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Chinese Visa Information
Posted in Chinese Visa Information on 04/26/2008 12:07 pm
In the coming days, TeachAbroadChina.com will be offering country specific visa information for citizens who are going to live in China. Until then, we are setting up this special page to discuss the latest Chinese government changes in policy for ex-pats who are attempting to renew,extend or apply for a new visa in Hong Kong.
Recent policy change has dictated that citizens from the following 33 countries are no longer being issued any type of visa in Hong Kong
Afghanistan - Algeria -Bangladesh - Congo - Egypt - Gambia - Ghana - Guinea - India - Indonesia - Iran - Iraq - Kaiakhstan - Kirghiziani - Libya - Malaysia - Mali - Mauritania - Monaco - Nepal - Nigeria - Pakistan - Philippines - Saudi Arabia - Sierra Leone - South Africa - Sri Lanka - Sudan - Syrian - Tajikistan - Tunisia - Turkey - Uzbekistan
These citizens must return to their home countries (or at least leave China) to apply for visas. A South African friend of mine who teaches in the South of China recently entered Hong Kong to apply for a new visa and had to return to his hometown in order to obtain a new one.
However, citizens of countries not contained on this list have also reported difficulties in obtaining new or extended visas. If you are going to Hong Kong for a visa related issue, you may find yourself stuck in Hong Kong unless you are willing to pay a lot of money. An Australian friend of mine in Southern China contacted me today to let me know that he was unable to obtain a new tourist visa for the mainland in China this week. He had to shell out 1600 RMB to an agent in order to obtain a 30 day business visa. So no matter what country you are from, make sure you know what you are doing before you enter Hong Kong. According to reports, these visa restrictions have not been extended to the rest of China. It has also been reported that if you do get stuck in Hong Kong, you may be able to obtain a visa at the Chinese Embassy in Thailand.
We want to hear from you about your recent visa experience and what you are hearing from others. Please comment on this page and help your fellow teachers and travelers. Thank You in advance and good luck to everyone!
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04/28/2008 at 12:07 am
hi there,
Maybe this is a shot in the dark, but…………we are planning a trip through asia on our 2 motor bikes, and seeing that you spent some doing one, and that you live there, you may be able to help.
Our trip is Manila to Mongolia, and we have just started it, but have come to realise that China may be a little tricky to tansit through. Do you have any information on that? We have heard conflicting stories of havind to have escorts and chase cars etc, or having to r-register the bikes there.
So……… if you can help in any way that would be pretty cool!!
Thanks for your time
Helen
04/28/2008 at 1:44 am
Hi Helen,
Thanks for your comment. I think you can find some of the information that you are looking for by viewing an article that I wrote recently about Motorcycle Travel in China. You can access it here. http://www.teachabroadchina.com/riding-motorcycles-in-china/
Also be sure to read the comments that follow the article. Hope that helps!
04/29/2008 at 6:00 am
Robert,
I have been covering this on All Roads for nearly 3 months. I have just put up a few very relevant posts for your readers. As it may turn out, getting Z visas may also be difficult depending on a company’s size.
Question - what percentage of English teachers are affected? Most larger firms (EF, New Oriental, etc) should have their people on Z already…. so should Chinese schools.. right?
r
http://www.allroadsleadtochina.com
04/29/2008 at 8:32 am
Hi R,
Thanks for letting us know. I checked out the site today and there is definitely some important information on there. It looks like you have some good sources. Thanks again.
05/15/2008 at 5:14 pm
Hi,
I am a Filipino teacher with a Z visa and Foreign Expert Certificate working in an international college in Guangzhou. My Z visa is expiring this June 2008. But my work contract will expire next year yet. Essentially, I am just renewing my Z visa for another yet. But our school has been told by the Foreign Experts Bureau that they will not give or renew the Z visa because my country belongs to the 33 countries with restrictions. Is this part of the new procedures? I mean, even for renewal of the Z visa one has to go back to his country and inspite of a live and valid / existing contract ?
thanks
teddy s
05/15/2008 at 8:54 pm
Hello Teddy S,
I hope someone else who reads this post will correct me if I’m wrong but your school should beable to procure for you a new work visa if they wish to keep you on as a teacher. My understanding is that the restrictions on visas for the 33 countries apply to people who are in China on a business or tourist visa. The problems that I am hearing about are of Filipinos who are in the country on tourist visas and are trying to obtain a work visa. They need to renew their tourist visas while waiting for the Work visas but are being denied extensions.
