The Chinese Embassy in London has made two announcements that will allow Brits stranded outside of China the right to return.
Below are the two announcements made by the Chinese Embassy in London, which offer advise for British nationals planning on returning to China to work.
Updated requirements for Chinese Visa Applications
To facilitate gradually resuming personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries, the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in the U.K. are ready to accept visa applications through the Chinese Visa Application Service Centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh as of Aug 18th 2020 from applicants who intend to travel to China for any of the following purposes and meet the following criteria:
- A British citizen and applicant from any of the 35 other European countries who is holding a valid Foreigner’s Residence Permit of China for work, private matters or family reunion, and needs to go to China for the same visiting purpose as shown on the Residence Permit;
- Applicant (including accompanying spouse and children under the age of 18) who does not hold a valid Foreigner’s Residence Permit of China for work, private matters or family reunion, but has an “Invitation Letter (PU/TE)” or “Verification Confirmation of Invitation” issued by the Foreign Affairs Office of the provincial government or the provincial department of commerce of the intended place of visit to visit China for economic, trade, scientific, technological, culture or sport purposes;
- Applicant (including accompanying spouse and children under the age of 18) who does not hold a valid Foreigner’s Residence Permit of China for work, private matters or family reunion, but has obtained “Notification Letter of Foreigners Work Permit” as well as “Invitation Letter (PU/TE)” or “Verification Confirmation of Invitation” to work in China;
- Applicant who intends to visit China for the following humanitarian reasons:
a) Applicant intends to visit an immediate family member in China (including parents, spouse, children, grandparents, grandchildren) who is in a critical medical condition and in need of care, or to arrange funeral matters of an immediate family member in China. Photocopies of a medical certificate or death certificate, proof of relationships (including birth certificate, marriage certificate, Chinese household registration, certificate letters from the local police bureau in China, notarial certificate of kinship, etc.), and an invitation letter from relatives in China are required.
b) Applicant who is spouse or child under the age of 18 of a Chinese citizen or who holds a valid Chinese Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card, and intends to visit China for family reunion. An invitation letter and photocopies of the Chinese Identity Card or the Chinese Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card, and proof of relationships are required.
c) Applicant (including accompanying spouse and children under the age of 18) intending to visit China to take care of or support his/her Chinese parents. An invitation letter from the Chinese parent and photocopies of his/her Chinese Identity Card, and proof of relationships are required.
- Applicant who qualifies for a crew (C) visa. Applicants are required to fill in the online application form and make an appointment with the nearest Chinese Visa Application Centre before submitting applications in person on the date of appointment. Minor children under the age of 14 are not required to go to the Visa Centre for biometric information collection. Visa applications for other visiting purposes which are not included above cannot be accepted at the moment.
Please be advised that the above are temporary arrangements and subject to further change.
Notice on Airline Boarding Requirements (negative COVID test)
In accordance with the announcement of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the General Administration of Customs of China and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, passengers who are to fly from the UK to China will be required to take a nucleic acid test for COVID-19 and apply for a certified Health Declaration Form starting from 21 August 2020. The following procedures are for your reference:
- Starting from 21 August 2020, passengers who fly to China from the UK, directly or indirectly, will be required to take a nucleic acid test for COVID-19 within five days before boarding. At this stage, the Chinese Embassy does not designate specific institutions to carry out the test. Passenger can choose any hospital or institution to take the test.
- Passenger shall fill in and sign the Health Declaration Form and send a scanned copy of the signed Form, together with the Nucleic Acid Test Certificate (with negative result), and a photocopy of the bio-page of the passport to the Chinese Embassy or Consulates at the following email addresses:
Chinese Embassy: testreportuk@gmail.com
Chinese Consulate General in Manchester: health_man@outlook.com
Chinese Consulate General in Edinburgh:lsxz_edi@163.com
Chinese Consulate General in Belfast:chinacnbft@gmail.com
To speed up the process, please use “HS+Passenger name+Date of Departure” as subject line of your email, e.g. “HS+John Smith+Aug 12, 2020”.
- Certified Health Declaration Form with a validity period of 5 days starting from the date of issue of the Nucleic Acid Test Certificate (with negative result) shall be issued by the Chinese Embassy or the Consulates and sent back to the passenger by email.
- Passenger shall be required to present the print-out certified Health Declaration Form within the validity period during check-in or before boarding the flight and cooperate with airline staff during the inspection. Please be noted that passengers with expired Health Declaration Forms will not be allowed to board the plane and will be required to take nucleic acid tests and apply for the Health Declaration Form again.
- Passenger is advised to bring the Nucleic Acid Test Certificate (with negative result) to the airport in case of the need for further inspection.
- Please also be noted that a certified Health Declaration Form is not an alternative to a Chinese visa.