Coming to the Fair: the visa and the invitation letter

Two different documents, one trip. What a business visitor applies for, what the organiser's invitation actually is, and why neither of them is a guarantee.

Which visa, and where to apply

A trade visit is a business purpose, and China's visa categories distinguish business and trade visits from tourism. The category you apply under and the documents required are set by the Chinese mission for your country - apply through the visa application service centre or the official online system, not through a middleman found in a search ad.

Requirements, fees and processing times are set by the mission and change; the official pages linked below are the authority, not this page.

What the Fair's invitation is

The organiser issues an invitation to registered buyers, and pre-registration is the step that generates it. It supports your application as a business-purpose document; it is not itself a visa and it does not decide the outcome.

Register early. The invitation is generated through the official buyer process, and leaving it until the week before the phase you want to attend is the single most common self-inflicted problem.

What to prepare

Your company's business licence or registration, a letter stating the purpose of the visit, your host's details, a travel and accommodation booking, and the invitation. Present the same company name and address on every document - mismatched names between the invitation and the application is a routine cause of delay.

Keep a copy of the whole application set with you when you travel, not only in a cloud folder.

On arrival

Carry the printed invitation and your host contact, and be ready to answer where you are staying and which exhibition you are attending. That is a normal business-visitor question, and a tidy answer takes ten seconds.

Check the current entry and registration requirements with the official sources before you fly, since these are the parts that change without notice.

What this page is not

This is not immigration advice and we are not your host. We do not issue invitation letters, and nothing here should be used to decide whether you qualify.

We are not an agent and we do not issue invitations. Visa rules are set by the Chinese authorities - use the official links above.