Documents, Medical Exam & Police Clearance for China Applications

The Foreigner Physical Examination Form (also called "Physical Examination Record for Foreigner") is a Chinese-government-issued medical form that every long-term student and worker visa applicant must submit. Download the current template from the Chinese embassy website in your country: never use an old scanned version, layouts change.

Strict rules that get applications rejected:

• Must be completed at a government hospital or licensed medical centre: private clinics are usually not accepted.
• Every section must be signed by the examining doctor AND stamped with the hospital's official seal.
• Your passport-size photo must be stamped across one corner by the hospital seal. A photo without a seal touching it makes the whole form invalid.
• All test results (blood, urine, ECG, chest X-ray) must be attached and stamped.
• Valid for only 6 months from the exam date. Time your exam so it remains valid for both the application deadline and your visa application.

Cost: typically USD 50–150 depending on country. Book 2–3 weeks in advance: required tests take a few days to process.

The standard panel on the Foreigner Physical Examination Form:

• General physical exam: height, weight, blood pressure, vision, hearing, skin, cardiovascular and abdominal check.
• Blood tests: HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B (HBsAg), hepatitis C, blood type, complete blood count, liver and kidney function.
• Chest X-ray: screens for tuberculosis. This is the test most commonly redone in China after arrival.
• ECG (electrocardiogram): required for all applicants.
• Urinalysis.

HIV, active TB, active syphilis, and infectious hepatitis are grounds for visa refusal. Some conditions can be reconsidered with additional documentation: consult the embassy before assuming a refusal.

After arrival in China, you will be required to re-verify your physical exam at a designated Chinese entry-exit inspection centre within 30 days as part of the residence permit process. The re-verification is faster (around 1 hour, USD 60–90) and usually only repeats chest X-ray + HIV.

Most Chinese universities and Chinese embassies require a non-criminal record certificate (police clearance) issued within 6 months of the application deadline. Some embassies accept up to 12 months; do not rely on this without checking.

The certificate must:

• Be issued by an official government authority (police / ministry of interior / national security bureau: varies by country).
• Cover your residence(s) for the last 5 years. If you lived abroad, you may need clearance from that country too.
• Be notarised and (usually) apostilled/legalised: see the notarisation rules below.
• Be translated into English or Chinese if issued in another language, with the translation notarised.

Processing time varies wildly by country: 3 days in the UK, 2 weeks in India, 4–8 weeks in Pakistan, 6+ weeks in Nigeria. Start this process the moment you decide to apply: it is the single most common cause of missed deadlines.

Three layers, in order:

• Notarisation: a local notary public verifies your document (or its translation) is a true copy of the original. Cheapest step, around USD 10–50.
• Apostille (for Hague Convention countries, around 120+ countries including India, Pakistan, the UK, Nigeria, most of Europe): your Ministry of Foreign Affairs certifies the notary itself. This is what makes the document accepted in China as of March 2023, when China joined the Hague Apostille Convention.
• Embassy legalisation (for non-Hague countries). MoFA + Chinese embassy each stamp the document. Slower, more expensive.

Which documents typically need this chain: degree certificate, transcript, birth certificate, police clearance, sometimes recommendation letters.

Cost: USD 100–300 per full chain, more if you use a service agent. Time: 2–6 weeks depending on country. Some universities accept notarised copies only (skip apostille); most require the full apostilled version. Always match your specific target university's instructions.

Full checklist and country-specific notes on our CSC Overview.

For Master's and PhD, CSC and most universities require two recommendation letters from professors or associate professors at your most recent university.

Ranking of ideal recommenders (strongest to weakest):

• Full professor who taught you and knows your work personally: strongest.
• Associate professor in your major department: very strong.
• Assistant professor / lecturer who supervised your thesis: acceptable, especially if they can speak to your research capacity.
• Employer / manager: only accepted as a second letter if you have significant post-graduation work experience. Rarely accepted as a sole recommender.
• Family friend "professor," or someone who does not actually know your work: weakens your application; reviewers can tell.

The letter should be 1 page, on official university letterhead, signed, dated, with the professor's title, department, university email, and phone. Content should include: how the professor knows you, your specific academic strengths with concrete examples, comparison to peers ("top 5% of the 200 students I have taught"), and a clear recommendation.

Ready-to-adapt recommendation letter templates for professors to review and sign are on our Templates page. Ask your professors early: a good letter takes them 30–60 minutes.

Yes. Almost every Chinese university accepts a certificate of expected graduation (also called "provisional degree certificate" or "letter of expected completion") from your current university, stating your enrolled program, expected graduation date, and current GPA.

Your final admission is then conditional on submitting the final degree certificate before enrolment: usually by mid-August for the September intake. If your graduation is delayed and you cannot produce the final certificate by then, your admission may be deferred to the following intake.

The provisional certificate must be:

• On official university letterhead
• Signed by the registrar or dean of the faculty
• Stamped with the university seal
• Explicit about your expected graduation date
• Translated + notarised if not in English

If your university refuses to issue such a letter, ask specifically for an "enrolment verification letter" plus a "transcript showing all completed credits and remaining credits": this combination is also accepted by most Chinese universities.