Job Discussion Forums

[toothbrush]

hello all. i searched around on this site and on the internet for information about losing my little green book. i have everything else i spose (everything else being my passport with visa stuff stamped inside), but i dont want to deal with getting another book because i am on "vacation" after quitting my school and travelling around china, and all i want to do is leave the country but i am told it is impossible to do this without the little green book (or being fined astronomic sums of 500RMB a day for everyday past my long expired L visa, max 5000RMB). so basically im going to go back to the city the "temporary residence permit" was issued from (its good until november) and told them i lost it there (not true, but necessary to avoid travelling far and wide to do PSB stuff), but there is bad blood between my ex-school and me so hopefully i wont have to contact them, but probably will... anyway, if anyone has experience leaving china WITHOUT the green book (i will return with a purchased multi-entry HK visa after i leave) or getting another one after loosing it, please let me know any helpful information. thanks. PS. i have photocopies of everything so maybe that will help, i dunno...

[Spiderman Too]

In his post "Emergancy Absence", Stuelle wrote the following;

[Chris_Crossley]

I have personal experience of leaving China WITHOUT the little green book, but this was not deliberate. The director of the school I had taught at for two years had FAILED to tell me that I needed it in order to pass through customs in the departure lounge of international flights.

When I tried to go through customs at Beijing International Airport, I had only my passport with the expired Z-visa for my first year. BANG! I could not prove that my second year in China was legal unless I contacted my old school and asked the relevant person there to fax pages from both it and my Foreign Expert Certificate.

The head customs officer directed me to a business centre and explained the situation to the person there. Regarding time of day, this could have been an absolute disaster had this happened after working hours. As it was, it was the lunch-hour and I became increasingly worried as time passed when the relevant person was, I was told several times by the girl at the front desk, "still at lunch".

Eventually and to my relief, the pages were faxed over and I took them to the head customs officer. I was asked to wait, but my flight was by then due to go in less than 20 minutes. My heart was beating pretty fast by then. Eventually, with just 10 minutes to go, the head customs officer said that I could go, but only after he issued me with a verbal warning that, next time, I could be fined 500 RMB per day for overstaying. Fortunately, he told me that my flight had already been alerted that I would be the last passenger on board, yet I needed to get there in a hurry. I managed to board the plane just TWO minutes before the advertised departure time.

Hence, all I can say is that, because I pleaded genuine ignorance of the need to have the book, I was believed and allowed to leave China once the "proof" in the form of faxed documents had been accepted. The moral of the story is KEEP THE GREEN BOOK EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE A RESIDENT OF CHINA ANY LONGER - YOU WILL NEED IT IF YOU'RE GOING TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY!

Eight weeks later, I was back in China..........

[Roger]

i don't believe you are in that hot water without your residence permit. I have kept my old one and got a brand-new one this year, and nobody wanted my first one back. NOr did anyone bother to ask me at the border.
My bet is that if they do want to know whe3re you have it you can easily slip out of this dilemma by saying you gave it back to your FAO.

It's not a really important document - it certifies that you are a legal resident in the indicated place of residency, and for how long. Once it expires you cannot do any mischief with it.

[Chris_Crossley]

Roger wrote:

[toothbrush]

yeah, i called the guangzhou consulate and they said i have to go to the PSB and report it lost, etc, and since i dont want a NEW one, the PSB will give me something to leave the country, hopefully without a fine, and hopefully everything will be fast since i have photocopies. good idea about the passport photo though.
however things will get tricky because i _cant_ check into a hotel/hostel without the green book, and you have to register within 24 hours of taking residence with a chinese person (which i am going to do) but i cant do that if im illegal in china, AND since i was travelling with my green book after leaving my school, but i am not currently employed by them, and my PSB residence address on file is different, things can get complicated...
i think it would be easier just to do something crazy and they would deport me and maybe then all the paperwork would be taken care of. j/k

[ilunga]

I've lost mine too. It's quite a big deal apparently. My boss is good though, she's negotiated a price with the PSB for a replacement. Next step I think is to put an ad in the local newspaper although the thing could be as far away as Bangkok.
You're supposed to take it everywhere with you but I'll be leaving it at safely in my apartment in future, unless I specifically need it.

[toothbrush]

if you dont mind my asking, how much was the original asking price, and what did you boss negotiate it down to?
it sounds like my ex-school may have to get involved, which im sure they will not be happy about. AND, do you know how long it will take for them to deliver the book to you?

[Roger]

toothbrush,
what kind of visa do you have in your passport, when does it expire???

I have always had multiple-entry visas that covered my entire sojourn within the mainland.
That's why I never needed this residence permit.

[THUD & BLUNDER]

I have passed through customs at Lo Wu (Shenzhen) into HK many times and never been asked for my green book.

[ilunga]

I don't know how much they wanted originally but my boss said she got it down to 100RMB which is pretty reasonable.
I hope it's as straight-forward as that, I'll let you know when it's all sorted.

[toothbrush]

yeah, 100RMB is very reasonable. i was kind of expecting to be hit with 5000RMB for some reason... i think the photocopies will help
in my passport, my Z visa is long expired, but after reseaching info on this site, that apparently doesnt matter as the Residence Permit takes over as the import document after your Z is expired...

Roger, did you get the multi-entry F visa? that is what i hope to get in HK, and as far as i understand you are "supposed" to have business in china, etc etc, but in practice you go to a travel agent in HK, pay betwen 1000-2000HKD and they give you either the 6month multi-entry or 1-year multi-entry F visa, which also "supposedly" doesnt allow you to work, but we all kno rules in china are flexible.

Also, this is completely un-substantiated, but i heard American visa stuff for china has changed, anyone hear about this?

i appreciate all the info from everyone. thanks.
i just want my HK 6-month mutli, or id settle for a L visa even...

[Roger]

On visas in general:
I have a one-year work visa obtained through my employer from the Guangzhou PSB; the university paid for the visa, and I paid for the balance for a multiple-entry visa, which was quite substantial (RMB 860 in my case but I heard Americans pay more). IT was a bit new for me-entry feature in my visa.

As for BUSINESSPEOPLE'S VISAS - I have stated categorically in the past, and I am repeating it here now: there is NO legal difference between a tourist visa and a businessperson's visa.
In HONG KONG, many AGENTS can act as go-betweens for you to obtain your visa from the Guangdong authorities. THis means you submit your passport to them, they forward it to the mainland Chinese authoritiy in Shenzhen that issues such visas (I doubt it is the PSB), and you get your passport back within one to two days.
Such visas are single-entry, multiple-entry, one-month, six-month, one-year visas - make your pick!
Whether it is a tourist visa or a businessperson's visa - there is NO significant difference; businesspeople ususally hand in a businesscard on top of their application. In addition, they stand to pay tax if they spend more than 183 days in one row on the mainland, though these taxes are not routinely collected or receipts for payment asked for at the border.
Now where can you get those visas:
APT, 8-10 Hankow Rd., Tsimshatsui offers one-year, multiple-entry tourist visas.

PHOENIX Travel Agency, 84 (or 86?) Nathan Rd., 7th floor, manage to arrange maximum 6 month, multiple-entry visas costing HK$ 750 (price for Americans unknown).

You canany kind of visa direct from the Visa Section of the Mainland authorities at 18 Harbour Rd., Wanchai, CHINA RESOURCES BUILDING, but that office is manned by bureaucrats who follow the rules to the letter, - so beware!
If you have a businessperson's visa you are not supposed to own a residence permit!

[struelle]

[Jolly]