China Visa Documents to Notarise From Australia

Most people going to China from Australia need no notary at all. Tourist, business and study visas rely on bookings, invitations and admission papers. The work visa is different: the employer's work permit application usually needs your degree and a police check authenticated, which now means a DFAT apostille, with a notary first where the document needs one.

Key takeaways

• Check first whether you need a visa at all. At our last check, Smartraveller said ordinary Australian passport holders may be able to enter China visa-free for short stays.
• For tourist (L), business (M) and study (X) visas, documents are rarely notarised in Australia.
• The work visa (Z) follows a work permit your employer applies for in China. That application commonly needs your highest degree and a criminal record check authenticated for China.
• As of our last check, China is a party to the Apostille Convention, in force since 7 November 2023, so authentication is usually a DFAT apostille, not embassy legalisation.
• Names must match across your passport, degree and police check. Fix a mismatch before anything is authenticated.

Do you need a visa at all?

For a short visit, the first question is not which documents to notarise but whether you need a visa. China has in recent years let ordinary passport holders of a number of countries enter without a visa for short stays. At our last check, Smartraveller's China page said ordinary Australian passport holders may be able to enter visa-free for up to 30 days for business, tourism, visiting family and friends, or transit, under an arrangement then stated to run until the end of 2026. The length, purposes and end date have all changed before, so check Smartraveller and the Chinese embassy before you rely on it.

If you travel on another country's passport, the rule for that passport is what counts. And a visa-free entry does not cover work: anyone taking up employment in China needs the work permit and work visa route described below.

Which visas involve a notary

China issues visas in lettered categories. For most of them, nothing is notarised in Australia. The table sets out the usual position, which the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre, the embassy and your host in China can confirm for your case.

Visa	Purpose	Australian documents authenticated?
L	Tourism, visiting	Rarely; bookings and invitations
M	Business visits	Rarely; the invitation comes from China
X	Study	Rarely for the visa; the institution may want certified qualifications for admission
Z	Work	Commonly: highest degree and a criminal record check
Q and S	Family of Chinese citizens or of foreigners working in China	Often: marriage and birth certificates for the residence stage

For study, one point is often confused. The visa itself is supported by the admission letter and a form the Chinese institution issues. If the institution wants certified copies of your qualifications, that is an admission requirement, set by the institution, and it should be settled before you apply for the visa. Ask the institution whether it wants plain copies, notarised copies or apostilled documents.

The work visa, step by step

A Chinese work visa does not start at the visa office. Your employer in China applies to the local authorities for a work permit notification on your behalf, and the visa application in Australia follows once that is issued. The Australian documents are needed for the employer's application, which is why the employer's HR team or agent usually sets the list.

1. Get the list in writing from your employer or its agent. Local bureaus differ, and some ask for more, such as a professional licence or evidence of work experience.
2. Gather the documents. Usually your highest degree and a criminal record check from your country of nationality or where you have been living. For an Australian resident, that is usually an Australian national police check.
3. Authenticate for China. Private documents and copies go to a notary first; then DFAT issues an apostille.
4. Send them to the employer, which applies for the work permit notification. The visa application in Australia follows.

Your degree

DFAT's rule for university documents is specific. Its page of documents it can legalise says it will legalise an original degree once the university has verified it, and a notarised copy only if the university has verified the original and the notary's certificate says so. A plain certified copy will not do, and a JP copy never will. Most people keep their testamur and send a notarised copy, because the apostille attaches to whatever is lodged. See certified copies of a degree for the notary's part.

A degree from a university outside Australia cannot be authenticated here: DFAT never legalises foreign education documents. It must be authenticated in the country that issued it, which can take far longer to arrange from Australia. Start that one first.

Your police check

A national police check is a government document, and DFAT lists national police checks among the originals it can legalise. So it may go to DFAT directly, with no notary. DFAT accepts only a limited range of electronic documents, assessed on lodgement, so if your check is digital, confirm with DFAT that it can apostille the format you hold before you book anyone.

A police check describes your record on the day it was issued, and Chinese bureaus commonly apply a validity window to it. Order it as late as the timeline allows, and ask the employer for the window. A check that goes stale while the work permit is processed means ordering and authenticating a new one. Criminal record checks and notaries covers the general rules.

Apostille, not embassy legalisation

For many years, Australian documents for mainland China went through three steps: a notary, DFAT authentication, then legalisation at the Chinese embassy or a consulate-general. As of our last check of the HCCH status table, the Apostille Convention has been in force for China since 7 November 2023, and Australia has not objected to China's accession. For documents within the Convention's scope, the chain is now a notary where needed, then a DFAT apostille. Check the table on the day.

A good deal of online advice, and some agents, still describe the old three-step chain. If you are quoted it, ask whether the advice predates the change. If your employer's bureau insists on legalisation, ask for that in writing. Hong Kong and Macao are handled separately from the mainland; see apostille and legalisation for China for the full picture.

Family visas and residence permits

For visas to join a Chinese citizen or permanent resident, or to accompany a family member who works in China, the documents prove the relationship: usually marriage and birth certificates. They matter most at the residence permit stage after arrival, when Chinese authorities commonly want Australian civil certificates authenticated.

Australian birth and marriage certificates are registry documents. DFAT can often apostille the original directly, with no notary. Commemorative marriage certificates are excluded from DFAT's list, so order the standard certificate from the registry. See apostille for a birth certificate.

Names and translation

Your name must match across your passport, degree, police check and any family certificates. If one document shows a former name, a missing middle name or a different spelling, deal with it before authentication: the usual fix is a declaration or other evidence explaining the difference, signed before a notary, but the Chinese bureau decides what it accepts. See names that do not match your passport.

It is worth running through a short check before anything goes to DFAT, because an apostille confirms the document exactly as it stands. If a name is wrong, a certificate is the wrong version or a police check has gone stale, the fix is a new document and a new apostille, not an amendment to the old one. That costs time the work permit process may not have.

Chinese authorities generally want documents in Chinese. Before paying for translation in Australia, ask whether a translation done here will be accepted, or whether it must be done by a translation company recognised in China, and whether the apostille and notarial certificate must be translated too. Many employers arrange translation in China once the authenticated documents arrive, which avoids paying twice. If an Australian translation is wanted, see NAATI translation with a notary.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

An engineer in Brisbane accepts a job in Shenzhen. His employer's HR team sends a list: an apostilled degree and an apostilled criminal record check. A friend tells him he needs Chinese embassy legalisation, which was the rule before 2023. He asks DFAT, which confirms an apostille is the certificate for mainland China. His university verifies his testamur, a notary certifies a copy stating the verification, and DFAT apostilles it. He orders his national police check last, confirms with DFAT that it can apostille the version he holds, and lodges it directly. The employer arranges the Chinese translations in Shenzhen.

In short

Short visits and study rarely need anything notarised in Australia, and many Australians may not need a visa for a short stay at all. The work visa is where the paperwork is: your degree and police check, authenticated for China, now usually by a DFAT apostille with a notary first where needed. Get the employer's list in writing and check the HCCH table on the day. For the Australian steps, see apostille and authentication or document notarisation.

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Preparing documents for a job in China? Send us your employer's list, and we will explain each step before you book.