Canton Fair visa planning: invitation, exhibition phase and passport
For commercial attendance, check the M-visa route or any applicable visa exemption for your passport and itinerary. Organizer registration, a fair invitation and a Chinese visa are separate steps.
Content updated ·
2026 exhibition dates from the organizer
The organizer’s 2026 overseas-buyer guide lists the following dates, checked October 1, 2026. The spring session has already ended. Recheck the organizer’s current session notice before booking; these dates are exhibition dates, not visa application deadlines. Do not carry them forward into 2027.
| Phase | 139th · spring 2026 (past) | 140th · autumn 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Phase I | April 15–19, 2026 | October 15–19, 2026 |
| Phase II | April 23–27, 2026 | October 23–27, 2026 |
| Phase III | May 1–5, 2026 | October 31–November 4, 2026 |
Choose the phase containing the products and exhibitors you need, then add supplier meetings and travel days to your own itinerary. The fair is held in Guangzhou.
Request the invitation through the organizer
- Use the Canton Fair’s official buyer service system linked in the organizer’s invitation guidance below; complete the current session’s buyer pre-registration.
- Apply for the fair invitation using the actual traveller and company details, following the account’s current instructions. Pre-registration is not a promise that an invitation will be issued.
- Check the invitation against passport identity and your intended visit. If the account cannot issue it or requests another route, ask the organizer for guidance; do not manufacture a letter or assume CEV can supply one.
- Use the resulting business evidence with the responsible consular office’s M-visa requirements. The consular office decides whether the material is sufficient and whether to issue a visa.
A buyer badge concerns access to the fair. An invitation supports an application. Neither gives permission to enter China or replaces a visa when one is required. CEV does not issue organizer invitations or buyer badges.
Build a meeting itinerary with dependencies
| Planning entry | Record for your trip | Dependency to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Exhibition phase | Product area, exhibitors, exact attendance dates | Confirm against the current organizer schedule. |
| Business meetings | Host, city and proposed meeting day | Host confirmation and consistent invitation details. |
| Mainland / Hong Kong movements | Every intended border crossing | Correct entry permissions and enough mainland visa entries. |
| Passport handoffs | Other passport needs, submission stage and return destination | Online review, consular decision, collection status and shipping are separate dependencies. |
| Travel commitments | Cancellation terms and fallback meeting plan | Do not subtract a fixed number of days from the fair opening date to claim an approval deadline. |
If your phase is approaching
The fair’s opening date does not create an entitlement to expedited processing. Check your actual application status and the responsible office’s urgent-processing conditions, and review flexible travel or meeting arrangements. The processing-time guide includes a worksheet for the stages that still need confirmation.
Official references
Follow the current instructions of the Embassy or Consulate handling your application. These references do not confirm CEV service availability or an order-specific receiving address.
- Canton Fair organizer: 2026 attendance guide for overseas buyers (PDF) — verified on
- Canton Fair Hong Kong office: invitation application and 140th-session registration guidance — verified on
- US Chinese Embassy: application requirements, M invitation contents and processing time (September 2025) — verified on
- US Chinese Embassy: China Online Visa Application guidelines — verified on