We warmly welcome attendees from around the globe to SIGIR-AP 2025. We understand that obtaining a Chinese visa might be a concern for some. Before starting your visa application process, please check if you qualify for visa-free entry.
China has mutual visa-exemption agreements with 158 countries. Citizens of these countries, holding the appropriate passports, can travel to China for short visits without needing to apply for visas in advance. Depending on the country, some visitors may only require an ordinary passport, while others may need passports for public affairs or less common types of passports.
Please refer to the Details of Mutual Visa Exemption Agreements to determine if your passport qualifies for this type of visa exemption.
Nationals of the following countries can, with ordinary passports, enter China visa-free for purposes of business, tourism, visits to relatives and friends, exchange visits, and transit, provided that their stay periods do not exceed 30 days. The duration of stay shall be calculated from 00:00 on the day following the day of entry.
The above information can be found in the following links:
Foreign nationals with ordinary passports from 54 countries/regions can transit through designated Chinese cities/regions without a visa for up to 240 hours (10 days), as long as they hold confirmed onward tickets to a third country/region and meet all necessary requirements. During their stay, travel must be restricted to the designated administrative area, such as the province or municipality.
Please refer to China's visa-free transit policy fully relaxed and optimized for detailed information.
Please note that it is essential to consult the official Chinese National Immigration Administration website for the most up-to-date visa policies, as the information may have changed since the compilation of this page.
If you do not meet the requirements for visa-free entry, you can apply for either an F visa for academic purposes or an L visa for tourism. For the F visa, you can obtain an invitation letter from the conference after registering for on-site attendance, which will support your visa application. We will initiate the conference registration and invitation letter application process shortly after the acceptance notifications are distributed, around September 12th.
To apply for an F or L visa, please review the Visa Category selection for detailed information on the required materials and other specifics. Additionally, you may also find the China Online Visa Application (COVA) website helpful.
