BEIJING, Sept. 13 -- China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) will launch new services, such as online appointments and inquiries for foreigners' visas and other relevant documents, on its service platform starting from Oct. 9.

The platform's new service menu will feature online appointments for applications for individual visas and other documents, online inquiries about the progress of the issuance of individual visas and other documents, online inquiries about information concerning individual visas and other documents, and online inquiries about China-issued foreign permanent resident ID cards.

It will also feature online inquiries about the passport information of foreigners with permanent residence status, online inquiries about information concerning the authorities issuing the relevant documents, online service guidance, and online assistance for service users' relatives or friends on behalf of them, said the NIA.