Home›Forums›General Discussion›July 1st China Visa Changes?
- This topic has 69 replies, 19 voices, and was last updated 11 years ago by
Max66.
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June 22, 2013 at 1:18 am #33042
AndrewD
ParticipantThanks a lot for the info guys!
June 22, 2013 at 10:18 am #33046Ian
ParticipantJust renewed mine, with my HR representative at the PSB office. They told us we made it in time before the new rules came into force. Now it could be that the ability to take fingerprints in Chengdu/Sichuan is not completely organised by July 1st but that is very definitely the intention, and the rest of the rules apply to Sichuan as well as the rest of China.
If your HR manager is representing 300 foreigners I’d suggest they re-check the requirements. Maybe they did not have the chance to go to the presentation but it would not do any harm to check it out. I can give you the contact details of the Vice Section Chief there if you want to pass it on to your HR?
Can you pm me the details. Thx
June 23, 2013 at 5:07 pm #33054Charlie
KeymasterThey are acutely aware that many people teaching in China do not have the correct visa and there was mention that a lot of effort will be devoted to resolving this. It may take time and may not be as effective as planned, but if you are teaching in CD I’d also advise re-checking your papers are correct. I think the majority of us will benefit from the changes. We are guests here after all and the onus is on us to ensure we comply with the rules. I hope the above helps a little in this regard.
This makes a lot of sense to me – it seems like the visa type that’s really disappearing are F (business) visas, which has been a widespread loophole for years. For the first few years that I was in Chengdu, most of the expat friends I had here were on F visa’s, regardless of what they were actually doing in China.
I think new loopholes will emerge though. The demand for visas is going to rise, which will make it a more lucrative venture for whomever can supply the visa gray market.
June 24, 2013 at 9:09 am #33067mailo
ParticipantWow, seems like i really chose the best time form my china trip ^^
Maybe you guys can give me some Tips on how i could manage a 1 year stay? – i will probably have to wait until the visa situation really has changed and there are some experiences with it – but just in case…
I plan to visit China for 1 Year in late August / Early September.
I want to stay in a Taijiquan School in Henan for the first 1/2 year – for which i was planing to get an F-Visa on their invitation…afterwards i wanted to stay in Chengdu for the secon 1/2 year to study Mandarin at SWUFE – i thought about gettingt another F/FF-Visa as a student.
The only “special” Option i could fall back on, is a good contact to a University Proffessor at Dalian University, who could send me an inivitation or whatever… but if i get it right, i would have to stay in dalian if i get like an invitation to visit dalian university for 1 year because of the residence permit!? (the university would not necessearily expect me to stay for the proffessor ive mentioned could be informed that this is just meant to be a way to get me a propper visa …
im thankfull for any recommends… 🙂
mailo
p.s: im from germany so ive got an german id (and bad english skills ;))
June 24, 2013 at 9:28 am #33069Charlie
KeymasterI plan to visit China for 1 Year in late August / Early September. I want to stay in a Taijiquan School in Henan for the first 1/2 year – for which i was planing to get an F-Visa on their invitation…afterwards i wanted to stay in Chengdu for the secon 1/2 year to study Mandarin at SWUFE – i thought about gettingt another F/FF-Visa as a student.
If you’re a student, your school will handle your visa for you, but it won’t be an F-visa (that’s technically for “business trips”). The student visa is an X-visa if I’m not mistaken. The cost is pretty low, but the only requirement that I know if is that you register for classes and pay tuition.
June 24, 2013 at 9:30 am #33070mailo
Participanthey, thanks for the quick reply.
The only thing i am not sure about is that i am not applying for this visa from germany. I thought about going to HongKong!?
edit: First half a year will be in a taijiquan/kungFuSchool … my teacher from germany got an f-visa on invitation from this school when he visited it the last time, early this year
June 24, 2013 at 9:59 am #33075Charlie
Keymasterhey, thanks for the quick reply. The only thing i am not sure about is that i am not applying for this visa from germany. I thought about going to HongKong!? edit:\ First half a year will be in a taijiquan/kungFuSchool … my teacher from germany got an f-visa on invitation from this school when he visited it the last time, early this year
As discussed in this thread, the rules could be quite different when you arrive this year, versus this time last year. The best thing for you to do is consult with whomever is providing your visa – I would ask your kung fu school if they can provide a visa for you. My guess is that an F-visa will be difficult or impossible to arrange after July 1st.
