Student Visa is divided into X Visa and F Visa. X Visa is issued to aliens who come to China for study, advanced studies, or fieldwork for more than 6 months. F Visa is issued to aliens who come to China with same purpose but for a period of less than 6 months.

The organization must be accredited for offering courses or internships to foreigners. They will send you a JW201 or JW202 form and an admission letter. Submit these with photocopies with your visa application.

You are not permitted to work on this visa 'without permission'. You should contact you university or employer after you have settled in to see what can be arranged. However, many students moonlight, especially teaching English. Should the authorities discover this, you will probably just have to stop though expulsion is always a small possibility.

X visa is only for 30 days from the date of arrival during which time you and your university or employer must seek a Temporary Residence Permit for the duration of your study or internship, to a maximum of 12 months.

Requirements
1. Applicant's original passport valid up to at least six months with at least one visa blank page
2. One completed Visa Application Form of the People's Republic of China. If the visa application form is not filled out truly, completely and legibly, this can cause a delay in processing or refusal of the requested visa.
3. Please affix one recent passport style color photo with full face, front view, no hat, and against a plain light background on the visa application form.
4. X visa applicants should provide the original and copy of approved Foreign Student Visa Application Form (JW201 or JW202) issued by the Chinese authorized unit, and the Admission Notice from the Chinese school
5. F visa applicants should provide the Enrollment Letter from the Chinese school.

How to Apply
1. You may submit the application to the visa office of the Chinese Embassies or Consulates in person.
2. Or you can entrust someone else (e.g. friends, relatives), a travel agency or a visa agency to act on your behalf if you can't come personally. Power of attorney is not required.
3. Mailed applications are not accepted and will be refused by most of Chinese embassies or consulates in overseas.
4. There is no need to make an appointment.

Processing Time
The regular processing time is 4 working days. If you want to collect your visa earlier, the express service and rush service are available. Express Service: 2-3 working days processing; extra US$ 20 will be charged per visa. Rush Service (for emergencies): 1 working day processing; extra US$ 30 will be charged per visa.

Visa Fees
The fee for X visa is same to the fee for other types of Chinese visa. Generally speaking, Chinese embassies or consulates only issue single entry X Visa to foreigners. If you apply for X visa in the United States of America, the fee is US$130 for American citizens, US$30 for other citizens.