Chinese Embassy for UK - Address / Phone Number

Chinese Embassy in United Kingdom

Address: 49-51 Portland Place W1B 1JL
City: London (Standard time zone: UTC/GMT +1 hours)
Tel.: 020 7299 4049
Fax: 020-76370399
Visa Tel.: 020-7631 1430
Working hours: Monday to Friday, 9.00 - 12.30, 14.00 - 17.00
Consular hours: Monday to Friday, 9.00 - 12.00

The Consular Section of the Chinese Embassy in London provides consular assistance and services to overseas Chinese citizens, which include citizen registration, identification documents and passport related matters, emergency travel documents, legalization of documents, etc. The Consulate also issues visas to foreign nations who wish to visit China and offers a range of other services and information on China.

The main services provided by the Embassy include:

• Visas
• Births, deaths and marriages
• Passports and emergency travel documents
• Travel advice
• Legalisation Service
• Notarial services, etc.

Based on Chinese laws and regulations, Chinese consular officials may decide on the type of visa, number of entries, validity period and duration of stay, and may also refuse a visa application or revoke an issued visa. Foreign citizens should have applied for and obtained appropriate visas before entering China unless they are visa-exempt according to certain agreements and regulations.

Chinese visas fall into the types of diplomatic visas, courtesy visas, public service visas and ordinary visas. 

Foreign citizens who are going to transit China are exempt from visas, as long as they have a booked seat in an international connecting flight, and their stay in the city of transit is not to exceed 24 hours, and they will not get out of the airport during the stay.

Before traveling one must make sure that he/she has an original passport with at least six months of remaining validity and blank visa pages, and a photocopy of the passport's data page and the photo page if it is separate.

NOTE:

• Each item of the application form must be filled truthfully, clearly and completely. Any false information, missed items or illegible handwriting may lead to delay of the application processing or even refusal of the visa application.
• Visa officials make decisions on the validity period, number of entries, and the duration of each stay of a visa, based on Chinese laws and regulations.
• Authoritative interpretation remains with the Embassy should there be any change to the information above.

The purpose of legalization is to enable notarial documents issued by one country to be accepted by the corresponding department of another country, in the light that the authenticity of the signature or the seal of the document could be questioned or the legal efficacy of such documents could well be affected. In doing so, the documents are taking effect beyond the home country's territory. In accordance with Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and relevant regulations, Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the UK accept applications for legalizations from within the consular districts.