After an eight-week hiatus caused by an IT migration at the external provider GVCW, the Embassy of Greece in Beijing has confirmed that all six mainland Chinese Visa Application Centers (VACs) are back online as of 24 February 2026. Centers in Beijing, Shenyang, Jinan, Chongqing, Chengdu and Xi’an are once again accepting Schengen short-stay and national (D-category) visa files from Chinese citizens and third-country nationals resident in their consular districts.
The restart ends a period in which Chinese applicants had to ship files to Hong Kong or wait for limited drop-box appointments, creating a backlog estimated by Greek officials at more than 18,000 passports. VAC staff have been authorised to work extended evening shifts and weekends through mid-March to clear priority cases such as group tours departing during the Easter peak and corporate travellers with March exhibition deadlines in Thessaloniki and Athens.
For applicants who prefer expert assistance in navigating these evolving requirements, the online platform VisaHQ can provide step-by-step guidance, document pre-screening and appointment scheduling for Greek Schengen visas and many other travel documents. Chinese residents can start the process in English or Mandarin via https://www.visahq.com/china/ ensuring their files are VAC-ready and reducing the risk of costly delays.
![Greek Visa Application Centers Reopen Across Mainland China, Clearing Path for Business and Leisure Travel]()
According to figures released by the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greece issued just under 200,000 short-stay visas to Chinese nationals in 2019 before the pandemic and expects volumes to rebound strongly under China’s “visa-free stopover plus Schengen” travel trend. Greek hoteliers on the Cyclades and conference venues in Attica are already reporting bookings tied to the resumption of direct Beijing–Athens flights by Air China and to Aegean Airlines’ new Shanghai seasonal service launching in May.
For business mobility managers the reopening removes an administrative bottleneck. Companies sending staff to Greek shipping, energy and tech hubs should, however, note several procedural changes that accompanied the relaunch: (1) mandatory biometric capture at the time of submission (no reuse of fingerprints taken before 2024); (2) stricter proof-of-funds requirements that now mirror updated EU guidelines on minimum daily subsistence; and (3) the return of a printed insurance policy in addition to a PDF upload. Standard processing times are quoted at 10 calendar days, but urgent cases may be fast-tracked for an additional RMB 385 fee.
Travel consultants advise applicants to book appointments early—especially in Beijing, where only 240 daily slots are available—and to monitor flight availability as March seat inventory is already tightening. Corporations with frequent rotation into the shipping cluster of Piraeus may wish to explore Greece’s recently expanded national D-visa for intra-company transferees, which can now be filed through the same VAC network.
The restart ends a period in which Chinese applicants had to ship files to Hong Kong or wait for limited drop-box appointments, creating a backlog estimated by Greek officials at more than 18,000 passports. VAC staff have been authorised to work extended evening shifts and weekends through mid-March to clear priority cases such as group tours departing during the Easter peak and corporate travellers with March exhibition deadlines in Thessaloniki and Athens.
For applicants who prefer expert assistance in navigating these evolving requirements, the online platform VisaHQ can provide step-by-step guidance, document pre-screening and appointment scheduling for Greek Schengen visas and many other travel documents. Chinese residents can start the process in English or Mandarin via https://www.visahq.com/china/ ensuring their files are VAC-ready and reducing the risk of costly delays.
According to figures released by the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greece issued just under 200,000 short-stay visas to Chinese nationals in 2019 before the pandemic and expects volumes to rebound strongly under China’s “visa-free stopover plus Schengen” travel trend. Greek hoteliers on the Cyclades and conference venues in Attica are already reporting bookings tied to the resumption of direct Beijing–Athens flights by Air China and to Aegean Airlines’ new Shanghai seasonal service launching in May.
For business mobility managers the reopening removes an administrative bottleneck. Companies sending staff to Greek shipping, energy and tech hubs should, however, note several procedural changes that accompanied the relaunch: (1) mandatory biometric capture at the time of submission (no reuse of fingerprints taken before 2024); (2) stricter proof-of-funds requirements that now mirror updated EU guidelines on minimum daily subsistence; and (3) the return of a printed insurance policy in addition to a PDF upload. Standard processing times are quoted at 10 calendar days, but urgent cases may be fast-tracked for an additional RMB 385 fee.
Travel consultants advise applicants to book appointments early—especially in Beijing, where only 240 daily slots are available—and to monitor flight availability as March seat inventory is already tightening. Corporations with frequent rotation into the shipping cluster of Piraeus may wish to explore Greece’s recently expanded national D-visa for intra-company transferees, which can now be filed through the same VAC network.
