What if treatment in China may outlast your visa?

Start with the stay written on the visa

Where the duration of stay on a visa does not exceed 180 days, the holder may stay in China for that duration. To extend it, file an application at least seven days before the duration ends, with the exit-entry administration of the public security organ at or above county level in the place of stay, and submit the information the application requires. If the reasons are found appropriate and sufficient, the extension may be granted. If it is denied, leave China before the duration ends.

The accumulated length of extension shall not exceed the original duration of stay on the visa. A short visa cannot be extended repeatedly to cover a long course of treatment. If treatment, recovery, or follow-up may pass that limit, start with China medical visa invitation letter and hospital documents and confirm the category and stay with the office that will receive the application.

When the visa says to apply for a residence permit after entry

If the visa states that a residence permit is required after entry, apply within 30 days of entry to the exit-entry administration of the public security organ at or above county level in the proposed place of residence. That administration examines the application and makes a decision within 15 days of receipt.

The 30-day deadline is for the residence application; the hospital’s treatment schedule needs separate confirmation. The exit-entry administration decides whether to issue the residence permit.

When treatment needs more than six months

The National Immigration Administration's guide to stay and residence permits places medical care under humanitarian reasons for a personal-matters residence permit. A foreign national who needs to reside in China for medical assistance or medical services submits a hospitalization certificate, or a certificate of acceptance for medical services, issued by a medical institution at or above county level or a hospital at Grade 2A or above. The stated period of hospitalization or treatment must be more than six months. Where the application meets the requirements, a residence permit of no more than one year may be issued.

The hospital decides whether it can issue the certificate. The exit-entry administration decides whether to issue the residence permit. A certificate that states more than six months of treatment does not mean the visa or residence application will be approved.

If you already hold a residence permit

A foreign national residing in China who applies to extend the residence period files at least 30 days before the residence permit expires. If the extension is granted, the period may be extended. If it is denied, leave China before the permit expires.

The registered items on a residence permit include the passport number. A change of passport number follows a separate 10-day rule, explained in What if your passport number changes while you hold a residence permit?.

Two checks to make before departure

1. Ask the office that handles the visa or permit about the current stay, whether it can be extended, the accumulated limit, and whether a residence permit is required.
2. Ask the hospital whether treatment may take more than six months, and whether it can issue a hospitalization or medical-service certificate.
3. Before buying non-refundable flights, check that the hospital schedule fits within your permitted stay.

SinoCareHub can organize your existing records, document expiry dates and expected treatment period, ask the hospital whether it can issue a hospitalization or medical-service certificate, and pass on its reply. The responsible authority decides extension or residence applications; the hospital is responsible for medical recommendations and issuing its documents.