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China Scholarships Index

Unofficial index. Applications are made only through the official channels linked on each page.

X1 or X2: the study visa a China scholarship holder applies for

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

If you have won a scholarship that is documented in a China Scholarship Council guidebook, you apply for an X1 visa when your studies in China run for more than six months, and you may apply for an X2 visa when they run for six months or less. The application goes to a Chinese embassy or consulate-general, and the visa application cost is at your own expense. These are the rules as the Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship and the Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship page state them, alongside the Chinese Embassy in the UK's visa pages and Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education.

Other programmes publish their own notices. Where a text quoted here is silent, this page says so rather than filling the gap from another programme's rules.

The dividing line between X1 and X2

Official text How it draws the line
Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship Winners should apply for an X1 visa to study in China. Those who will study for less than 6 months (including 6 months) can apply for an X2 visa.
Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship Those who will study for more than 6 months must apply for an X1 visa. Those who will study for less than 6 months (including 6 months) can apply for an X2 visa.
Chinese Embassy in the UK, visa categories X1 is issued to those who intend to study for a period exceeding 180 days. X2 is issued to those who intend to study for a period of no more than 180 days.
Order No. 42, Article 35 Students apply for an X1 or X2 visa according to their period of study. The article quoted gives no month or day figure.

Two things are worth noticing. The two China Scholarship Council guidebooks express the line in months, while the embassy page expresses it in days; none of these texts says how a period written in months maps onto one written in days, so the safest reading is to take each text as its own authority and check which one your own paperwork follows. And the wording differs inside the pair: the ASEAN-China guidebook presents X1 as the visa winners apply for and X2 as an option for short study, while the Silk Road page states the X1 case as a requirement for stays of more than six months.

The embassy page used here is published by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United Kingdom. Requirements at other Chinese embassies and consulates can differ.

Applying before you travel

Article 35 of the Administrative Measures for the Enrolment and Education of International Students by Schools (Order No. 42, in force from 1 July 2017 under Article 48) says that a foreigner coming to study at the schools referred to in Article 2 of the Measures applies, before entering China, to the Chinese embassy or consulate in the country of nationality or residence, or to another overseas institution entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The application is for an X1 or X2 visa according to the period of study, and it is supported by proof filed with the education authorities and the admission notice issued by the school. Article 2 is not quoted here.

The regulation is published in Chinese; the English wording on this page is a translation for readers, not an official English text.

Documents the official texts name

Official text Documents
Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship Valid ordinary passport, photocopies of the Admission Letter, Confirmation Form for Study in China (JW201), and the original Foreigner Physical Examination Form
Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship Original documents and photocopies of the Admission Letter, Visa Application for Study in China (JW201), Foreigner Physical Examination Form, and valid ordinary passport
Chinese Embassy in the UK, X1 Admission Letter issued by the school; original or photocopy of the Visa Application for Study in China (Form JW201 or JW202); for elementary stage students, original or photocopy of the Confirmation Form for Elementary Stages Students Study in China issued by the relevant Chinese authorities
Chinese Embassy in the UK, X2 Original or photocopy of the Admission Notice issued by the school

The same form number carries two different names on the two China Scholarship Council pages: the ASEAN-China guidebook calls JW201 the "Confirmation Form for Study in China", while the Silk Road page calls it the "Visa Application for Study in China". The embassy page accepts JW201 or JW202. None of these texts says what happens if you hold one form rather than the other.

Why arriving on another visa is treated as a problem

Both guidebooks carry the same warning in slightly different words. The ASEAN-China guidebook says that students who come to China with other types of passports or visas, or without the requested documents, will not be able to register with the universities or apply for the residence permit. The Silk Road page says the same about students who arrive with other types of passports or visas, or without the original documents.

Neither text describes a route to change your status after arrival, so the practical consequence is stated directly: registration and the residence permit both depend on arriving on the right visa with the right papers.

After you arrive

The two guidebooks set three steps, in this order.

Register with your university. Take the Admission Letter, the JW201 form and the Foreigner Physical Examination Form. Register before the registration deadline given in your Admission Letter. If you cannot register on time, ask the host institution for permission first. Registering late without the institution's prior consent is treated as voluntarily giving up the scholarship, and the scholarship is then automatically terminated.

Have your health documents verified, if you will stay more than six months. Submit your passport, Admission Letter, Foreigner Physical Examination Form and Blood Test Report to the local health quarantine office. If the authority finds that you do not meet its requirements, you will be asked to re-take the physical examination. Refusing to re-take it, or being diagnosed with a disease that Chinese laws and regulations do not permit a stay for, means being required to leave China.

Apply for the residence permit. Go to the local police authority before the deadline set by the visa-issuing authority. Take your passport, Admission Letter, JW201, the verified health report, and a photograph that meets the authority's image requirements.

A specific number appears in two of the texts: the Chinese Embassy in the UK page states that X1 visa holders must apply to the exit and entry administration of the local public security bureau within 30 days of the date of entry, and Article 36 of Order No. 42 states that students whose study visa notes that a residence permit is required apply within 30 days of entry. The two guidebooks give no number and refer instead to the deadline regulated by the visa-issuing authority.

Questions people ask

Which visa applies if my programme lasts exactly six months?

Both China Scholarship Council guidebooks put six months on the X2 side: they cover study of less than 6 months including 6 months. The embassy page puts a period of no more than 180 days on the X2 side.

Who pays for the visa?

Both guidebooks state that the visa application cost is at the student's own expense.

Can I enter China on a tourist visa and deal with it later?

Both guidebooks say that students who come to China with other types of visas will not be able to register with the universities and will not be able to apply for the residence permit. They do not set out a way to switch once you are in the country.

Does every Chinese embassy ask for the same documents?

The document list on this page comes from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United Kingdom. Its requirements can differ from those of other embassies and consulates, so check the page of the embassy that serves your country of nationality or residence.

Does this cover every Chinese scholarship?

No. Only the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship guidebook, the Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship page, the Chinese Embassy in the UK visa pages and Order No. 42 are quoted here. Other programmes publish their own notices, and their terms are their own.

Sources

Checked 10 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary written for applicants; it is not published by the China Scholarship Council, the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom or the Ministry of Education, and where this summary and the official notice differ, the official notice prevails.

Scholarship Desk