Here are a few things to consider:
The work visas are taking a much longer time to be processed. 25 days at least and now with the earthquake even longer. Does your school feel they have enough time to process it before your current one expires?
Are there other Filipinos (or people on that list of 33 countries) for whom the school can obtain work visas? Or is everyone being sent home?
We are being told that going to your embassy in Thailand is a viable way to obtain a new visa. In your case, going to Thailand or back to your country may incur the same expenses but if the school really wants you to come back, they may be willing to pay for some or all of the trip should you have to make it.
Make sure that you ‘hound’ your school about this. Talk to your boss. Sometimes the people who are designated to help you with these visa problems don’t know what they’re talking about because they haven’t taken the time to actually research the facts.
Teddy, feel free to reply on this forum….also check out AllRoadsLeadtoChina.com which is linked to above. They have a lot of helpful information.
05/28/2008 at 3:44 am
hi..
Is’t possible to renewing my (L )visas in China as I am Indonesian citizen??
thank’s
05/29/2008 at 8:44 pm
Hello Masta,
Since Indonesia is on the list of the 33 countries above, you will probably have difficulty renewing your visa in China. When does it expire?
05/29/2008 at 10:09 pm
Robert,
Thanks for your very informative reply. Yes, my Foreign Expert Certificate was already renewed and the same document was forwarded for residence permit extension, but the school had to issue a comfort letter and explanation why they are renewing the permit (in spite of the valid work contract). Well, I guess they just need more documents to substantiate the request.
And yes, there are quite a number of “filipinas” who have been working illegally on tourist visas; now they have to go back home to get another “L” visa instead of just hopping to HK or Macau to chill out.
best regards.
05/30/2008 at 10:04 pm
hi..,thanks a lot for your replyed.My visas is expires by June 15th.I came to China on May 17th holding my L visa, need to stay longer here in china ’till the end of jully,is it possible to get new visa in Hk since the rumor came out on april,they will not more longer to issuing China visas in hk?I really need this information about china visa,I am getting worry.
which options is better,to get done in Hk or here in China?
best regards
05/30/2008 at 11:30 pm
Masta,
Most of the foreigners from those 33 countries who are going into Hong Kong are not being allowed back in China. They are being sent back to their home countries (or out of Hong Kong at least) where they will have to apply for a new visa. I would avoid leaving China if at all possible.
As far as trying to get a new visa in China, there is very little possibility that you will be able to obtain a new tourist visa unless you have some special connections. If you absolutely cannot go back to your home country then your best bet may be to contact a visa agent in Hong Kong and see if they can get you a visa through the ‘backchannels.’ This will probably mean paying a lot of money…possibly as high as 2000 RMB…
It’s a tough situation right now for everyone trying to renew or obtain a new visa. I hope that you can find a way to do it…if you do…let us know…!
05/31/2008 at 12:02 am
Hey,
IF assuming THAT your residence permit and foreign expert certificate has been renewed for another year because you have an ongoing work contract, is there any possibility that the authorities are going to ARBITRARILY refuse your entry into china? I plan to make a couple of trips in and out of china leading to the olympics and im just concerned that in spite of my renewal, they may arbitrarily refuse entry?
05/31/2008 at 12:35 am
@Tip,
Thanks for your question. If your residence permit and foreign experts certifcate are valid you should have no problem coming back into China. While we have received reports from foreigners who have had their multiple entry tourist visas cancelled at the border, we haven’t heard about work visas being revoked. You should be ‘good to go’ if you need to leave the country a few times before the Olympics. Of course, this is assuming that your company is legitimate and that they went through legal avenues to obtain the visa.
06/02/2008 at 1:34 am
Hello, Robert!
There has been a lot going on about the visa issue and all the changes the visa law has suffered. I have an F visa valid until August 2008 (horrible time for procedures, because there is a holiday time in my company and Olympics) and my contract is for one year. In my company, they say that they will handle the problem.
Anyway, should I apply for a Z visa?
