Standard Visitor visa: Chinese citizen in China → United Kingdom
Chinese citizens need a UK Standard Visitor visa — apply online on gov.uk and give biometrics at a UK visa application centre.
Lets you visit the UK for tourism, business, study (courses up to 6 months) and other permitted activities, usually for up to 6 months. No paid work.
- Validity
- 6 months (long-validity 2-, 5- or 10-year Standard Visitor visas are also available)
- Entries
- Multiple entry
- Max stay per visit
- Up to 6 months per visit
When to start
Start 30 days–2 months before your travel date.
Getting an appointment in China
- 18 centre locations across China (VFS directory, captured 2026-06-11): Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Kunming, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Xi'an, plus part-time Bank of China counters in Chongqing, Nanjing and Shanghai.
- Most run Mon–Fri 09:00–15:00 — with this many cities, a neighbouring centre often has earlier slots.
- No recent public wait-time reports found for China — the band below is general guidance, not China-specific data.
Check your purpose (tourism, business, short study) is a permitted Standard Visitor activity.
Get your passport, travel/accommodation details, evidence of funds.
Complete the application on gov.uk and pay the £135 fee for a 6-month visa.
As part of the online application, book your biometrics appointment at the centre serving where you live.
Upload your supporting documents to the VFS Global website before your appointment — you can submit them for free.
Prove your identity, give your fingerprints and a photo (biometrics), and hand over your documents. You’ll get your passport or travel document back on the same day — the centre may keep some other documents while it processes your application.
A standard application is usually decided within about three weeks.
What you'll need
- Passport / travel document — A passport or travel document valid for the whole of your stay in the UK. ✓ verified
- Evidence you'll leave the UK — Documents showing you will leave at the end of your visit (e.g. employment, studies, family or property ties). ✓ verified
- Evidence you can support yourself — Bank statements or payslips showing you can support yourself and any dependants during the trip (or that someone is funding you). ✓ verified
- Funds for your return journey — Evidence you can pay for your return or onward journey (or that someone is funding it). ✓ verified
- Tuberculosis (TB) test certificate — If you’re visiting the UK for more than 6 months, a certificate proving you’ve had a TB test at a clinic approved for UK visa applications. ✓ verified· visiting for more than 6 months
Where you'll apply
Because you live in China, you apply through a UK visa application centre in China. That centre directory is hosted on the VAC operator's site (VFS), which is bot-protected and not machine-fetchable — so specific centres are not listed here rather than asserted without a source.
Fees
| Standard Visitor visa (6 months) | GBP 135 |
Gotchas to watch
- Families apply separately: each person must have their own application, pay the fee, and attend their own appointment.
- If you're visiting the UK for 6 months or more you need a TB test certificate from an approved clinic before you apply.