HOW TO APPLY FOR A visa for family  visit/short-term

1. Competent Embassy or Consulate-General :

The Embassy or Consulate-General of the country of your main destination (it is not necessarily the country of first entrance !) in the Schengen area, according to the territorial competence (cf. 5. Other competent Finnish missions in China).

2. Visa application :

Applicants are in principle required to apply in person. Applicants with official passports (diplomatic passports, service passports, passports 'for public affairs') apply for their visas via the competent Chinese Ministry or Commission.

The opening hours for the visa section of the Embassy of Finland in Beijing are :

 Monday-Friday 9:00-11.30 a.m.

Address: Beijing Kerry Centre, Level 26, South Tower, Guanghua Lu 1, Beijing 100020, P.R. of China,

 tel. 010-8529 9796, fax: 010-8529 8547, 8529 8544

3. Documents :

1. Application form , duly completed with one recent photo,

2. Passport, valid at least 90 days after expiration of the visa, with a photocopy of the identity pages,

3. Flight reservation with confirmation for the round trip

4. Evidence of accomodation for the whole trip in the Schengen area

5. Proof of your financial means,

6. Health insurance covering the journey in the Schengen area (including repatriation and covering medical expenses up 30.000 EUROS).  China Life Insurance Company Limited, address: No.16 Chao Wai Shi Chang Street, ChaoYang District, Beijing, tel. 86-10-85151534, or 86-10-85251536

7. For non Chinese citizens residing in China: a valid residence permit with a copy of all the pages

8. A letter of the working unit or company or organization (with address, telephone and fax of the                                                      

    employer , stamp and/or signature with name and position of the person who signed) stating:

    a. working position

    b. salary

    c approval for leave

    d. confirmation of working relationship after the trip abroad

 Additional documents, requirements and information:

 1. An invitation letter from the referent person including contact information (tel., fax, e-mail). The letter must contain the name of the invited person, for how many days the person is invited and for how long the invitation is valid. The number of entries and the reason for these must be mentioned 

2. For Chinese citizens: hukou in original, with photocopy of all pages

4. The visa procedure takes up to 15 working days but may take longer in some cases

5. All documents should be either in English or Finnish

6. The embassy may request additional information 

7. All the documents should be presented in original, with copies attached

8. For an applicant under 18 years old - not traveling with a parent, a notarized parental authorization form.

Presentation of the above-mentioned documents doesn't guarantee automatic issuance of visa

4. Fees :

A non-refundable procession fee (Euro. 35,-) is collected when applying. Please note that the fee is also non-refundable if the visa application is withdrawn or the visa is denied. The fees are subject to change due to exchange rate fluctuations.

5. Other competent Finnish missions in China :

1. Hong Kong residents shall leave their application to:

Consulate General of Finland, Dah Sing Financial Centre, 24 Floor, 108 Gloucester Road, Hong Kong, tel. 852-2525 5385, fax: 852-2810 1232

2. Residents of the provinces of  Shanghai, Jiangsu Jiangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang shall submit

their application to:

Consulate General of Finland, 2501-2505 Citic Square, 1168 Nanjing Xi Lu, Shanghai 200041,