06/02/2008 at 11:16 am
@Daniel,
Good to hear from you again. If your company is willing to apply for a Z visa (they have to more or less do it for you) then I would definitely go that route. Technically, an ‘F’ visa is not supposed to be used for teaching but I know teachers who are using it without any trouble. Right now, it would appear that many teachers are using tourist and business visas to get by as Z visas have been so hard to obtain. As far as your school stating that “they will handle the problem” I would ‘hound’ them about that as much as possible. We have received reports that many English schools in China are having a difficult time converting the F visas to Z visas. In my own case, I have been told that my school will have to ‘bribe’ some local officials in order for them to obtain a work visa for me. If your company is going to ‘handle’ the problem, make sure they have plenty of time to do it.
06/12/2008 at 8:15 am
Hello to all,
I am a French teacher teaching in Wuhan on a Z visa. I found a new teaching job in Dalian but they told me that I have to obtain a new Z visa in my country, Switzerland.
Is it not possible to renew the Z visa and the residence permit in China? If yes, how to do it?
Many thanks for your attention
Best regards
06/12/2008 at 9:00 pm
@Julien,
It is true that schools are having trouble obtaining Z visas right now for all nationalities. Some teachers I have been talking to are telling me that their schools are having to ‘bribe’ government officials to get the visas. When does your current visa expire? Is it that your school simply cannot get you a visa or that they don’t have enough time? If your visa is expiring too soon, you can consider going to Hong Kong and hiring an agent to help you obtain a business Visa that is valid for 30 days. Please give me some more information and I will respond…
06/13/2008 at 10:07 am
Change in policies? Again? What’s next? Shoot the foreigners? It’s such a bad thing isn’i it? I”ve been working in China for almost 4 years now as a teacher of Spoken English (with working visa). And this change of policy is the worst ever that I’ve heard..if it’s true. Let’s just say that the Chinese government have good reasons to aplly such change, but is it fair to us, legal foreign workers to suffer from such change? Not to mention, we are not liabilities of such country but merely assets in the field of bringing or should I say helping students reach the 21st century in the world of communication using English with confidence and fluency.
To all the non-native speakers like me who are presently working legally in China, I am appealing to all of you that let us not lose hope that we will be given proper or appropriate consideration that we truly deserve. Best of luck to us all.God bless!
06/20/2008 at 11:47 am
[...] Chinese Visa Information. Find out about renewing your visa if you are already living in Hong Kong here. [...]
07/03/2008 at 5:47 pm
[...] for even Americans, such as myself, to obtain working visas in China. It is much more difficult for citizens of these 33 countries to obtain working visas; they are being sent home by their schools to reapply in their home [...]
07/07/2008 at 5:18 pm
what a mess, i have been working for 6 years, with valid documents, last year the foreign affairs bureau of henan refused to give me a foreign expert certificate on the grounds that i have been here for 5 years i need to go back to my home country for atleast 6 months before can have it. but my school struggled to to get one for me, this year they totally refused, despite efforts by two schools on my behalf , these woman refused and brandish africans as terrorists,.i want to know from you guys if any one knows about similar situation, because i have never heard any of my friends complain about this, i know of many people who have been here for more than 6 years ,but not having this problem. and i noticed from this woman is, she really doesnt want to give me the expert certificate, even if i go home for 6 months, even appying for an invitation is not easy…. lets keep our fingers cross and see what it will be in future. i doubt what the chinese will talk about after the olympics……one worl one dream has become an instrument for discord and fustration
08/01/2008 at 12:46 pm
[...] *** A Special Update from Robert Vance about Visas for ESL Teachers in China on TeachAbroadChina.com. Please click here for MORE information and discussion about work visas in China. [...]
08/24/2008 at 12:34 am
Hi all!
I’m currently holding an 60 days valid (valid till 1 september) F visa and doing a summer course in Shanghai.
After this course I will do an internship at a company for about 20 weeks.
What visa is appropriate and how can I obtain this? Heard of some internshipagencies the best way is to extend my current F visa, but how can I do that? Do I need to go back to my home country to apply for a new visa?
Many thanks in advance!!
Greetz!