June 24, 2013 at 1:45 pm #33097Graham
ParticipantIan wrote
<span style=”font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify; background-color: #ffffff;”>Can you pm me the details. Thx</span>
Hi Ian – I pm’d the info to you. Fingers crossed you received it.
June 24, 2013 at 9:29 pm #33152mailo
ParticipantAs discussed in this thread, the rules could be quite different when you arrive this year, versus this time last year. The best thing for you to do is consult with whomever is providing your visa – I would ask your kung fu school if they can provide a visa for you. My guess is that an F-visa will be difficult or impossible to arrange after July 1st.
Makes sense 😉 ill let u guys know if i find out anything specific, in case someonde finds himself in a similar situation
thx
July 1, 2013 at 5:45 pm #33421hank
ParticipantSo today is the day.. Anyone know how things turned out? I’ve sent an email to the visa agency in HK that I usually get my 6 months F visas from and asked, but no response as of yet.
July 1, 2013 at 11:50 pm #33444WoodWERD
ParticipantIf it helps, I will share my experience with the process as a newbie coming from the states for the first time. Unfortunately I probably won’t have an update until August as my paperwork is still in transit and the school breaks on the 11th of this month. I was so ready to quit my job too…but I can tough it out a while longer.
July 1, 2013 at 11:53 pm #33445Rick in China
ParticipantI’ll have some info friday – will pick up current visa and ask details about the new process for switching to / getting work visa. Hopefully someone has time this week and stops by the PSB with a lot of info for all of us 😀
July 2, 2013 at 3:52 pm #33488Max66
ParticipantHi can anyone point me in the right direction as to where its actually states that freelancing on a F Visa is an accepted practice in China? I can only find information on the Chinese embassies website regarding the use of a Business visa which says?
Business Visa (F-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who is invited to China for visit, research, lecture, business, exchanges in the fields of science, technology, education, culture and sports, or attending various kinds of trade fairs or exhibitions, or short-term study, intern practice, for a period of no more than six months.
July 2, 2013 at 4:14 pm #33489Charlie
KeymasterHi can anyone point me in the right direction as to where its actually states that freelancing on a F Visa is an accepted practice in China?
I’m quite sure that freelancing on an F Visa is not allowed. As stated in your post, it’s for business trips, but it was abused by basically everyone who acquired one, for many years. For that reason, I think it’s going to either be very difficult or impossible to get an F Visa from this point on, or at least until we see more changes to visa law and policy.
July 2, 2013 at 4:27 pm #33494hank
ParticipantMy visa agency replied to my email asking them whether I can still get 6 months F visas through them. They sent over a cryptic standard reply which I’m trying to decipher:
HI,FROM 1ST/JUL,ONLY SINGLE OR DOUBLE WITH DURATION 30DAY VISA IS AVAILABLE FOR A MOMENT,MAYBE NEED 2-4 WORKING DAYS TO GET.OTHERS VISA TYPE,YOU NEED TO CONTACT US IN JUL.1ST/JUL IS HOLIDAY IN HONGKONG
day(mon-thu),fri,sat,sun is not available.
come before 0945am,pick up 1200-1300pm by next day,come before 1330pm,pick up 1600pm by next day(mon-thu),fri,sat,sun is not available.
ONE YEAR MULTIPLE F VISA WITH DURATION 60 DAYS VISA CAN GET,NEED 3 OR 7 WORKNG YDA TO GET(ONE PHOTO AND PASSPORT,AND 2 RECORD OF CHINA VISA ISSUED FROM THE CHINA EMBASSY IN YOUR PASSPORT.).The last sentence there is interesting. So seems like we can still get one year F visas through agencies if one have more than two previous China visas. Multi-entry but maximum 60 days duration for each entry…
Anyone else got some info that confirms this? Know of an agency that can do multi-entry unlimited duration per stay F visas?
