CHINA L-VISA PROCESS, SUMMARIZED

a sickly detailed guide on our experience applying for 10 year, multi entry visa for china while abroad

Dec 14, 2025

SO YOU’RE GOING TO CHINA — you’re gonna wanna read this!

Visiting China was not in our original plan because of the dreaded visa process. I thought we had to pay like $500/each to get them, that it would take months, and that we needed to have everything done before leaving America. None of this was true. Yes the process is arduous, but it’s just paperwork! Today’s letter is about VISAS — specifically, breaking down every tiny detail of how we got our 10-year, multi entry L-visas while traveling in Seoul.

only in Korea would they airbrush a visa photo to this degree lol

This document is a culmination of my months of research and lived experience. I really hope it helps some of you, and if it does, consider becoming a paid subscriber to unlock more fun things like city guides and our google map of amazing restaurants around the globe.

THE GUIDE TO APPLYING FOR A CHINA L VISA (IN SEOUL)

skip ahead: what you need | exact application steps | application + approval timeline

Things to Note:

We are Americans with no secondary/past citizenship and this was our first time applying for a Chinese visa
We applied for 10-year, multi entry visas at the Chinese consulate in Seoul (while staying in Seoul as tourists). Even if you’re not applying in Seoul, this document will be helpful in knowing exactly what documentation you need and the general process for applying while abroad
You can only apply for a visa if you have planned trip to China within 90 days
China now has a cool 10 day visa on arrival for Americans and many other countries. If your trip is < 10 days, spare yourself the long visa process

try to be as organized as you can with your docs so you can easily refer back to them!!!! it has helped me so much when applying for other visas

Everything You Need:

A headshot that meets the specific chinese visa criteria. It is critical they are the exact Chinese specifications — an American passport photo or Visa photo for Vietnam won’t work. We ended up paying ₩25,000.00 ($17 USD)/pp to get ones that worked at 소월사진관 in Itaewon. It was easy and we got both print and digital copies.
Clear photos or scans of your passport information page as well as every page of your passport that has passport stamps. Make sure they are super clear - I had to resubmit because of this.
An invitation letter from a person/organization in China if you’re going for business/with a tour (this didn’t apply to us as we are traveling ourselves for tourism) OR a full breakdown of your trip, including:
1. Inbound and outbound flight numbers and flight confirmation (screenshots/receipts) - booking refundable flights is fine
2. The dates and addresses of all the stops you will make while in China with hotel confirmations - use trip.com for this as most hotels are fully refundable and they have a PDF you can download specifically for visa purposes after you book
  1. I saw a lot of people saying you no longer need to submit an itinerary for the visa but in Seoul you still need to. I submitted without at first and had to add it
An itinerary document that shows your rough plans while in China - I used
ChatGPT for this
1. FYI I never used the itinerary again after the visa process! my itinerary completely changed, i booked different hotels/ trains etc and it was a non issue!

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Exact Application Steps:

I would suggest gathering all the documents above before proceeding with the application steps below. You can even complete this portion before arriving in Seoul/your embassy which will save time and stress!

Create an account on visaforchina.cn and make sure you’re submitting to the Seoul consulate (or whatever consulate you plan to use)
Fill out the online application (COVA app for L visa)
1. Important note: you must submit online and have the application e-reviewed before going into the consulate. I saw a girl trying to figure out the application process in person and they refused to help her :( Do it online, make sure you have the emailed e-review approval before visiting in person
2. Other random things about the application
  1. It translates to english easily in browser so no issues there
  2. You can save your progress and come back but you can’t skip ahead
  3. We indicated that we wanted a 10 year, multi-entry visa by entering “120 months” on the length of visa question!
  4. You have to put your work history for the past 5 years
  5. You also have to provide your parents names and birthdays
  6. Fill out all the fields even if they don’t say required
  7. You don’t pay online - you pay in person
After you submit your application, you’re waiting for an email that says either “review completed” or “denied/modification required”
1. They say this takes approx 4 business days but I got an email the next day
2. If it says modification required/denied, they’ll provide a reason, and then you can just log back into the form and modify the specific section without having to re-apply. I had to modify my form probably 6 times before it was approved (providing clearer photos, adding an itinerary, providing EVEN clearer photos, etc) so for this reason if you’re applying for several people (shoutout to the planners of every travel group) I’d complete this part with one person first and apply those learnings to every other applicaiton.
After the online review and any potential modifications (see point 3 above), you’ll get an email that says review complete, proceed with the next step which is to download and print the pdf they send you (basically a confirmation page with a barcode that links to your completed COVA app) and visit the China Visa center
1. In Seoul, you don’t need an appointment. The visa center is open M-F 9am-3pm, Address is: 173 Toegye-ro, Jung District, Seoul - third floor!
2. Where to print: I went to a PC Cafe after striking out at several convenience stores and a photo studio, so try that! Hotels will also print for you if you’re a guest
Bring your form and passport to the China Visa Center
1. The visa center is DMV style - bring yourself, the printed out barcode sheet, and your passport, grab a number from the incredibly rude dude at the front, and then wait until you’re called (this took legit 2 minutes).
2. They didn’t ask us any questions, just took our passports, took our money (₩200,000.00 or $135 USD/pp), and gave us a pickup form for 3 business days in the future with a set date/time for pickup - do not lose this paper or you have to pay a fine
On the date/time specified on your pickup paper, bring your paper back and pick up your passport! The visa takes up an entire page of your passport so ensure you have plenty of extra pages :)

Application + Approval Timeline:

I spent so much time trying to piece together the application process and what docs I needed - if I had to apply again knowing what I know now, the application would take maybe 30 minutes.

Below is my exact timeline (I applied with standard processing). If you’re on a tighter timeline, submit your application and get your e-approval before you arrive in Seoul!

7/27: submitted my original COVA application online 

7/28: did various application modifications (photos too blurry, added an itinerary, photos still too blurry, etc) they were super quick to review each modification, like 30 mins to an hour each time

7/29: received online approval 

7/30: dropped off my forms at the consulate and paid

8/4: picked up my visa and passport at the consulate.

HOLEEYYY SHIT that’s a lot of info! I hope it helped someone, or at least demystified the process! happy travels <3