The Chinese Visa Application Service Centre (CVASC) in Medan, North Sumatra, was closed on 16 January 2026 for the Indonesian public holiday Isra Mi’raj, with regular processing pushed back to 19 January. Express applications lodged on 13 January were delivered on 15 January; all others slip by two working days.
Although routine, the closure matters to Southeast-Asia mobility planners scrambling to obtain China visas for Indonesian executives and for family members of Chinese assignees hoping to travel home for Lunar New Year in early February. The Medan centre serves a large catchment across Sumatra and has recently mandated online pre-submission, causing spikes in walk-in demand before long weekends.
![Chinese visa centre in Medan closes for one day, impacting Lunar-New-Year plans]()
Corporate travel managers should reroute urgent applications to the Jakarta or Surabaya CVASC branches, both of which remained open, or adjust flight bookings accordingly. The incident underscores the importance of tracking host-country religious holidays, as Chinese consular posts usually follow local calendars rather than mainland ones.
CVASC reiterated that ordinary applicants no longer require advance appointments but must present printed online forms and provide fingerprints. Mobility teams are advised to double-check courier cut-off times this week to avoid further slippage.
Although routine, the closure matters to Southeast-Asia mobility planners scrambling to obtain China visas for Indonesian executives and for family members of Chinese assignees hoping to travel home for Lunar New Year in early February. The Medan centre serves a large catchment across Sumatra and has recently mandated online pre-submission, causing spikes in walk-in demand before long weekends.
Corporate travel managers should reroute urgent applications to the Jakarta or Surabaya CVASC branches, both of which remained open, or adjust flight bookings accordingly. The incident underscores the importance of tracking host-country religious holidays, as Chinese consular posts usually follow local calendars rather than mainland ones.
CVASC reiterated that ordinary applicants no longer require advance appointments but must present printed online forms and provide fingerprints. Mobility teams are advised to double-check courier cut-off times this week to avoid further slippage.
Source: VisaHQ Global Mobility News
