Temporary Residency Permit

[ttwjr32]

Paul,

you covered everything for the people who are coming here quite well. covers everthing they would need to do.

as far as what Willy is talking about he has the paper from the police station that you need to get and have registered
for were you will be living. its nothing but they have you on file as living at this certain address. even with that paper
you could still be fined 50rmb if you dont have your passport with you but for the most part they wont do that if you
show them this paper. thats all i carry around with me as i leave my passport at home

[Willy The Londoner]

Hi Willy,

I'm also confused, nothing new I know. A couple of questions.You have a visa from the PSB, was this given to you after you got married? and is it an L visa. Also what is the "Temporary Residents Permit" you have? Does it actually say" Temporary " and what form does it take a separate book or a sticker in your passport? I understand about having to register at the police station if your not staying in a hotel but I've never come across a Temporary Residents Permit, is it issued by the police? I have a blue " Resident Permit for Foreigners in the People Republic of China" stuck in my passport. While this is valid I do not need a visa of any kind, but to get it I had to have a Z visa that was valid for 1 month! Thanks............

I have a seperate piece of paper. A4 size with all my details in Chinese. Includes my photo.  It is headed 'Registration Form Of Temporary Residence For Visitors'  and has the  Big Red stamp in the centre that makes it 'official'
 There is no reference on it as to what visa I have.

It is issued by the police and it is the third one I have had since being here. They come in line with the visa entry in your passport and are valid as long as any visa you have.
 
They are free! 
 
Willy
 
 

[Paul Todd]

Thanks Willy,

I understand now. Here when you register where your living with the police you don't get issued with any papers at all. They put your name in a big ledger and that's it.

[ttwjr32]

Willy,

after you got your temp 6 month visa you should have gone down and redid it. i was called down to redo mine
after i guess the papers caught up with each other. now mine matches my visa in my passport.

[Lain]

There is some confusion about "residence permits" and work permits. and simply registering with the PSB.

Everyone who does not stay at a hotel, will be required to register with the PSB.

A person who simply wishes to stay while NOT working can apply for a "temporary residence permit" such as what Willy has.

A person who is working in China will get a work permit that functions much like a residence permit or as we call them in the US...a green card.

It seems that depending on what website you go to these things are often mixed together and lead to confusion. Even the Chinese embassy in D.C. has conflicting information than its Chicago website...and then you go the PSB site for Zhongshan...and again, conflicting info. Sadly I cannot submit my temp residence permit to the embassy where I apply for my Visa...Sure would be nice to have my residence permit BEFORE I arrive.

Oh well.....seems that I have found enough info and the correct forms to have everything in order once I arrive in October....just in time for some cooler weather....95(F) and rain almost everyday gets old...FAST!

[Willy The Londoner]

Just to add to Lain's woe.

The PSB where you renew visa's etc  in the centre of Zhongshan.   Really busy place where they issue all sorts of Chinese Passports and permits.   The Police Station I have to register my residency at is outside of the city limits!!!!

They do not encourage people just to walk in!!!!!!!!

Willy

[Paul Todd]

Almost got it Lain:-

Everyone who does not stay at a hotel, will be required to register with the PSB............... For this your register at the police station not the PSB.

A person who simply wishes to stay while NOT working can apply for a "temporary residence permit" such as what Willy has....... This is what you get when you register at the police station if you are not staying in a hotel.You have to do this if your working or not. As Willy says, it does not depend on what type of visa you have, its purely to let the police know where your living and that's all. It's a registration document.

A person who is working in China will get a work permit that functions much like a residence permit or as we call them in the US...a green card........You get a z visa( work Visa)  to enter the country,this then is turned into a Residence Permit from the PSB. Not to be confused with the one you get from the police station which is a registration document.

Sadly I cannot submit my temp residence permit to the embassy where I apply for my Visa...Sure would be nice to have my residence permit BEFORE I arrive.......... All you ever get is a Z visa to enter the country, If you arrive on an L visa you would have to leave the mainland and apply for it before you could get  Residence Permit. Once you have your Z visa  you have to 30 days to change it into a Residents permit at the PSB. No way to get a Residents permit on its own. The Z visa lets you apply for a Residents permit. No Z visa ,you can't apply for a Residents Permit.

Z Visa...you need an invitation letter from a company/school. This must be applied for outside of the Chinese mainland unless you pay lots of cash to a dodgy Visa agent here.
Z visa  is valid for 30 days, you must change this for a Residents Permit at the PSB. Not the police station different thing.

You would have to be a student, Legal representative of a Foreign firm or a big time investor to be able to change an F visa for a Residency Permit.

[Vince G]

In a way this is all confusing only because I'm not sure what I should be focusing on for I don't know what I will be doing yet? I understand the hotel will register my stay, so I am not worried of that. But lets just say I decide to stay for a few months? (at a residence, not working there) How do you, or who do you talk to, to get what you need? I doubt I would stay that long on a first trip, but there's always that maybe?

[Lain]

No way to get a Residents permit on its own. The Z visa lets you apply for a Residents permit. No Z visa ,you can't apply for a Residents Permit.

Not too sure about this.. I have had the translator I hired when I was there helping me to so some research and getting some questions answered there in China. It was explained to me that I can get a temporary residence permit on my business (F Visa) for up to 6-months, but no more than 12-months. The permit can be reissued after 6 months, for an additional 6 month term. I can then apply for a 12 month permit after that.

Since I will NOT be working there..at least at a Chinese company, I will not be getting or even need a Z Visa. This is not the ONLY way to get a temporary residence permit.....directly from the PSB via my translator who called on my behalf.

