I posted this in another thread but I think it belongs here.
Dated: Nov 17, 2009
Hi, I am Feifei(Dara) from THATISCHINA, a professional China visa service company in Beijing and running for over seven years.
Our specific services as follows:
Working(Z) visa —— our specialty ?provided to one who is in Beijing now?
(there are two ways to get working visa:
Solution one: change L or F visa to Z visa directly without you leaving China
Solution two: apply for working invitation letter and need go to Hongkong or any other country to apply for two-month Z visa, and then return China to continue to do Z visa)
Our advantages on Z visa:
??If you have L visa or F visa, we can switch L or F visa to Z visa directly in Beijing; you don’t need to go out of China.
??If you have Z visa, we can also extend your Z visa directly in Beijing. However, on the condition that you have Z visa and without a working company, we can also do Z visa extension for you.
??If you don’t have BA degree, two-year working experience, less than 24 years old or even without a sponsor company, we could do Z visa for you.
??What’s more, if you are urgent, Fast-tract Z visa will be available for only few days.
??If you are holding Z visa, we could change Z to L visa directly
F visa extension for 3, 6 or 12 months and single, double or multiple entry.
Changing L visa to F visa for 3 or 6 months directly without you leaving China
Business invitation letter ( to apply for F visa in the oversea Chinese embassy),
Working invitation letter ( to apply for two month Z visa in the oversea Chinese embassy)
L visa extension for one month or three month
(it can be extended only for two times, each time only for one month)
Changing Z visa to L visa for only one month directly
Changing X visa to L visa for only one month directly
China job recommend ( most positions are full time or part time teachers)
Employment license, working permit, one-year residence permit
...
If you have any problem on visa, feel free to contact Feifei(Dara) any time. I shall try my best to offer my profession to you! Hope it will give some help on your visa!
Welcome to our office, if convenient for you!
Contact_Feifei (Dara)
http://www.thatischina.com Mobile phone: 150 010 92565
MSN/Email:
yuanfei621@hotmail.com Add.: Room707-708, CYTS Plaza, No.5 Dongzhimen South Avenue, Dongcheng District, Beijing.
So to clear up a few points?-
Chinese tourist visas (L)
Easy to get hold of, you should be able to download the application form from an embassy very easily. These are available in 30, 60 and 90 day flavours, and the embassy will issue the one it thinks most appropriate for your stay.
Working on a tourist visa is illegal, and the PSB do take a dim view of it. As always, things are flexible, and it depends on the local branch and their relationship with your employer, but I wouldn't risk it. Beware of employers who ask you to come in on a tourist visa and say they will change it later - it's not always as easy as they make it sound. A trip to HK or Korea may be necessary, though hopefully avoidable.
Chinese business visas [F]
To get one of these, you usually require an official invitation from an authorised body. Business visas can be valid for up to 1 year, but you will need to convince the embassy you need to stay that long. These are easily available in Hong Kong for 6 months, multiple entry. Working on these is illegal again, but perhaps less so than a tourist visa. If you don't annoy the PSB (and your employer doesn't either) then you'll normally be ok.
Chinese work visas (Z)
This is the one you really want, unless you are opting to freelance on a business visa. Once you've found an employer (who is licensed to employ foreigners) they issue you with an invitation letter. This, and your passport, go to the Chinese embassy for a while, and when they come back your passport has a new stamp in it. Note, this stamp only permits you to stay in China for ONE month. This one month is when your employer should apply for your residence permit,which then takes precedence. Your residence permit will be valid for the length of your contract, up to a maximum of one year (longer periods are possible, but only for people the government wants to be best friends with). Theoretically, you should be able to travel with only your residence permit, but in reality everyone will ask to see your passport as well. A good rule for China is to take every document you have everywhere you go anytime you think you won't need it.
changing visas in China
This can be done, in certain circumstances. To go from a tourist visa to a business or work visa, you are going to need the assistance of your employer or an agency (see above). Agencies can be expensive, and you may need to hand over your passport for a week or more while they send it to a tame policeman in Jiangxi. Going from a work or business visa to a tourist visa should be easier, if you explain that you've finished your work and wish to do some travelling. Ideally though, get a longer residence permit and travel on that.
foreign expert's certificate
These are a relic from the days when being a foreign expert meant you were a foreign expert, not a 21-year-old chancing it as a TEFL teacher and writing home to his mum about how he's an expert at something. They are only useful for changing RMB into foreign currency at Banks of China (which is a hassle I won't go into). They used to get you discounts, but I don't know of any they get you now. I always hand mine over with my passport and residence permit when checking into hotels, and ask for a discount just after they nod approvingly at my status. It doesn't get me any discount I wouldn't have got anyway, I just like showing off.
visa problems
I know a number of people who've had visa problems for one reason or another. It seems that while the official fines are very hefty, remorse and contrition go a long way and these fines can be reduced substantially. I know of one case involving three people who'd taken longer than a month to get their residence permits (they were on work visas). They were taken down to the police station and given a bit of a lecture. The one girl who nodded politely and apologised walked away with no problem. The other two were argumentative, blamed the school, and were fined 1500Y each.
So to recap a Z visa is only valid for one month, and is the stamp you require in your passport to get your temporary residence permit.
As a side note:-
Visa for husbands of Chinese Nationals
If your legal wife is a Chinese citizen or permanent resident, you have options. You can either keep your work "Z" visa, your student "X" visa or your business "F" visa and continue your life as usual.
Or you can apply for a special one-year multiple entry tourist "L" visa given specifically based on your marriage. This visa can be renewed at its expiration for an additional one year term for up to five years. After five renewals (i.e. five years), you can, in theory, be eligible for permanent residency or, if not, continue to renew your "L" visa supposedly for periods of validity of longer than one year. This visa does not give you the right to work. If you want to take up paid employment then you still have to go down the route of obtaining a Z visa and then getting your temporary residents permit.
