Can You Apply for CSC Without a Passport?

Sometimes, but only under a stated exception. A clear scan of the ordinary passport information page is the standard document. The current Shanghai government Bilateral Program guide says an applicant who cannot obtain a passport before submission for objective reasons may use a valid identity document or certificate containing the full English name, gender, nationality and date of birth, with permission from the relevant institutions.

The Chinese Embassy in Fiji's 2026/2027 notice applies the same exception only with Embassy approval. This is not permission to omit the passport page on your own. Ask the authority receiving your application before uploading an alternative document.

The controlling notice identifies the decision-maker. For the Fiji Type A route, it is the Chinese Embassy in Fiji. The Chinese Embassy in Estonia's 2026/2027 notice refers more generally to approval by the application receiving agency.

The notices do not publish a universal list of qualifying objective reasons. Send the authority a short written explanation and a copy of the proposed identity evidence, then keep its written reply. An exception granted for one Type A route does not automatically bind a university running a Type B application.

Use the longest rule that applies to your route and university. The Shanghai, Fiji and Estonia Bilateral notices say to renew a passport that will have less than 12 months of validity from the planned study start date.

University rules can use a specific cutoff instead. Zhejiang University of Science and Technology's 2026 Silk Road Program guide required the passport to expire after September 2026. The China Academy of Art's 2026 doctoral guide required validity beyond September 30, 2026. These are program examples, not a single national expiry date.

Do not invent a passport number or enter another person's details. Follow the written instruction for the exact portal and route. Beihang University's 2026 postgraduate scholarship Q&A says applicants without a passport, or with one being renewed, should fill in or update the passport information promptly after receiving the new document.

That is Beihang's published process, not a universal CSC portal rule. Type A applicants should first obtain the receiving agency's approval for alternative identity evidence. Type B applicants should ask the university how to handle both its own system and the CSC system. The CSC application-form guide explains how the systems and downloaded form relate.

Notify every authority that holds your application and ask for its correction procedure. Beihang warns that passport information left missing or outdated can flow into automatically generated admission documents. The China Academy of Art says passport information normally cannot be changed after admission until enrollment is complete, except when special circumstances or force majeure support a written application to the university.

Do not create a second scholarship application unless the receiving authority tells you to do so. Keep the old passport scan, new passport scan and any official renewal or replacement evidence. Check the passport name and number in both portals, any pre-admission material and the final documents. The CSC and university portal order guide covers cross-system consistency.

Beihang states that passport name and number are used for application processing, admission documents and the visa application. Its Q&A warns that missing or wrong passport data in generated admission documents may lead to a visa refusal.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa guidance lists the applicant's passport among the basic visa materials and classifies X1 for study longer than 180 days and X2 for study of no more than 180 days. A scholarship application exception therefore does not remove the need for a passport at the visa stage. Check the visa post handling your application and use the X1 and X2 visa guide for the later document sequence.

First, read the passport line in both the scholarship-route notice and the university notice. Second, calculate validity from the stated study-start date or cutoff. Third, renew early if either notice requires it. If a passport cannot be obtained in time, request written approval before using alternative identity evidence. After receiving a new passport, update every required system and compare the name, number and expiry date across the form and admission documents.

If you want an independent check, the CSC Path Document Review can compare your passport evidence, form and official notices and flag inconsistencies. It does not obtain a passport, approve an exception, alter a submitted application, contact an authority for you, influence decisions or guarantee nomination, admission or funding.

*CSC Path is an independent educational resource, not affiliated with the China Scholarship Council, any university, embassy, dispatching authority or scholarship provider. We do not submit applications, control admission or scholarship decisions, or guarantee nomination, admission or funding.*