We have prepared China tourist and business visa files from Chennai for ten years — 3,000+ applications, across five Canton Fair seasons for Tamil Nadu exporters. We know how that centre reads a file, which documents it queries, and how long your passport realistically stays away.
China travel splits in two: exporters heading to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Yiwu or the Canton Fair, and families going on holiday to Beijing, Shanghai or Xi’an.
Both need a sticker visa in the passport, and both hit the same problem: there is no Chinese visa centre in Chennai. We handle that gap.
China visa at a glance
- Visa types we handle
- Tourist (L) and Business (M)
- Visa format
- Sticker in your passport — the original passport must be submitted
- Applied through
- Chinese Visa Application Service Centre, New Delhi
- Online form
- The COVA form must be completed online before anything else
- Fingerprints
- Waived for short-stay visas until 31 December 2026
- Processing
- About 4 working days at the centre; express options available
- Validity & stay
- Set by the consulate on your case — we confirm the current terms before you apply
Where your China visa application goes from Chennai
China’s Mumbai consulate covers Maharashtra and Karnataka. Kolkata covers West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Tamil Nadu falls under the New Delhi centre. Your file goes to Delhi — not Chennai, not Mumbai, and not to any VFS office.
That normally means appearing in Delhi in person, because the centre collects fingerprints.
Right now you do not have to go. Fingerprinting is waived for short-stay visas until 31 December 2026, so we can lodge your file in Delhi without you leaving Chennai. That window closes at the end of 2026 — if your trip is after that, plan for the trip to Delhi.
Which China visa do you need?
Tourist visa (L)
Holidays, sightseeing, visiting friends. Needs an itinerary, flights and hotel bookings.
Business visa (M)
Factory visits, supplier meetings, trade fairs including the Canton Fair, contract negotiations. Needs an invitation letter from the Chinese company — and the wording matters: one describing anything resembling employment causes problems.
See our Business Visa page for how invitation letters and multi-entry options work across every country we handle, not just China.
How the process works from Chennai
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Assessment. We confirm whether you need an L or M visa and quote our fee in writing.
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COVA form. Completed online, confirmation page printed and signed. Since December 2025 a file without it is turned away. We do this with you.
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Documents. A checklist for your situation, then we check everything.
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Passport. We collect it in Chennai, or you courier it to us.
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Submission. Your file is lodged at the New Delhi centre and tracked.
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Return. Passport back with the visa sticker, and we go through validity, entries and permitted stay before you fly.
Documents you need
- Everyone
- Passport valid six months with two blank pages, old passports, one photo (33×48 mm, white background), signed COVA confirmation page, day-by-day itinerary, confirmed flights, hotel bookings, three to six months of bank statements, ITR or Form 16.
- Employed
- Employment letter and leave approval on letterhead.
- Self-employed or exporters
- Business registration, GST filings, business bank statements.
- Business travel
- Invitation letter from the Chinese company, their business licence, and a covering letter from your Indian company.
- Retired
- Pension proof.
- Students
- College ID and bonafide certificate.
- Minors
- Birth certificate and parental consent.
There is no official minimum bank balance for a China visa. A site quoting a fixed figure is inventing one. What matters is that your funds credibly cover the trip.
Ask us for a checklist for your case
How our Chennai team helps you get approved
China files sit with Maharoof, Visa Manager — over five years handling documentation and filing across our destination portfolio.
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We deal with the Delhi problem. Preparing, lodging and tracking your file at the New Delhi centre is the most useful thing we do for a Chennai applicant. No flights to Delhi, no leave taken, and your passport stays tracked throughout.
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We get the COVA form right. It is long, and small mismatches between the form and your documents cause queries. We complete it with you rather than sending a link.
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We check the invitation letter in time. For business travel this is the document most likely to cause a rejection. If the wording creates a problem, we tell your Chinese host what to change.
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We make your documents agree. Itinerary matching flights, hotels matching the itinerary, leave dates matching both, names spelled identically across passport, PAN and bank records.
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We tell you where you stand first. The assessment is free, and if something is weak we say so before you spend anything. We do not promise outcomes: the consulate decides, and anyone quoting a success rate is quoting a number they cannot support.
Mistakes that get China visas rejected
- Submitting without the signed COVA confirmation page
- An itinerary that does not match the flight and hotel bookings
- A vague business invitation, or one that reads like employment
- Photos in the wrong size or on the wrong background, or fewer than two blank passport pages
- Leaving too little time — this visa holds your passport for several days
China visa FAQs
- Is there a Chinese visa centre in Chennai?
- No. Tamil Nadu falls under the New Delhi centre. We lodge your file there.
- Do I have to travel to Delhi?
- Not while fingerprinting is waived for short-stay visas, currently until 31 December 2026. Under-14s and over-70s are exempt anyway.
- How much does it cost?
- The consulate charges a different fee for single entry, double entry and six-month multiple entry, plus the centre’s service charge and our fee. We give you the current figures in writing before you commit.
- How long does it take?
- About four working days at the centre, plus courier time. Allow three weeks.
- Do I submit my original passport?
- Yes. China issues a sticker visa, so the passport travels with the application.
- Is there a minimum bank balance?
- No official minimum. Your funds should credibly cover the trip.
- Can I get a Canton Fair visa?
- Yes — a business (M) visa on your host’s invitation. Apply early; the pre-fair weeks are busy.
Talk to our China visa team in Chennai
Tell us when you are travelling and why. We will confirm the visa type, send a document list for your case, and quote our fee before you commit.
Get your free assessmentOffice: Level 5, Tamarai Tech Park, S.P. Plot No. 16-19 & 20-A, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Thiru Vi Ka Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600032.
Serving T. Nagar, Anna Nagar, Adyar, Velachery, Nungambakkam, Guindy, Porur, Egmore and OMR, and exporters across Tamil Nadu.