The Residence Permit is a long-term stay visa for most international students in China, which has no border entry & exit limits. Most new international students with an X1 visa are required to convert it into a Residence Permit as soon as possible, as the X1 visa is only valid for 30 days after the visa holder enters China. Enrolled students must take the required documents to the visa offices of the Immigration Department of the Nanjing Police Department to extend their current residence permits before they expire. Overstaying the visa or the residence permit will lead to severe punishments by the immigration authority.

Checklist for Files

1. Passport

2. Residence Permit Application Form (download, double-side print, and fill in the blank form  0-Residence Permit Application Form.pdf and check the sample form  0-Residence Permit Application Form Sample.pdf for tips if you don't know how to fill in the form)

3. Photocopy of Passport (personal information page)

4. Photocopy of the Chinese visa page (or the current residence permit if you have one)

5. Photocopy of the Chinese entry stamp

6. Two 2-inch Photos (33 mm x 48 mm, be in color, have a white background, be bare-headed, and be taken within the last month)

7. Printout of the JW202 Form *

8. Printout of the Temporary Residence Registration Form (临时住宿登记, see the tutorial Temporary Residence Registration Tutorial.pdf)

9. Digital Health Check Report saved as an independent PDF file on the cellphone (体检报告, see the tutorial Health Check Tutorial.pdf)

10. NUFE Certificate *

11. Application Fee (400 CNY for 364-day permits and 800 CNY for over 365-day permits, paid by Alipay or WeChat Pay)

* If you are extending your current residence permit, please prepare the files mentioned above, except for the JW202 Form and the Health Check Report. Students promoted to study further (like graduates from the Chinese Foundation Program to Bachelor's Degree Programs) need to submit the new JW202 Forms for the further study stage.

* NUFE Certificate is issued by the office for international students at NUFE (Office 1416, Admin. Building, Xianlin Campus / 仙林校区行政楼1416办公室).

Residence Permit Application Venues

The Exit-Entry Administration of Nanjing Police Bureau (173 Baixia Rd. / 白下路173号南京市公安局出入境管理处) is the primary visa office to receive your residence permit applications. Photography service is also available there. Their work time is 8:30-17:00, Monday to Friday.

The Qixia Branch is close to the Xianlin Campus of NUFE (B Hall of the Qixia Civil Services Center, 118 Wenyhuan Rd./栖霞区文苑路118号栖霞政务服务中心B大厅). Their work time is 9:00-11:30, 13:30-17:00, Monday to Friday.

Photography services are offered by both visa offices for 40 CNY for six copies.

Residence Permit Application Appointment

Residence permit applicants must schedule an appointment to submit their documents at the specific visa offices. Check the appointment tutorial Residence Permit Appointment Tutorial.pdf.

Further Reading

For detailed tutorials on temporary residence registration, health checkups, and residence permit applications, please visit this webpage.