X1 & X2 Visa GuideUnofficial Unofficial guide · sources checked 11 October 2026
X1 or X2? Work out your China student visa.
Five questions. You get the visa type, the papers that go with it and what has to be done after you land, each line footnoted to the law, the regulations or an embassy page.
- 180
- days: the line between X2 and X1
- 30
- days after entry to apply for the residence permit
- 24
- hours to register where you live
Figures from the Entry-Exit Regulations, Article 36, and the Exit and Entry Administration Law, Articles 30 and 39.
This checker applies published national rules and the embassy lists named in each footnote. The mission where you apply may ask for more, and its current page prevails. It is not immigration advice.
Table 1 · side by side
X1 and X2 at a glance
The two study visas differ in one thing, the length of study, and everything else follows from it.
| Item | X1 | X2 | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study period | More than 180 days | 180 days or less | Entry-Exit Regulations, Article 6(11) |
| Papers for the visa | Admission notice plus form JW201 or JW202 | Admission notice | Embassy in the UK, Part Two, X1-Visa |
| After entry | Residence permit for study, applied for within 30 days | Stay for the duration written on the visa | Exit and Entry Administration Law, Article 30 |
| Longer stay | Extend the residence permit in its last 30 days | Extension cannot exceed the original duration of stay | Exit and Entry Administration Law, Article 32 |
| Off-campus work-study | Possible with school approval and an endorsement on the permit | No route stated in the texts read here | Entry-Exit Regulations, Article 22 |
Index · four files
The rules, filed by stage
Each file lists the rules for one stage with the article or embassy page that states them.
- File 01 · 6 rules
X1 or X2
The two study visa categories, the 180-day line that separates them, and what each one lets you do after you enter China.
- File 02 · 8 rules
Documents
The admission notice, the JW201 or JW202 form, and the other papers the regulations and embassy lists ask a student to submit.
- File 03 · 10 rules
After arrival
The 30-day residence permit deadline for X1 holders, accommodation registration within 24 hours, the health check and insurance your school will ask about.
- File 04 · 10 rules
Work, transfer, extension
Off-campus work-study and internships, changing school, extending a visa or a residence permit, and updating a permit when your details change.
Guides
Step-by-step guides
Longer explanations of the points students ask about most.
- Documents
JW201 and JW202: The Form Behind an X1 Visa Application
The JW201 form is for Chinese Government Scholarship and government-channel students; the JW202 is for self-funded students and comes from the school. What the form is, who issues it and where you will need it.
- After arrival
Residence Permit for Study in China: What to Do in Your First 30 Days
X1 visa holders must apply for a residence permit for study within 30 days of entering China. Where to apply, what to bring, how long the decision takes and which other formalities fall in the first weeks.
- Visa types
X1 vs X2 Visa for China: Which Student Visa Fits Your Study Period
China has two study visas. X1 is for study longer than 180 days and leads to a residence permit; X2 is for 180 days or less. Here is the rule, the papers each one needs and what follows after entry.
Sources
What this site reads
Only texts published by the National Immigration Administration, Chinese diplomatic missions and the Ministry of Education. Each was opened and read on 11 October 2026. Where a mission's current page differs, follow the mission.
- Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (English text published by the National Immigration Administration)
- Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners (English text published by the National Immigration Administration)
- Embassy of the PRC in the United Kingdom — Part One: Visa for China (Mainland only)
- Embassy of the PRC in the United Kingdom — Part Two: How to Apply for a Visa for China (Mainland only)
- Embassy of the PRC in the United Kingdom — Part Seven: FAQs and Answers
- Embassy of the PRC in the United States — Requirements and Procedures for Chinese Visa Application (Updated September, 2025)
- Ministry of Education — reply of 15 February 2008 on the difference between forms JW201 and JW202 (Chinese)
- Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security — Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students, Order No. 42 (Chinese)
- National Immigration Administration — service guide for issuing, extending, replacing and reissuing foreigners' residence permits (Chinese)
- National Immigration Administration — Policy Interpretation of the Nationwide Implementation of the Online Accommodation Registration Service (21 September 2026)