Group study trips to China: the agreement a school signs first
Yes, a school in mainland China may accept a group of international students for short-term study. Article 38 of the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security) says the school shall sign an agreement with the foreign sending unit beforehand. A separate scholarship programme has its own group rule, covered below. For the other routes, see Routes.
What Article 38 says
The second paragraph of Article 38 of Order No. 42 has three points.
- A school may accept international students who study in a group for a short term.
- The school shall sign an agreement with the foreign sending unit beforehand.
- If the school provides primary or secondary education, the foreign sending unit shall complete the legal formalities for organising the minors' entry and exit in advance, under the law of its own country.
For the same case, the foreign sending unit shall also send staff to travel with the group, and those staff shall act as guardians of the international students during their study at the school.
Article 38 names no required content for the agreement.
This English wording is this site's translation of the Chinese text of Order No. 42.
What counts as short-term
Article 45 of Order No. 42 defines the two terms.
| Term under Article 45 | Study time at a Chinese school |
|---|---|
| Short-term study | No more than 180 days, inclusive |
| Long-term study | More than 180 days |
The group line in the 2025 scholarship guidelines
This is a scholarship rule, separate from Article 38. Item 6 of the Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025, published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), is headed "Scholarship for Four-Week Study Program". Under item 6:
- The programme starts in July or December 2025, and the scholarship is provided for a maximum of four weeks.
- The programme may be organised and applied for by a Recommending Institution, with 10 to 15 participants per group.
- Before the trip, a detailed study plan shall be made in consultation with the Host Institution(s), and the plan shall be submitted to CLEC for review and approval.
- Applicants for the Chinese language study programme are required to provide an HSK test score.
The dates in these guidelines are for the 2025 cycle, and they have passed. Read the guidelines for the current year. The 10 to 15 participant range applies to this scholarship only. Article 38 gives no group size.
This page does not describe HSK test content or structure. The tests are described on the official test site.
Questions
Does the school have to sign an agreement for a group?
Yes. Article 38 says the school shall sign an agreement with the foreign sending unit beforehand.
Does the 10 to 15 participant range apply to every group?
The range is in item 6 of the 2025 scholarship guidelines, for the Four-Week Study Program only. Article 38 gives no group size.
Sources
- Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (学校招收和培养国际学生管理办法), Order No. 42. Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)
- Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025. Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC, chinese.cn)
Checked 11 October 2026 for Order No. 42 and 10 October 2026 for the 2025 guidelines.
This page is an unofficial summary. It is not legal or immigration advice and is not published by the bodies named. The official text and the instructions of the body handling your case prevail if they differ.