International Students Zone

COVID-19 Restrictions on China Visas and Entry

Please visit HERE for more detail

Visa Application Guidance

International admitted students must possess ordinary passports with study visa (Category X) to study in China. Those who enter China with other kinds of visa would not be able to register at Duke Kunshan University.

The 4-year undergraduate student should apply for X1 visa which is a long-term study visa that supports students to study in China for over 180 days.

You would go through the important paperwork below to study in DKU.

Important Paperwork / Procedures

JW 202 Form

What is JW 202 Form
JW 202 Form is the Visa Application Form for Foreign Students Studying in China. It would be one of the supporting documents for you to apply for student visa through the Chinese Consulate General / Embassy.
The Student Affairs visa team would reach out to you once you are matriculated into DKU. Please pay attention to your DKU email / your application email box for updates.
Steps of obtaining JW 202 Form
- Step 1 Personal Visa Information Collection
  You are required to fill out the Qualtrics Survey through the link: https://duke.qualtrics.com/dku/visa
  All the information collected will be submitted by our visa team to the Online Visa System of Minister of Education (MOE), who would review your qualification as international student.
  Please ensure the accuracy of each answer, and you would be responsible for all the information provided. If failed to do so, the process of obtaining JW 202 form might be delayed and the application of study visa might be affected.
- Step 2 Online Review of the Ministry of Education (MOE)
  When all the information you provided is submitted, the MOE would start the online review process. Please be noted that the review process could take up to three weeks, and MOE may require further information during the process as supplement.
  Please make sure to pay close attention to any updates/inquiry from the DKU Visa Team.
- Step 3 Chopped Hardcopy of JW 202 Form to Mail-out
  Once the online review is done, the visa team would mail the hardcopies of JW 202 form printed from the system to Jiangsu Education Department (JED) for the official chop on each form. This process would take up to two weeks.
  *Kunshan belongs to Jiangsu Province in China. And Duke Kushan University is under the direct management of Jiangsu Education Department.
  When the visa team received the forms back, we would mail the original JW 202 Form, together with the Admission Notice (issued by International Enrollment Office) through express delivery service to you. And we would notify you of the package trace number through email afterward.
  *Reminder: Please provide correct mailing address and contact number to avoid any delivery delay.

X1 Study Visa

After you receive the JW 202 Form and the Admission Notice, you could start to apply for X1 or X2 visa at the Chinese Embassy or Consulate General in your home country, with other supporting documents required.

It is highly recommended for you to renew your passport to your graduate year if possible, which should be in, May 2024, to avoid the trouble of changing passport during your study in China.

The Student X1 Visa will only be valid for 30 days upon your entrance in China. You must apply for a Residence Permit within these 30 days to obtain a legal stay in China.

Please be reminded that the university would not be able to help you apply for a residence permit until you are officially registered at Duke Kunshan University.

Thus if you plan to travel to China early with your study visa, please keep in mind that your 30 days countdown would start right from there.

Do make sure that your Letter of Admission and your JW202 form is handed back to you together with your passport after obtaining your Chinese visa. You will need these documents to apply for your Residence Permit after your arrival at the university.

Residence Permit

The difference between X1 visa and Residence Permit is that, X1 visa is to allow you to enter China for study purpose, while the Residence Permit is the legal document that allows you to reside in China for 4 years as a DKU student.

Upon your arrival at the campus, the visa team would take copies of your passport information, X 1 visa page, your entry stamp to register you at local police station.

After you are registered at the local police station, you would need to :

Join the Health Check-up at Kunshan Quarantine Bureau, organized by Student Affairs. You would need to prepare one copy of passport-sized ID photo of yourself in white background;
Go to the local police station to apply for residence permit once got the health check-up report, organized by student affairs. You would also need to prepare one copy of passport-sized ID photo of yourself in white background.

While your passport is taken away for residence permit, which would take up to two weeks, you would receive an official receipt from the Entry & Exit Bureau as substitute for your passport. You would be able to check-in hotel and take trains with the receipt, but cannot go out of Mainland China during these days.

Under-18 International Student - Guardian Authorization Form

Based on the guardianship requirements in the Decree No. 42 jointly issued by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security effective July 1st, 2017, Duke Kunshan University (“DKU”) has developed this guidance (this “Guidance”) in support of safeguarding minor students and legal compliance.

