Click Here to Subsribe to the 'Ask Jean about China' Feed Two for the price of one – Jean answers two questions about Chinese visas on this week’s edition of Ask Jean About China.
Dear Jean,
OK, I’ve already got the U.S passport for my daughter and the birth abroad papers, now this is the deep part my wife and I have decided to send our daughter back to China within two years to live and be raised by my daughters grandparents, of course we will go back and forth, myself more often because where I work, to make a long story short how do I get a visa for my daughter to stay with her grandparents for that amount of time, we are talking till she is at least 6 or 7 ? I have already talked to my Sunshine about getting her a Chinese passport as well, but I hear and read it may be a problem for me to leave with her if I decide to travel with her outside of China. I know it can be done just wondering if you knew how or what course of direction I need to look.
Zee
Jean answers Zee’s question
Dear Zee,
First, let me make a disclaimer. No one here at TeachAbroadChina.com is an official expert on Chinese visa policy so it may be best to contact an attorney if you believe that you are going to run into a problem.
With that said, I agree with you that getting a Chinese passport for her is not the best course of action. Attempting to leave the PRC with her on a Chinese passport will inevitably cost you time and money. Since she is already an American citizen, the Chinese government will not give her Chinese citizenship because dual citizenship is not allowed here.
If you had asked this question before you got a U.S. passport for her, I probably would have advised you to wait. Your daughter could have waited to become a U.S. citizen until she was 18. Having Chinese citizenship would have saved you some money sending her to public school.
In your case, the best course of action is to apply for a Chinese visa on her behalf. Since it sounds like neither you nor your wife will be in China with your daughter, you will probably have to apply for a tourist visa. Depending on where you live, you may be able to convince the PSB to extend that visa for up to two years if you explain to them that your daughter is living with relatives. Obviously, you will eventually have to obtain a new visa for her but I don’t think that should be a big problem.
Hope that helps and maybe we will hear from some others out here who have had similar experiences,
Sincerely,
Jean
Jean answers another question about Chinese visas
Dear Jean,
Is it possible for a school to obtain a work visa for me once I am already in China on a tourist visa? Also, how hard is it to extend a tourist visa?
Cheers,
Liam
Jean answers Liam’s question
Dear Liam,
Generally, it is not difficult for an L-visa to be changed into a work visa so long as you have a school assisting you. While I, nor anyone that I know, have ever had trouble obtaining a work visa after coming into China on an L-visa, I have heard that sometimes it depends on where you are living in China.
The best way to know for sure about this is to check with the particular school. If they are confident that they can do it for you, then there should be no problem.
At the present moment, we are hearing that extending an ‘L’ visa is not difficult at all. Most likely, you will have to go to Hong Kong to do so but it never hurts to check with the local PSB. Sometimes, they will do it, especially, if you give them a good reason.
Sincerely,
Jean
Ask Jean about China is a weekly feature on TeachAbroadChina.com. We welcome any questions related to living and working in China. Feel free to submit your questions by clicking here. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Hi Robert I have joined your site okay. The situation here for my visa has got more difficult. I was told today that even if I go back to Australia the Dalian PSB will not grant me a visa.
It seems event though I have been teaching here for over twelve months as well as teaching before that because I am working on an L visa no school will say I have worked for them including my current employer.
They have told me that they would be fined. They have recently offered me a promotion which I accepted and have signed another 12 month contract. However I can not get a Z visa.
My school advised me just to extend my L visa when it comes due and continue to work as I have done for the previous year in my new position.
I do not want to continue to work in a situation like this and I believe that if there were any troubles my employer would just leave me too carry the can as it were.
I suppose the only thing I can do is to try and apply for positions where the school involved may be able to convert my L visa to a Z or who can help me change it if I go back to Austraia
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David,
I sent you an invitation but the email came back to our servers. Please try signing up again and make sure you input your email address correctly.
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Hi Robert
Thanks for the Link I have signed up and will wait for your invitation.
Since my last post I have contacted a company who handles visa who say that they can help
with my problem. They say I can go to Hong Kong then return to China to get my Z
visa however my school tells me even if I do this I will still not be granted
a visa in Dalian. So confusion reigns supreme at the moment. It may mean I have to leave Dalain and work in another part of China so I can get my Z visa which is
something I am hoping to avoid as I really enjoy the school I am currently
working for and have been recently offered a promotion.
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Hi David,
Have you joined the Teach Abroad China Alliance? We are having a similar discussion on our forums. Hopefully we can help each other.
If you haven’t joined…head on over to http://www.teachabroadchina.com/teach-abroad-china-alliance-group/ and an invitation will be sent to you after you sign up.
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Hi Robert
I am from Australia and I am also surprised by my situation. I have worked in China before in other fields before starting teaching and never had to return to Australia to obtain a visa. The school is reputable and have many schools not just in Dalian but all over China, I think over 60 altogether. I think they do not have any connection with the government here which is surprising given the size of their organization.
I am even thinking maybe to try to secure a job in a different school maybe in another part of China to avoid the expense and hassle of returning to Australia just to obtain my visa. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
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@Magnus,
Thanks for that link. I highly recommend that people visit that site. Looks like a wealth of information.
@David,
Wow. That is a big surprise. I can’t believe you are having so much trouble. In my experience, most reputable schools have connections with the government and switching visas is no problem at all.
Just curious, are you a ‘native’ speaker of English or come from one of the ‘native’ speaking countries? I use the word ‘native’ with caution because we have a discussion taking place on other parts of this website about what ‘native’ actually means.
I ask because I have heard that this can sometimes make a difference as well…
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Hi Jean
Thanks for your article. I live in Dalian and at the moment and I am on currently on an L visa. I have managed to secure a job with a well established school here.
I have been told that the only way I can obtain a visa to allow me to work is that I have to return to my country of origin as the PSB in Dalian will not allow me to change my visa here or go to Hong Kong to apply for the work visa.
This is despite the fact I have lived and worked in China for over eight years and my wife is Chinese as is my daughter.
The school has tried to assist me and as I said they are an established school with many schools operating in Dalian but even with their assistance I still cannot change my visa without returning to my home country.
So while it may be easier in some places I think it is as you say it gets down to the individual city you are in and the policy of the PSB there
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You might not be experts… that’s fine. But some of the people on this website probably are…
http://www.candleforlove.com
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