Job Discussion Forums

[ElBigTree]

Ni hao all,

Hope someone there can give me a tip to stop me ripping my hair out.

My problem is this :- I am currently in the lovely city of Jinan and have a great job here however my visa ( F ) expires in 2 weeks.

Normally, i just do the visa run to HK but obviously cos of mr SARS this is no longer a viable option. Beijing is usually my second port of call but ...

Since businesses are closing or reducing numbers ( im working in immigration and training so its downhill all the way ) im not sure whether its worth coming back anyway if the cost of getting the visa is too high.

My boss and company have spoken to the PSB who claim they can only get me a s/t visa until sept - with the stipulation that i cannot leave the country during that time. Right !! Sounds worse than SARS to me.

Thus, does anyone have any ideas of getting said visa without leaving the mainland ? or, if not, do you know any places to get a visa in other countries which still have china inbound flights ( korea, Indonesia, India ??) ?

Any help appreciated and lets hope this crap ends soon

Ben

[hubei_canuk]

Maxau is very quick and esay for visas, especially the 6 month business visa.
Don't know about airlines.
Money, only a little extra talks loudly there.
Somebody told me his friend was in line somewhere , probably at the immigration.
He held up a bill to his ear of some denomination. Perhaps American currency.
Sure enough he was instantly selected and ushered through.
I also heard to visa procedure is very quick once inside Macau.
.............
Take a risk.
Also why rule out HK.
You might get lucky.
,,,
If HK go through Japan Travel Service- 6 month visa is quick about 450 or 500 HK, needs no papers. They actually get the visa issued in Shenzhen and it is quickly shipped back to Kowloon . A little bit extra gets you speedy service.
Don't ever get visa from chinese consulate in HK They want paperwork and etc etc etc. Travel servie cacn do more than the consulate.

[Roger]

With your business visa you are not in a legal situation, and I am most perplexed at how the Ji'nan PSB are handling your case.
The same police fined my boss an astronomical fine many years ago for working me there on a work visa issued in Shenzhen.
Either they no longer take their own rules very seriously, or it is a loose-loose (not lose-lose, but potentially becoming one for you) situation!
perhaps the current emergency warrants a less bureaucratic attitude from the PSB.

[wix]

I recently had my F visa extended for 3 months although the extension did not allow any re-entries. This was in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province. I should note that I work for a company and not a school so the PSB may be a bit more willing to give a visa extension for that reason.

I find it strange that the PSB said "you cannot leave the country" if they give you an extension. How can they stop you from leaving? They simply can't, although they might like to think they can. What they probably mean is that the visa would become invalid if you left the country.

[hubei_canuk]

Roger said:
"With your business visa you are not in a legal situation, and I am most perplexed at how the Ji'nan PSB are handling your case."
-----------------------------------------------
Roger:
THIS IS CHINA!
A dictatorship. As such regional authorities are all-powerful. They can do anything they want.
I've seen everything happen here in Chian regarding visas, including tousist extentions of 60 days and tourist visas renewed 5 times and of course foreigners working on any visa whatsoever and being ignored by the police.
In a certain place, i was accosted by the police chief on the street.
He said: "I know you! (Then he said my name) You are an illegal foreign teacher!"
Then he laughed and staggered off. He was drunk as usual.
Probably the bribe money helped pay for the booze.