Filling in COVA, the online visa form

Filling in COVA, the online visa form
COVA replaced the old form on 30 September 2025. If a guide tells you to print a PDF and fill it in by hand, it predates the change.

The China Online Visa Application system is where the whole form now lives. You register with an email address, complete the questions, upload scans, and submit for a preliminary review. One account can hold applications for several people, with no limit, which is what families and companies use it for.

What happens after you submit

Status What it means What to do
Under review The office is reading the file Wait. Roughly a week if you have held a Chinese visa before, two to three weeks if this is your first.
Supplementary materials to be provided Something is missing Log in, upload it, resubmit.
Rejected and to be modified Something is wrong Correct it and resubmit. This is not a refusal of the visa.
Passport to be submitted You are cleared to go Print the barcode page and take it to the counter with the passport.
Passport to be collected It is ready Bring the pick-up slip and a card.

The system does not reliably tell you when your status changes. People who check every couple of days finish the process much faster than people who wait to be contacted, and that is a pattern that shows up in review after review.

Before you start
  • An email address you check, because it is your account name
  • A scan of the passport bio page and a blank visa page
  • Proof that you live in the district: driver’s licence, state ID, utility bill or bank statement
  • Your most recent Chinese visa or residence permit, if you have had one
  • For a first application by anyone once Chinese: the naturalisation certificate and the last Chinese passport
    •  Print the barcode page. Do not photograph it.  The counter scans it, and a screen is not accepted. It is the single most repeated piece of advice in the reviews of every office.

    What the system will not do for you

    COVA checks that fields are filled in, not that they are right. It will accept a district you do not live in, a passport with four months of validity left, and a visa type that does not match the trip; those are caught later, by a person, and each catch costs days.

    What each COVA status means
    What each COVA status means

    The one field worth reading twice is the consular district. It is the first thing the office verifies against your proof of residence, and it is the only error that cannot be fixed by uploading something.

    All the proceduresAppointments and walk-ins

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