Online PhD programmes in China: what the official texts say and do not say

The question cannot be settled from the documents used on this page. None of them mentions online or distance doctoral study for international students, either to allow it or to forbid it. What they do set out is a study route built around presence in China: entry on an X1 or X2 visa, a residence permit for long-term study, and an attendance system that the institution must enforce. Whether a particular doctoral programme is delivered at a distance, and on what terms, is something only the admissions brochure of the degree-awarding institution can state.

The Chinese texts below are quoted as published; the English wording on this page is this site's own translation.

What the rules define

Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security was signed on 20 March 2017 and came into force on 1 July 2017 (Article 48). Its Article 2 defines the terms used later: a school is an institution within the People's Republic of China providing preschool, primary, secondary or higher education, and an international student is a foreign student who does not hold Chinese nationality under the Nationality Law and who receives education at a school. Chapters 2 to 5 of the Measures apply to higher education institutions (Article 2).

Article 9 lists the categories in which higher education institutions recruit international students for academic education: specialised programme student, undergraduate student, master's degree student and doctoral degree student. The non-academic categories are preparatory student, advanced student and research scholar. Doctoral study is therefore a recognised category, but the provisions quoted on this page do not describe how a programme in that category is delivered.

Entry and stay: X1 or X2 visa, then a residence permit

Article 35 requires a foreigner applying to study at a school covered by Article 2 to apply, before entering China, for an X1 or X2 visa according to the length of study. The application is made to the Chinese embassy or consulate in the country of nationality or the country of residence, or to another overseas institution entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the applicant submits the proof filed with the education administrative department, the admission letter issued by the school and other relevant materials as prescribed.

The two visas are distinguished by length of study:

Length of study at a school in China	Visa applied for before entry	Source
Long-term study: more than 180 days	X1	Order No. 42, Article 45; Regulations, Article 6(11)
Short-term study: no more than 180 days (inclusive)	X2	Order No. 42, Article 45; Regulations, Article 6(11)

Article 45 gives those definitions directly: short-term study means study at a school in China lasting no more than 180 days, inclusive, and long-term study means study lasting more than 180 days. Article 6(11) of the Regulations on the Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners (State Council Decree No. 637, in force from 1 September 2013) matches them: the X1 visa is issued to persons who apply for long-term study in China, the X2 visa to persons who apply for short-term study.

Article 36 then covers the stay itself. Where the study visa held by the international student notes that a residence document is required after entry, the student must apply, within 30 days from the date of entry, to the exit-entry administration department of the public security organ at the place of intended residence for a foreigner's residence document for study. The site's page on visa and arrival collects the related material.

Attendance is a duty placed on the institution

Section 10.2 of the Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), issued with Ministry of Education notice 教外〔2018〕50号, requires higher education institutions to strictly enforce the attendance system for international students in China, to set clear attendance passing standards, and to report information about students whose attendance falls short to the local education administrative department and to the immigration and exit-entry administration department as required. The standards are addressed to institutions, and the concrete passing standard is one each institution sets for itself.

What the Degree Law says about degrees awarded outside the mainland

Article 44 of the Degree Law of the People's Republic of China provides that a degree-awarding institution awards the corresponding degree to a person from outside the mainland who applies for a degree, in accordance with the academic requirements, academic level or professional level and other conditions, and the relevant procedures, prescribed by the Law. Where a degree-awarding institution awards a degree outside the mainland, the relevant provisions of the Law apply. Where an overseas educational institution awards degrees within the mainland, it must comply with Chinese laws and regulations, and recognition of degree certificates issued by overseas educational institutions is handled strictly in accordance with the relevant national regulations.

The Law was adopted on 26 April 2024 and came into force on 1 January 2025, when the Regulations on Academic Degrees were repealed (Article 45). Each degree-awarding institution publishes its own detailed standards (Article 22).

Article 44 is concerned with who applies for a degree and with where the degree is awarded. The provisions quoted on this page do not cover the way teaching is delivered, so the Article should not be read either as permitting or as excluding a doctorate studied at a distance.

How to check a programme

The following is a planning suggestion, not a requirement, and no university is named here.

1. Open the admissions brochure of the institution offering the doctoral programme.
2. Find the statement on how teaching is delivered.
3. Read the length of study the brochure states.
4. Compare that length with Article 45 to see which visa the programme fits.
5. Ask the office named in the brochure to confirm the delivery mode and the attendance requirement.
6. Treat the same brochure as the source for dates, fees, language proof and length of study, since those are the institution's own decisions.

Questions people ask

Do the regulations allow a doctorate to be studied online?

Not in any way that can be read off these documents. None of the official documents quoted on this page mentions online or distance doctoral study for international students, either to allow it or to forbid it, and nothing here permits this site to infer an answer from practice. The only place the delivery mode of a programme is stated is the admissions material published by the institution itself.

Which visa applies to doctoral study in China?

An X1 or X2 visa applied for before entry, according to the length of study (Order No. 42, Article 35). Article 45 defines long-term study as more than 180 days and short-term study as no more than 180 days, inclusive, and Article 6(11) of the Regulations assigns the X1 visa to long-term study and the X2 visa to short-term study.

When must the residence permit be applied for?

Within 30 days from the date of entry, where the study visa held by the international student notes that a residence document is required after entry (Order No. 42, Article 36).

Does the Degree Law cover degrees awarded outside the mainland?

Yes. Article 44 provides that where a degree-awarding institution awards a degree outside the mainland, the relevant provisions of the Law apply, and that a degree is awarded to a person from outside the mainland who applies for one under the conditions and procedures prescribed by the Law.

Sources

• Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42) — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)
• Degree Law of the People's Republic of China — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn), text sourced from the National People's Congress website
• Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), Ministry of Education notice 教外〔2018〕50号 — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)
• Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners — National Immigration Administration (English text)

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary, is not published by or affiliated with the Ministry of Education, the China Scholarship Council, CHSI or any university, is not legal advice, and if it differs from the official text or from the current notice of the university or authority handling your case, the official text and that notice prevail.