Several Chinese diplomatic missions, including those in Suriname and the Federated States of Micronesia, issued identical notices on 18 December announcing an immediate exemption from fingerprint collection for all applicants seeking visas with stays of 180 days or less. The pilot, effective from 19 December 2025 through 31 December 2026, suspends a requirement introduced in 2018 as part of China’s biometric rollout.
Applicants for long-term D, J1, Q1, S1, X1 and Z categories—who must convert their entry visa into a residence permit once in China—will still need to appear in person for fingerprinting. Diplomatic passport holders and children under 14 or adults over 70 were already exempt; the new rule extends the waiver to the bulk of business and tourist travellers.
![Chinese embassies waive fingerprinting for short-term visa applicants worldwide until end-2026]()
Consulates say the step will shorten appointment times, reduce congestion in visa halls and make it easier for travel agents to submit batches of passports. It also dovetails with China’s push to digitise its consular services: an upgraded online visa portal (COVA 2.0) now pre-populates application forms with passport data, meaning many travellers can complete the process without visiting the embassy at all.
In practice, the relaxed rules also make professional visa agencies more valuable. VisaHQ, for instance, offers an end-to-end China service (https://www.visahq.com/china/) that allows applicants to complete the COVA form online, arrange secure courier pick-up, and track their passports in real time—helping travellers and mobility managers take full advantage of the fingerprint waiver while keeping compliance tight.
For corporate mobility teams the benefit is immediate. Employees who previously had to fly—or courier their passports—to the nearest Chinese consulate for biometric capture can now use mail-in or agent submissions, cutting lead-times by several days. Experts nonetheless advise retaining buffer time: embassies reserve the right to request fingerprints on a case-by-case basis, and applicants must still present clear, recent photos that meet ICAO standards.
Applicants for long-term D, J1, Q1, S1, X1 and Z categories—who must convert their entry visa into a residence permit once in China—will still need to appear in person for fingerprinting. Diplomatic passport holders and children under 14 or adults over 70 were already exempt; the new rule extends the waiver to the bulk of business and tourist travellers.
Consulates say the step will shorten appointment times, reduce congestion in visa halls and make it easier for travel agents to submit batches of passports. It also dovetails with China’s push to digitise its consular services: an upgraded online visa portal (COVA 2.0) now pre-populates application forms with passport data, meaning many travellers can complete the process without visiting the embassy at all.
In practice, the relaxed rules also make professional visa agencies more valuable. VisaHQ, for instance, offers an end-to-end China service (https://www.visahq.com/china/) that allows applicants to complete the COVA form online, arrange secure courier pick-up, and track their passports in real time—helping travellers and mobility managers take full advantage of the fingerprint waiver while keeping compliance tight.
For corporate mobility teams the benefit is immediate. Employees who previously had to fly—or courier their passports—to the nearest Chinese consulate for biometric capture can now use mail-in or agent submissions, cutting lead-times by several days. Experts nonetheless advise retaining buffer time: embassies reserve the right to request fingerprints on a case-by-case basis, and applicants must still present clear, recent photos that meet ICAO standards.
