Documents Required for a China Business (M) Visa from India

1. What the Centre Asks For, in One List

Applications for a China business visa from India are lodged at the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre (CVASC) in New Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata, by appointment, with biometrics taken at the counter. The centre checks the file against its published list before accepting it; a file with a missing or inconsistent document is returned at the counter, not refused later. The list below follows the centre's order. Confirm the current version on the centre's site before you print, because it changes without notice.

• Original passport with at least six months' validity and two blank pages, plus previous passports where available.
• The completed COVA form, printed and signed.
• One recent photograph to the Chinese specification, pasted on the form, and a digital copy uploaded to COVA.
• The invitation letter from the Chinese trading partner or the trade fair organiser.
• A cover letter from the Indian company on letterhead.
• The company's registration document and its recent bank statements.
• The applicant's personal bank statements for the recent months.
• Proof of residence in the centre's jurisdiction where the address on the passport is elsewhere.
• Supporting papers for the case: previous Chinese visas, the hotel and flight bookings where asked, and the Canton Fair badge or invitation for fair visitors.

2. Passport, COVA Form and Photograph

Passport. Six months' validity from the date of travel, two blank facing pages, no damage to the laminate. If an older passport carried a Chinese visa, bring it; it supports a request for longer validity or multiple entries.

COVA form. Every applicant completes the China Online Visa Application at cova.mfa.gov.cn, choosing the centre, the visa type (M for commercial and trade activities) and answering every section, including employment history and the itinerary. Print the confirmation page and the full form, sign where marked, and bring the printout: the barcode on it is what the counter scans. The name, passport number and date of birth on the form must match the passport exactly, including middle names and the order of names.

Photograph. The Chinese specification is 33 mm wide by 48 mm high, taken within six months, on a plain white background, full face, ears visible, no glasses, no head covering except for religious reasons, no white or very light clothing that merges with the background. Indian passport photographs (35 by 45 mm) are the wrong size and are a routine reason for rejection at the counter. The same image is uploaded to COVA; the online check rejects shadows and low resolution.

3. The Invitation Letter

The M visa requires an invitation from the party you are visiting: a Chinese company you trade with, or the organiser of a trade fair. A company invitation is written on the company's letterhead, stamped with its red company seal and signed by its legal representative or an authorised officer, and states your full name as in the passport, gender, date of birth and passport number; the purpose of the visit; the dates and cities; the relationship between the companies; who bears the costs; and the inviting company's name, address, telephone and the signatory's name. A scanned copy is normally accepted for M applications; the original is requested in some cases.

Trade fair visitors use the organiser's letter instead. For the Canton Fair that is the invitation letter generated in the Buyer Service System, which the Canton Fair invitation letter guide shows how to obtain. The China visa invitation letter article explains the other kinds of letter and who issues them.

4. The Indian Company's Cover Letter

The cover letter is the Indian side of the story and the centre reads it against the invitation. On letterhead, addressed to the Chinese Embassy or the Consulate-General of the jurisdiction, it states: the applicant's name, designation and passport number; the purpose of the trip (which suppliers, which fair, which cities); the dates of travel and return; who pays for travel, stay and medical expenses; a declaration that the applicant will return to India and observe Chinese law; and the signatory's name, designation and contact details, with the company stamp. Proprietors sign their own letter and say so. The dates and cities must agree with the invitation and with any bookings you attach.

5. Company Registration and Bank Statements

The centre asks for proof that the Indian company exists and trades: the certificate of incorporation, the GST registration certificate, or the Udyam (MSME) certificate for proprietorships and small firms, together with the company's bank statements for the recent months, stamped by the bank where the printout is not a system-generated statement with the bank's details. The applicant's personal statements for the same period are asked for as well. The centre is looking for a steady operating balance, not a large deposit made the week before the statement was printed. Importers' GST returns and the IEC certificate are not on the list but are useful supporting papers when the trading relationship is new.

6. Supporting Papers for Specific Cases

• First-time applicants may be asked for flight and hotel bookings; a refundable booking is sufficient.
• Canton Fair visitors should attach the buyer registration confirmation with the invitation letter, as the China visa for Canton Fair guide describes.
• Applicants living outside the passport's address need proof of residence in the centre's jurisdiction, such as an Aadhaar card, a utility bill or a registered rent agreement; otherwise the file belongs to another centre.
• Employees need an employer's letter and, where the employer is not the inviting party's trading partner, an explanation of the role.
• Previous Chinese visas, in old passports or as photocopies, support a request for a multiple-entry visa, covered in the multiple-entry visa article.

7. The Mismatches That Return a File

Files are returned far more often for inconsistency than for a missing paper. The usual cases: a middle name on the passport that is missing from the invitation; a company name abbreviated differently on the cover letter and the invitation; travel dates on the COVA form that do not match the invitation; a 35 by 45 mm photograph; a bank statement without the bank's name and account holder on every page; and a cover letter addressed to the wrong consulate. Read the three documents that carry the same facts, passport, COVA form and invitation, side by side before the appointment. The China business visa guide covers the categories, centres and timelines; the processing time article explains how long the centre takes once it accepts the file.