Jimmy
08/24/2008 at 11:44 pm
f*** you china any way i lost my job cause of your new rules , so any way i have to back to my home town now f** you
08/25/2008 at 11:29 am
@Jimmy,
Where are you from?
08/25/2008 at 1:39 pm
@ Robert Vance,
I’m the Netherlands, and the visa was issued back in the Netherlands.
Thanks!
08/25/2008 at 9:58 pm
hi i just read about the visa stuff. you did mention that an Austrailian had to dish out 1600rmb for months business vis, please can u kindly give me more details because my visa too will expire soon. how can i contact this agent.thanks
08/25/2008 at 11:56 pm
@Jimmy
Now that the Olympics have come to a close, many foreigners in China are wondering what, if anything, is going to change in terms of the stringent visa policies that were put in place a few months ago. From all indications, it seems that the Chinese government will most likely relax the restrictions on visas as long as nothing out of the ordinary happens in China (another Tibet uprising etc).
An F Visa is the appopriate visa to have if you are going to be doing an internship in China. You can usually obtain an F visa for up to six months although in the weeks leading up to the Olympics, there were only being issued for 30 days max.
If you have an internship lined up already, that particular company should be responsible for making sure that your visa is renewed in time. If for some reason they cannot help you, then I would suggest that you look up a Hong Kong visa agent online and inquire about how much it would cost to obtain a thirty day business visa extension until your company can get everything sorted out.
I would love to tell you that you could just go into Hong Kong and apply for another business visa (or a tourist visa) but at this point, we are not sure in which direction the Chinese government is going to go….
@Levis,
I will contact my friend tommorrow and find out exactly how they got into contact with this agent although I have a feeling they found him on the internet.
08/26/2008 at 12:22 pm
@Robert Vance
Thank you very much for your information, I am heading to the municipal public security bureau in a few minutes. Will ask them to clarify the story and will post it right after!
08/29/2008 at 5:35 pm
We were being told before the Olympics that the restrictions would apply until after the Paralympics. A contact in the Sydney visa office said no date has yet been set by Beijing for the return to normality. On the other hand a friend who is hiring teachers has said HK is now issuing 2 month tourist visas without hotel bookings etc. It is all very confusing.
09/30/2008 at 6:51 am
Hi Robert and readers,
I’m up for a new visa shortly, and after the difficulties obtaining the last one, I was wondering have things returned to “Normal”. I was informed by various expat friends that things would return to normal after Sept 20. If anyone has info on F and Z visas now, could you please share it?
Thanks.
Wayne
09/30/2008 at 7:26 pm
@Wayne,
My understanding is that in general things have returned to normal. Universities in my area are now able to obtain work visas without too many problems. F visas, which were available even during the Olympic Games should be back to normal as well. However, if i were you, I would encourage your school (or place of work) to start the process immediately if you are up soon. Hopefully others on this board can help us out with their thoughts…
10/15/2008 at 2:35 pm
hello!
can i renew my L visa now in HK? my visa will be expired on oct22. i am from philippines, im not doing any work but my bf is working in guangzhou so i want to stay a little longer. i would really appreciate any info that u could provide.
01/21/2009 at 6:09 pm
I have a 6 month L visa which will expire in June 2009.
I have been offered a job in a university but they told me that I have to
apply for a Z Visa. Can I do that in Hog Kong? and what would the cost be like?
05/13/2009 at 7:09 pm
Hi,
I want to know where can I get a tourist visa for Hong kong if possible double entry or multiple entry so that i will be able to stay 30days or more per visit, the last time I visited hong kong i was only alloed to stay 14days, which their free visit req.I’m a Filipina, and I’m wondering what are the requirements and how much will it cost and where can i get it.Please help. Thanks
06/26/2009 at 4:55 am
if the chinese govt thinks that their country is alreadu a huge rich country,
well, lick their asses! why do they need an over-restricton policies, i find it
being so racist. for black people and other fellow asian countries.
well, china, u sucks! your people can’t even speak english, and then you are
restricting a lot of foreign teachers to teach your people how to speak a better
chinese or even to correct the simple word “VERY VERY LIKE” into “LIKE IT VERY
MUCH”.
lots of your people are so stupid and ignorant. another thing, lots of your
people are so smelly. OMG! please! what’s the use of DEODORANTS???
F*CK!