July 2, 2013 at 4:31 pm #33495Charlie
KeymasterHI,FROM 1ST/JUL,ONLY SINGLE OR DOUBLE WITH DURATION 30DAY VISA IS AVAILABLE FOR A MOMENT,MAYBE NEED 2-4 WORKING DAYS TO GET.OTHERS VISA TYPE,YOU NEED TO CONTACT US IN JUL.1ST/JUL IS HOLIDAY IN HONGKONG
day(mon-thu),fri,sat,sun is not available.
come before 0945am,pick up 1200-1300pm by next day,come before 1330pm,pick up 1600pm by next day(mon-thu),fri,sat,sun is not available.
ONE YEAR MULTIPLE F VISA WITH DURATION 60 DAYS VISA CAN GET,NEED 3 OR 7 WORKNG YDA TO GET(ONE PHOTO AND PASSPORT,AND 2 RECORD OF CHINA VISA ISSUED FROM THE CHINA EMBASSY IN YOUR PASSPORT.).They key is that the maximum duration is 30 or 60 days, which means that particular visa type is basically useless to us here in Chengdu (if you live in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, or Zhuhai and can easily cross the border, that’s a different situation). I am highly skeptical that anyone will be able to issue a 6-month or 1-year F without these kind of restrictions on duration. Probably best to switch to another visa type as suggested earlier in this thread.
July 2, 2013 at 4:32 pm #33496Max66
ParticipantI’m quite sure that freelancing on an F Visa is not allowed. As stated in your post, it’s for business trips, but it was abused by basically everyone who acquired one, for many years. For that reason, I think it’s going to either be very difficult or impossible to get an F Visa from this point on, or at least until we see more changes to visa law and policy.
Hi Charlie, thanks for your post. I wrote a blog yesterday entitled “Working on an F Visa” which kind of tells my story. I hope everything works out OK for everyone trying to make the switch to the relevant visa. It kind of makes sense though that the Chinese revenue Dept will want to keep as much of China’s money in China as possible, so i guess they are trying to outlaw illegal working as best they can. I may have a second bite at the cherry as i have had some feedback from another agent who might be running a contract in China later in the year. This time i want to ensure everything is in place with my visa, we will see how it pans out.
July 2, 2013 at 4:42 pm #33498Max66
ParticipantMy visa agency replied to my email asking them whether I can still get 6 months F visas through them. They sent over a cryptic standard reply which I’m trying to decipher:
HI,FROM 1ST/JUL,ONLY SINGLE OR DOUBLE WITH DURATION 30DAY VISA IS AVAILABLE FOR A MOMENT,MAYBE NEED 2-4 WORKING DAYS TO GET.OTHERS VISA TYPE,YOU NEED TO CONTACT US IN JUL.1ST/JUL IS HOLIDAY IN HONGKONG
day(mon-thu),fri,sat,sun is not available.
come before 0945am,pick up 1200-1300pm by next day,come before 1330pm,pick up 1600pm by next day(mon-thu),fri,sat,sun is not available.
ONE YEAR MULTIPLE F VISA WITH DURATION 60 DAYS VISA CAN GET,NEED 3 OR 7 WORKNG YDA TO GET(ONE PHOTO AND PASSPORT,AND 2 RECORD OF CHINA VISA ISSUED FROM THE CHINA EMBASSY IN YOUR PASSPORT.).The last sentence there is interesting. So seems like we can still get one year F visas through agencies if one have more than two previous China visas. Multi-entry but maximum 60 days duration for each entry… Anyone else got some info that confirms this? Know of an agency that can do multi-entry unlimited duration per stay F visas?
I read somewhere that it was possible to get a multi entry F visa on and up to July 1st. After that it all goes to shit! I would double check mate.
July 2, 2013 at 5:03 pm #33499hank
ParticipantI read somewhere that it was possible to get a multi entry F visa on and up to July 1st. After that it all goes to shit! I would double check mate.
This info, and all other info in this thread is regarding the visa regulations after July 1st.
July 2, 2013 at 7:43 pm #33503Rick in China
ParticipantI’m quite sure that freelancing on an F Visa is not allowed.
It’s absolutely the case Charlie, there were a lot of crackdowns in coastal cities on foreigners working while on F visas – meaning working freely, freelancing, for Chinese companies – mostly teaching. Foreigners on F visas caught teaching would get * exit visas and/or fines, and the schools that employed them got fines and bigger problems..there were lots of blog posts on that type of crackdown I think mostly just before the olympics?
I’m really curious how people try to navigate the new system though, looking forward to the reads…
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