photo — 3.5 × 4.5 cm

This is the single most-rejected document in our files. Worth reading slowly.

Specifications, in order of how often each one fails:

• 3.5 × 4.5 cm. Not 5 × 5 cm (that is the US passport size). Not 3.5 × 5 cm (that is the Korean ID size). Korean photo studios know the format if you say 중국 비자 사진 — Chinese visa photo.
• White background. Solid, even white. Beige, gray, off-white, and blue all get bounced.
• Taken within the last six months. Old visa photos do not stretch.
• No glasses, no jewelry, no hats. Earrings off. Necklace tucked.
• Mouth closed. Visible teeth is a rejection.
• Hair behind the ears. The consulate wants the shape of your face.

If you are unsure, ask the photo studio for the China visa standard. Any studio in Seoul that does Korean passport photos can do this.

4. ARC, both sides (외국인등록증)

Front and back of your Alien Registration Card. Both sides, scanned or photographed cleanly. Valid for at least six more months at the time of submission.

What gets it bounced: ARC expiring inside the six-month window. If you are inside it, renew the ARC first; this checklist can wait.

5. Original Entry/Exit Record (출입국사실증명서)

The 출입국사실증명서, original — not a photocopy, not a screenshot, not a PDF. The consulate wants the printed original with the issuing office's stamp on it.

Where to get it:

• In person at any Korea Immigration Service office (출입국·외국인청), or
• At your local 주민센터 (district office) with your ARC in hand.

Either works. The 주민센터 route is often closer to home and quicker than waiting at the immigration office.

What gets it bounced: scans, screenshots, PDFs, or any version that does not carry the issuing office's stamp.

6. Hotel voucher

A real booking confirmation for your dates in China, with your full English name, exactly as it appears on your passport. A booking under your spouse's name does not work. Neither does a placeholder under "Guest" or "Family."

If you are not staying in a hotel for the whole trip, a booking that covers your first night or two is enough.

What gets it bounced: name mismatches, dates that do not align with your flights, bookings made for someone else.

7. E-ticket

Round-trip flight confirmation. Same name rule as the hotel: full English name, exactly as on the passport. Out and back. The dates on the ticket should match the dates on the itinerary (Document 8).

What gets it bounced: one-way tickets, name mismatches, missing return leg.

8. Travel itinerary

A day-by-day plan: where you are on which day, in which city. The consulate accepts any format that lists the geography clearly. Havenus has a clean template; if you are putting one together yourself, a simple table is fine.

What gets it bounced: itineraries that conflict with the flight or hotel dates, vague entries ("travel around China"), or itineraries that span cities the visa does not cover.

What you do not need

A short list, because rumors keep this section relevant:

• Bank statement. Not required for a China L tourist visa from Korea.
• Employment certificate. Not required.
• Tax records. Not required.
• A separate "invitation letter." That is the M (business) visa, not the L.

If an agency is asking for these on an L visa, ask why. The list is short on purpose.

The passport rule everyone misses

If you carry two passports, this catches a lot of people: the Chinese consulate in Korea will only accept the passport you used to last enter Korea.

If you entered on your American passport, you apply on the American passport. If you entered on your Indian passport, you apply on the Indian passport. The Entry/Exit Record (Document 5) is the proof — it tells the consulate which passport is the one you live in Korea on.

If you are unsure, check the Entry/Exit Record before you start the file. Picking the wrong passport is one of the few mistakes that cannot be fixed mid-application.

For US passport holders, the rules around the ten-year multiple-entry visa also depend on how much time is left on the passport. The 10-year multiple-entry guide for US citizens in Korea walks through that.

Where this guide fits

This is the documents-only chapter. For the rest of the picture:

• Full walkthrough — pricing, processing time, what Havenus actually does: the 2026 Guide.
• How long it takes — consulate processing, rush option, end-to-end timing in Seoul: China visa processing time in Seoul.

CTA

If you would rather hand the documents off, two starting links — pick the one that matches your passport:

• Non-US passports (single entry): havenus.kr/contact?visa=china-non-us
• US passports (ten-year multiple): havenus.kr/contact?visa=china-us

A Havenus concierge reviews every document against this checklist before submission. If something needs fixing, we tell you what to fix and how, in writing.

A real person reads every email.

— Havenus