1. Who can apply at the Visa Centre?
 
(1)According to the requirements of Chinese Embassy and Consulate General, you may need to come to the Visa Centre in person to submit your application and your fingerprints may be collected. If you want to apply through a travel agency or someone else, the agency/entrusted person will be responsible to confirm with you about the submission and fingerprint collection. If you are not in the UK when submitting, we cannot accept your application. Please submit to the visa centre located in the country of your current residency, or submit to us after you come back to UK.

(2)The Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General have their own jurisdictional areas formally known as consular districts. Only those who reside within a particular consular district of the Chinese Embassy in Edinburgh can apply through this Centre. Please click here to check the service areas of this Visa Centre.

2. How far in advance should I submit my application?

You should make your application well in advance of the planned travel date. You are advised to apply ONE month in advance but no earlier than THREE months.
Visa processing time varies with location. Please click here for the processing time of this Visa Centre. However, you should be aware that actual processing time may be longer than that posted on the web site in certain circumstances. If there is such a delay, you will be notified by the Visa Centre staff.

3. Do I have to make an appointment to apply for a visa?

Yes, it is compulsory to make appointment in advance and submit the application to the Visa Centre during the period of time as you appointed online. Based on experience, the submission peak hours are between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., so please try to avoid this period if possible. The Visa Centre allots a certain number of appointments in each 30-minute timeslot. Upon arrival, show a printout of the appointment information, and you will then be given a queue number on a first-come-first-served basis. This should guarantee a wait of only minutes.Please click here to make appointment of your visit to the Visa Centre.

Please click here for the location of the Visa Centre and office working hours.

4. What should I do after arriving at the Visa Centre?

On the day of your visit to the Centre, please be punctual. Upon arrival, you will:

(1) Show a printout of the appointment information, your application form, passport and other documents;

(2) Have your passport scanned and obtain a queue number for submitting your application; (3) Submit your application at the counter after your number is called (if your fingerprints are required, the visa centre will collect your fingerprints right then; if you need to have an interview according to the requirements of Chinese Embassy and Consulate General, the visa centre will check with you about the interview time, and please go to the Chinese Consulate General during the assigned time for the interview)

(4) Receive a payment notice;

(5) Read the statement on the back of the payment notice, sign it and give it back to our staff, make the payment, and you will receive a pick-up form anda payment credential.

(6) Always carefully retain the pick-up form as it must be shown when collecting your passport.

5. Can I track the status of my application?
The Chinese Visa Application Service Centre provides a 24-hour online facility to track the status of your application. You can click here to enter track your application status page and bookmark it. Or you can easily find the tracking page from Quick Access on the homepage of the Visa Centre’s web site.

6. Do I pay when submitting my application?

Yes, you need to make the payment of visa fee and service fee right after your application is accepted. Please refer to STEP 3 for more information.

7. Can I cancel my application after submitting it?
The application process involves sophisticated procedures so that the Visa Centre normally won’t accept to pull a single application out of the ongoing process involving many other applications. If you do insist to withdraw your application, the visa fee and service fee will not be refundable.