You want to travel to China and hold a Pakistani passport. Before you worry about paperwork, here is the one fact that surprises most people: you do not pay a visa fee. Pakistani ordinary passport holders are exempt from Chinese visa fees. The service centre charges you, and that cost is separate. Everything below comes from the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and the official visa centre.
Do you need a visa to go to China from Pakistan?
Yes, for almost every Pakistani traveller. Pakistani diplomatic and official passport holders can enter China without a visa for up to 30 days. Ordinary passport holders need a visa before travel. China has no visa on arrival for ordinary Pakistani passports.
The type of visa depends on your reason for going. A leisure trip is an L visa. Business meetings and trade are an M visa. Visiting family in China is a Q2 visa. Studying or working needs its own category. Applying under the wrong category is an official reason to refuse or send the application back.
Is the China visa free for Pakistanis?
The visa itself is free, because Chinese visa fees are waived for Pakistani ordinary passport holders, as stated by the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad. What you still pay is the service fee charged by Gerry's Chinese Visa Application Service Centre, which collects the documents for the embassy. The regular service fee is around 13,200 rupees. Optional services add more.
What documents do you need?
Get these together before you open the online form:
- a passport valid for at least six months, with blank visa pages
- a photocopy of the passport data page
- the online visa application form and your printed confirmation page
- two recent colour passport photos on a white background
- a copy of your CNIC, both sides
- your previous passport, and old Chinese visas if you have any
- a police character or clearance certificate for applicants aged ten and above
- invitation documents based on your visa category
The police character certificate needs attention. The embassy requires it for applicants aged ten and above. If the certificate has a working QR code, scan it yourself to check. If it has no QR code, or the code does not open, the certificate must be apostilled by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applications get sent back when the QR code fails.
What invitation documents do you need?
China is a document heavy visa. The invitation letter sits at the centre of most applications, and it differs by category.
For business and trade (M visa), you need an invitation letter from the Chinese company, an official verification letter, or a TE letter. The letter must name the inviting organization correctly and give the purpose and travel dates.
For family visit (Q2 visa), the invitation comes from your relative in China, along with their identification and proof of the family relationship.
For tourism, individual L visa applications are not common from Pakistan in practice. Most tourism travel goes in an approved group of at least five people, with a group invitation issued through the authorised system in China.
How do you actually apply? Step by step
The application now starts online. The embassy stopped accepting walk in paper forms years ago.
- Pick the right centre for where you live. Islamabad covers Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan. Karachi covers Sindh and Balochistan. Lahore covers Punjab except Rawalpindi.
- Go to the official Chinese Visa Application Service Centre website and create an account. Choose your centre correctly. Pick the wrong one and you may have to restart.
- Fill the online form at the official site. Enter your name, passport number, date of birth and job details exactly as they appear on your documents.
- Upload clear scans of your passport page, your photo and your supporting documents. A blurred photo or an unreadable paper is a common reason to be sent back.
- Submit online and wait for the preliminary approval. The system should show "Approved" before you touch the passport. Print the Visa Application Certificate that comes with the approval email.
- Take your passport and the original documents to the centre. Online approval only lets you submit the passport. It does not mean the visa is issued yet.
- Pay the service fee at the centre.
- Collect your passport on the date the centre gives you.
How long does it take?
The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan says it generally needs four working days to process an application after it receives the passport. The visa centre describes normal collection on the sixth working day after you submit. There is no urgent or extra urgent service. Online review, missing documents and interviews all add time. Apply well before your travel date, and do not book a non refundable flight before you hold the visa.
Who must come in person?
Many applicants can now avoid fingerprints. The visa centre exempted collection for all short term applicants, those staying 180 days or less, from 18 December 2025 to 31 December 2026. Long term visas for residence permits, like work and study, still need fingerprints.
For a first time Chinese visa you may be asked in for an interview to check your documents in person. Go when asked.
What if you do not have enough money?
For several short stay categories the embassy looks at a standard of no less than 100 US dollars per day of your stay, backed by your personal bank statements for the latest six months. Do not borrow money to make a fake balance and do not submit doctored statements. Fake financial documents are an official reason to refuse you and can carry legal consequences.
Common mistakes that get applications sent back
- a fake or altered invitation letter, or a wrong company name
- missing travel dates or purpose in the invitation letter
- false bank statements or not enough funds
- a police certificate QR code that does not open
- passport details that do not match the form
- a blurred photograph, or applying under the wrong category
The bottom line
The China visa for Pakistanis is free at the embassy but not free in practice, because the service centre charges you. The process is online first, document heavy, and invitation letters matter more than anything. Start three months before you plan to fly, sort your police certificate QR code early, and never submit a document you cannot defend. The Chinese Embassy in Islamabad and the official visa centre are the places to check before you pay anyone.
Want to know whether you can travel without a visa in the first place? Read our guide to visa free countries for Pakistani passport holders. If you are applying online elsewhere, our list of eVisas for Pakistani citizens shows which countries accept online applications. More on the Umrah visa process if that trip is next. For more guides on everyday legal and practical questions in Pakistan, visit the Lexiber blog or the Lexiber home page.
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