China Romance
General Discussion and Useful Links => Ask An Experienced Member => Topic started by: mickw on October 19, 2010, 08:30:57 pm
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Hi Guys
This question is primarily aimed at the members who are married and living in china with their wives.
Long term, my better half and myself have discussed the possibility of us moving back to china after i retire ,shes hopefully coming to the UK assuming the spousal visa is granted ,and proposes to live here a few years till i finish work.
What type of chinese visa do we get for a long term stay /or to live there permanantly ,as we're married to a chinese national.?
cheers
Mike
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Hi Mike,
If your married to a Chinese national then you are entitled to an extended "L" visa, that's a Tourist or sometimes called a family visit visa. If you arrive here on a standard "L" visa then a couple of days before it expires you can go to your local PSB ( Public Security Bureau) office and they will give you the Extended version for a few hundred rmb. Usually the first time you get 6 months and after that it could be up to 2 years depending on how the officer sitting behind the desk is feeling on that particular day. It really is that random. You can keep on extending this visa indefinitely. They don't make it difficult to live with your wife over here and if all you have to do is visit the PSB once or twice a year then that's no real hardship. This type of visa does not give you the right to work or pay tax's in China but as your retired I don't think it will make much difference to you!
In theory after 5 years you can apply for the holy grail of visa's which is the "D" type. In practice unless you have invested a great deal of money here or have the right connections this is never going to happen to your average moral.
I'm not sure if you can get this extended "L" visa in the UK or if it's only available once your here. I would check that out at http://www.chinesevisadirect.co.uk (http://www.chinesevisadirect.co.uk)
even if you can't get it back home like I said it's not difficult to do here, unless of course your Willy that is and they only give you 3 months! ;D
A couple of other points are that you will have to register your stay at different police station if your not staying in a hotel and some PSB's want you to have a medical for the longer "L" visa's. The medical is cursory and totally at the discretion of what the PSB officer on that particular day wants you to do.
Hope this helps.
Paul
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Paul is exactly correct. I got the extended family visa before I left the US. It is good for 2 years 180 days per stay. It was the same price as a 30 day single entry.
All that I had to do different. Was send a letter of invite from my wife and my red book with the application.
But I am in the US don't know if it is different for you.
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like I said it's not difficult to do here, unless of course your Willy that is and they only give you 3 months! ;D
But then maybe the women officers at the PSB just like me to keep going back to see them!!!! 8)
My last one was for 6 months with no need to leave and come back in that time. But I will definately go for the two years in February. You can only get it in China but depending on when you propose moving here then things can change.
I think the USA is different than the UK in this respect.
Even after five years if you qualify for permanent residency then it is not permanent - you have to re-apply every so often - not sure if it is every five or ten years.
Willy
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its good for 5 years at a time.
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I think you'll find it's for 10 years Ted.........read on,
Press Release.....China Daily
Chinese Green Card for Gilbert
On 6 November 2009 Gilbert finally picked up his Chinese Green Card. He feels honored and happy to be now, more officially, “Half Beijinger” (“Yi Ban Bei Jing Ren”)
It is officially called “Permanent Residence Permit for Foreigners in the PRC” and is difficult to obtain. The approval procedure is lengthy and complicated, and applicants must satisfy many conditions.
The Card has several advantages, such as:
• For foreigners above 18 years it is valid for 10 years. Because the Ministry of Public Security issues the card, it is valid throughout China.
• Easy entry and exit: With a passport and the Card one can go in and out of China freely. So the Card saves the time and expenses needed to get a visa. It can also be used separately as a legal certificate to stay in Beijing.
• Employment: Foreign expats without resident permits are not allowed by law to work in China without approval. But there is no regulation limiting foreigners with Chinese Green Cards about employment. Foreign expats with the Card should be allowed to work and treated according to all Chinese labor laws.
• Rent: Foreign expats with a Green Card have the same rights in civil and commercial affairs as Chinese citizens. They can rent or lease houses without examination or approval from the public security bureau.
• With a the Card, one can buy commercial housing or even economic-class houses in the city they reside in, if they meet the requirement.
Gilbert is not yet aware of anybody else holding the Green Card.
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Paul,
Ilike the work and be treated like all chinese citizens. hahah does that mean you get to be used and abused while here???
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On a more serious note though. When i come here again i will secure the work visa before i leave so as to
not depend on your lady for the visa if it all goes south on you. And contrary to popular belief,if you are from
the USA the first work visa has to be secured from the USA. Hong Kong is only an option for your second one.
Going thru this now.
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Ted I contacted the visa agent that was recommended to me by my school in Hong Kong and asked them about this. I have a American friend who got his first Z visa in HK a couple of weeks ago but I thought I would check anyway. I told them I was from the US and this was my first Z visa. they wrote:-
fbt-chinavisa
Hi Paul
Yes,we can get the z visa for you in Hong Kong. Normally it would take 4 days or we can express it within 1. We require two documents,that your school will provided. Do you have the two documents?
Regards
from luk tak
So according to them, if your from the US your first Z visa can be secured in HK no problem.
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Maybe the schools all operate differently?? Dont know as the 3 i am talking to have said they will do it this way.
But i also have to go back for other reasons and they know this so maybe thats the reason?? But when i did talk with
them they wanted or mentioned it this way before i even told them i was going back???? So i dont know just thought it
was needed to be done this way from what they said.
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But has anyone actually tried these agents? A lot of people in Hong Kong will say they can do something but from what I heard they take the money and you may or may not get what you require.
So until someone has used these method we will never know for sure.
So who will be the first American to try it?
Willy
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Too bad Ted is back in the USA. He could have tried it.
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not back yet but will be very soon 1 day plus flight. but i am going with what the schools told me
not with what Paul said because they were happy i was going back anyway because they would
just pay for the return flight.