This Guidance applies to all international students:

whose age is under 18 upon their enrollment at DKU; and
whose parents or legal guardians in their home countries are not domiciled in China and will not come to China and live with them. (the “Minor Students”)

Please read the Temporary Guardianship Guidance.

The parents or legal guardians of the Minor Students shall sign the Authorization for Temporary Guardianship to appoint the Temporary Guardian and confirm their acceptance of the requirements set out in this Guidance. The Minor Students shall, upon enrollment, submit to DKU the signed Authorization for Temporary Guardianship and supporting documents. The supporting documents include the following:

photocopy of Chinese citizen’s identification card and Household Register (Hukou certificate), if the appointed Temporary Guardian is a Chinese citizen; or
photocopy of non-Chinese citizen’s passport and China residence permit, if the appointed Temporary Guardian is a non-Chinese citizen.

Please find the form on guardian consent here.

Insurance

International Student Health Insurance

All international students are required to be enrolled in a medical health insurance plan. DKU offers sponsored plans. Additionally, students can apply for a waiver if they can provide proof, in English, of existing coverage for inpatient and outpatient treatment in mainland China that exceeds or is commensurate with levels of coverage included in the DKU sponsored plan. When students participate in a study abroad program, they need to abide by the student medical health insurance policies of their host institutions. Information about selecting a plan will be sent to students’ DKU email addresses over the summer.

International SOS

All international students are required to enroll in a DKU group member plan with International SOS (ISOS). ISOS is a medical assistance and travel security services company (https://www.internationalsos.com/)

Pre-departure Preparation

The university would hold Resources Fair on the arrival day, where you could get ready your Chinese sim card and bank account. Mobile payment is quite popular in China, but in most cases, you would have to attach your Chinese bank card to your account to make it work. In order to have a Chinese bank card, you would need to have a Chinese number to receive the verification code from the bank. Thus, we highly recommend you to apply for both Chinese sim card and bank card.

The university would organize a shopping trip in the orientation week to local supermarkets, for you to purchase basic supplies, such as beddings, snacks or daily supplies.

Remember to pack

Your Admission Notice
You Passport
Your JW202 Form
Two copies of 2-inch ID photo with white background, for your health check-up and residence permit
(the same size with your passport ID photo)
One copy of 1-inch ID photo for your student booklet

Cash to prepare

Please bring some cash with you as you may need to purchase food and drink during your travel to campus, as well as to top up your student card after arrival on campus. Also, you would need to prepare cash / RMB in bank card for your health check-up and residence permit.

Below is the amount you are suggested to prepare in advance:

Expense item	Amount
Health check-up in Quarantine Bureau	400 RMB Based on the rate of last year Can be cash or online payment
Residence Permit	800 RMB Based on the rate of last year Has to be paid online. Cash is not accepted.
Food	Estimated 30 RMB per meal on campus
Taxi	From train station to campus: 30 RMB

Transportation Info

from Pudong International Airport (PVG)

Option 1: by University Shuttle Bus
The university would send student volunteers to meet you at both of T1 & T2 of PVG on the arrival day, and take you to ride on our shuttle bus waiting at T2. To better coordinate the pick-up, our office would send a survey to collect your flight number to keep track of you and would update the shuttle schedule later.
Option 2: by Taxi
You could take a taxi from PVG to campus directly, which would take around 700-800RMB.

from Hongqiao International Airport (SHG)

Option 1: by High-speed Train
The Hongqiao Airport is inter-connected to the Hongqiao High-speed Railway Station indoors. So the quickest and cheapest way is to take high-speed train from Hongqiao Railway Station to Kunshan South Train Station, then take taxi from the station to the campus. The total expense would be around 60-70 RMB.
You could get to the Hongqiao Railway station by following the direction signs. You would need to go through the security check to enter the train station and purchase the ticket at the counter with your passport and cash. The train between Shanghai and Kunshan runs frequently from day to night. The ticket price would be around 25 RMB.
Option 2: by Taxi
You could take a taxi directly from the Hongqiao Airport to the campus, which would cost around 400 RMB.

from Kunshan South Train Station

You could take taxi on B1 floor of the train station to the campus. The cost would be around 30 RMB.