Choices for temp residence application on the form are (Visiting Relatives, Study, Correspondent, Taking Up Post, Family Member,  Employment, Seeking Refuge With Family, Purchase Housing, Maintaining Parents, Fosterage, Other)


Registration is required no matter what local police,(if not at a hotel) but only the PSB who will issue the residence permits.

Vince, if your thinking that you might stay longer, I would suggest that you make sure to get a multiple entry 12 month Visa. So long as you stay at a hotel it will be easy, but if your thinking of a longer stay of say 2 months my suggestion would be to seek what is called long stay hotels that are like mini apartments with all the services of a hotel. The best part is that you will not have to sign a long lease or get utilities and all the other crap that goes with an apartment.

I am seeking to stay 6 months at the least, and longer if I can make it all work out so a long stay hotel is simply too pricey for me....but I was quoted a decent price at the Shangri-La hotel which is like a palace compared to how most people live there. they require at least 1-month stay, but have a 2 month deposit requirement. I am sure there are other hotels that offer the same services and others I am sure will offer good deals for monthly rates.

[Paul Todd]

Lain you are correct when you say there are other routes to get your Residents Permit and maybe I should have said "reasonable" and not "only" in your case,sorry.
"Choices for temp residence application on the form are (Visiting Relatives, Study, Correspondent, Taking Up Post, Family Member,  Employment, Seeking Refuge With Family, Purchase Housing, Maintaining Parents, Fosterage, Other)" are you doing any of the above? I still don't understand why you are so hooked into getting a Residence Permit when you have a 12 month multiple entry F visa?
Vince the best way to find out where you would register if your not staying in a hotel is to ask the PSB, they can give you the address of the police station you have register at and there will be someone there who can speak English

[Lain]

"Choices for temp residence application on the form are (Visiting Relatives, Study, Correspondent, Taking Up Post, Family Member,  Employment, Seeking Refuge With Family, Purchase Housing, Maintaining Parents, Fosterage, Other)" are you doing any of the above? I still don't understand why you are so hooked into getting a Residence Permit when you have a 12 month multiple entry F visa?

The MAJOR reason is that I will have to bring one of my computer workstations and a few cases of my business records to run my company while I live in China. While I know that its very unlikely that I will have any problems with re-entry on a Visa....the thought that I COULD be prevented from returning to my apartment where I will have all my possessions is a scary one to say the least.

Its all part of a process with long term goals for eventually staying there for the balance of my life, married or not the process is the same. My current workstation cost over $6500 if you include the software it has running on it...I am NOT going to leave any chance that it may be left behind if I can get a temp residence permit and have some peace of mind during my stay. Besides that its simply a hassle to leave every 30-60 days and re-enter. Since I will actually be there on real business it will also help me keep my travel plans open. I have been contacting many of my current clients, 32 companies in all and much to surprise most of them are interested in having me as a point man on the ground to represent their interests or actually set me up as a distributor in China. Since my company sells textile printing equipment and supplies the market may be huge.   

I have built a new remote mirror workstation that will stay here in the US, and will be located at my best friends business where I can use it to run my company should the worst case scenario take place and I am refused re-entry. My laptop is linked to all of them and I can remote control and if need be I can activate a security program that will wipe the system hard drives so my company data will be secure.....but I will still have paper documents that I will not be able to retrieve. So for right now it has more to do with some peace of mind while I operate my business.

Also by getting a temporary residence as soon as I can, it starts the process to gaining extended stays on that permit. If the temp permit is renewed continually for 2 years, I can then request a 2 year permit....after that is renewed for 5 years, I can then apply for a permanent D-Visa that will let me stay for 10 years at a time.....its all about planning long term. Its how I work.

[Willy The Londoner]

No problem Lain - just give me the key to your apartment I will keep your workstation greased up by visiting all the sites that I do not want a footprint back to on my PC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. 

Seriously if you have a problem I can always carry your work station to Hong Kong as we do not need a visa to visit there.

Willy

[Lain]

No problem Lain - just give me the key to your apartment I will keep your workstation greased up by visiting all the sites that I do not want a footprint back to on my PC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. 

Seriously if you have a problem I can always carry your work station to Hong Kong as we do not need a visa to visit there.

Willy

If I cannot get the residence permit, I may take you up on the idea....Sadly though, you wont be able to use my computer as I use a Yubikey. This is a USB security key that passes a one time 64 caricature encrypted password to the system boot in order to access the hard drives which are fully encrypted with AES 512-BIT Encryption.



No key, no access..., you cant even boot the system without the key, and even if you pull the drives out you cannot break the boot locker without the new password the key has on it. YES.. I am a security freak! But if you had over 15,000 credit cards and company data on over 20,000 customers you would be too!....Not to mention access to my network and dedicated server that controls all 17 of my sites.

[Paul Todd]

I do understand where your coming from and being safe rather than sorry is always a good strategy. Like you say though I doubt very much that you would have any problems re-entering the country as long as you've been a good boy! I'm not surprised that companies are happy to have a representative here as the business opportunities are huge. I run a sourcing business over here as well as teaching and I'm snowed under  with work.
I am still interested in why you think the PSB will give you a Residents Permit. I'm not talking about the official paper Willy has by registering his private address at the police station, but the sticker in your passport.

[ttwjr32]

before you can apply for a permanent residence visa you have to be here for at least 5 yrs.
then you can apply for that one which is really good for 10 years at a time.

this is what i was told bt the head man at the PSB building in Guangzhou were everyone from
all over comes to and applies for visa's

of course this is for guanggong province and it might be different elsewere but im sure it is the same
for westerners.  all the apps from different cities end up here so you might just want to come here and
do yours. it is by Haizhui Square  right down from the KFC  exit b off the subway and a short walk to the first
major intersection make a right and its on the left hand side after KFC