But i am thinking of staying 2 or 3 years and rekindling something. Yes China will be here in 3 years.
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Willy,
The visa agent in Hong Kong was recommended to me by my school here in Baoding as I wrote in my post. I went there to get my Z visa with no problem at all, so did my US friend a couple of weeks ago. "So who will be the first American to try it?".....I think that time has well past as they have been in business for a few years now! If anyone is going to HK for a Z visa I can highly recommend their fast and efficient service be you from the USA or anywhere else. ;D
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Well thank goodness I no longer have to go out to work. What sort of trials and tribulations would I go through if I needed a work visa.
Willy
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The green card thing was a "PR Hoax" more or less from the info you can read over att Echinacities.com shouldnt be too hard to find the article. The only ones beside "Gilbert" who ever got one or its equivalency were people who had invested significant amounts of money in China or had other strong political/financial connections. I cant certify that this information is correct. But i think most comments and refered sources pointed in that direction.
I will look up the exact link again if someone have problem finding it on their site.
Just found:
http://www.echinacities.com/expat-corner/dont-have-500-000-you-re-staying-a-semi-permanent.html (http://www.echinacities.com/expat-corner/dont-have-500-000-you-re-staying-a-semi-permanent.html)
There are more on the same site too.
8)
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In Zongshan the PSB where the visas are renewed no longer accepts cash in payment. They only accept Chinese Credit/Debit card and they would not accept either of my two well known Britsih ones.
Willy
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That's just a special rule they made just for you Willy, we know how much they love you there! ;D Thank goodness they still have a cash payments desk in Baoding.
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Today I collected my 6th Visa! At last I think I have worn them down as I have a 12 month multi-entry visa.
They do not issue the 2 year visa in Zhongshan. (This is where you have to go for a hospital medical report. Big cities like Guangzhou issue them. One drawback for you youngsters in the big cities - you have to be at least 60 years of age to qualify)
But I now have a 12 month visa cost 1403 rmb.
Willy
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ext: Residency [if you intend to stay longer than 90 days]
Before you enter China obviously check your visa and make sure it is in date.
Step 1. Once you’ve been in country before or at the 30th day REGISTER with the local police station where you are residing. This is a must if you intend to lengthen your stay.
Step 2. If you have married [see various threads on this procedure] or have secured employment the next step is to head to ‘Entry-Exit Inspection And Quarantine Bureau’ to get your full medical. You will have your urine, blood examined thoroughly, chest x-ray, ultra sound on the abdomen, eye test, BP, and pulse measured, a ECG, and a full work up is done on you. All for the cost of 480 rmb and that may vary from location to location. They are looking for STD’s and any transmutably disease, if you have anything wrong with you other than this suggest you bring something from your physician [but officially translated here] stating what is the situation.
Step 3. If you are staying at your wife’s address you will need some sort of licence that states: she either owns the property or she is renting it. The police will need to see this to rubberstamp any permit to reside.
Step 4. You will need 2 or 3 passport photos.
Step 5. You must photocopy all original documents [I did mine twice suggest the same]. The list of documents are: your passport, the page with your visa and entry stamps, your wife’s ID, the house licence, the health certificate, your marriage licence, the original police 30 day registration document [very important]. Now Chinese documents of official nature are in little red books just like the marriage licence you receive once you are wed. Your passport will be returned to you in about one week.
The procedure described is for the one-year residency. I think it’s slightly less complicated for the 6 months. Oh and you are granted leave to stay from your time of entry into China! Work visa is a completely different kettle of fish and let your employer do that, but you will need the health document regardless. And you are not allowed to work on a residency permit.
For my 'Z' visa and 'foreign expert blue book' I let the school do the paper work, but it took a trip to HK and expressing the visa cost UK citizens HK$660 and took one day. You arrive at the visa centre in the morning and go back the next day at the same time. US citizens were being charged around HK$1400 - I guess that is the favouritism showed to Brits.
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Just a couple of points to add to Neal's post.
I have been here over two years now had 6 visas in all and visited the local police station more often than the criminals ( I swear I only go to update my temporary residents permit) but i have never had a medical of any sort or asked to provide one.
I do suggest that you do not put off registering at a police station because you think no one will know where you are. In two different apartments I had the police call unannounced to see my temporary residents permit.
When you get the photos done at official shops you will need to keep the receipt and hand that in together with the one photo with numbers on it. Make sure you get offical photos done.
Willy
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OOPS !
How often am I supposed to go to the police station? I have only been once and I still have that registration tucked away somewhere. No one has bothered me so far and they know I am here. The police station is just two blocks away and I walk in front of it all the time on my way shopping.
I have never stayed the full 90- days. I manage a trip back to the USA about every 60 days and stay there for a few weeks before returning to CHina.
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It's China. There are no hard and fast rules, of course. I stayed in a small village twice for nearly 3 weeks. Never once did I visit the police station. The police walked by a few times. Being the only foreigner in town, they gave me a good looking over, but never said a word.
That said, it's probably in your best interest to register.
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You should register with the police indeed. Very important, you can get in trouble if you dont and i have heard of several who did and had to pay fines etc. The police here in Beijing have impressive control over where all the foreigners live etc and they may just like Willy said show up un-announced at your home and ask for the residence permit. They did at our place once too. The police, at least here in Beijing are nice and they are cool with you as long as you follow the rules. We had 2 police women who came to check on me once and it took 2 minutes and they apologized for the inconvenience, but if i would not have had my papers in order ..... its just too much headache to think about it. So take my (and others advice), do it the right way. Its not worth the risk of ignoring their laws and rules.
The medical check is ONLY for work visa, it is never required for any other visa as far as i know or have heard of.