Do I need a barcode Invitation letter for China for an L Tourist Visa?

Question

I am a citizen of Uzbekistan, and I want to travel to China for a week from Japan. I work in Japan as a software engineer.

I checked the required documents (for visa type L, tourist), and it said that I had to have my flight reservations and hotel bookings, and only then apply. So I booked everything and went to the China Visa centre in my city in Japan.

The lady there told me that since I am a citizen of Uzbekistan, I need to provide an official invitation letter with a scannable barcode on it. I asked her how I could get it, but she would not help. I contacted 3 different agencies in China by now, and all of them said they can provide that invitation letter only for type M (commerce and trade visa) and for the business visa. Does anyone know where I can find an agency that can help me get this document? I emailed the Chinese embassy in Japan a few times a week ago, but never got a reply.

Should I just apply for the commerce and trade visa? Or was the lady wrong and a normal invitation letter from a Chinese national (friend of mine) do?

Answer 1

As @jpatokal mentioned in the comments, the visa center worker seems to be mistaken. The visas that have been affected in this change are Z work visas, M business visas, and F exchange visit visas. The normal letter from your friend will be enough, I suggest you make another appointment and if you run into the same problem ask to speak to management.

Balglobal states:

Visas/permits affected: F, M and Z visas.

Answer 2

Very old question, and things have changed, vastly. The official website says, on step 1:

Documents showing the itinerary including air ticket booking record (round trip) and proof of a hotel reservation, etc. or an invitation letter issued by a relevant entity or individual in China. The invitation letter should contain:

(1) Information on the applicant (full name, gender, date of birth, etc.)

(2) Information on the planned visit (arrival and departure dates, place(s) to be visited, etc.)

(3) Information on the inviting entity or individual (name, contact telephone number, address, official stamp, signature of the legal representative or the inviting individual)

(1) The invitation letter may be in the form of fax, photocopy or computer printout, but the consular officer may require the applicant to submit the original of the invitation letter..

There is no mention of a barcode (and, knowing China, it would be today more like a QR code). As you can see the invitation letter is optional – to be provided only if you have indeed been invited. If you're going on your own, you don't need to provide one.