Job Discussion Forums

[7969]

when i returned to china in september, i came on what i thought was an L visa valid for a 90 day in china issued in shenzhen, lo wu (applied and paid for in Hong kong). when i picked up my passport in HK i asked again, "is this L visa valid for a 90 day stay in china?" i was assured it was.

now my school is applying for my Z visa/residency. i was just told today that a. my visa was only valid for the SZ economic zone and b. it expired 30 days after i entered china. the school is wrong on count (a) because the visa clearly states L and says nothing about not leaving SZ. i'm not sure what class the visa for SEZ is but it's not L as far as i know, but i've never had one nor seen one. further, i used my passport at a hotel in beijing last month, and nothing was said about being outside my geographic zone of eligibility.

now the school is proposing i do a visa run to HK to get a new L visa. we've yet to discuss this but a visa run to HK is going to cost me at least RMB2000 transport, visa, and other associated costs. i dont know the rules regarding who can change what kind of visa into what here, and it seems my school doesnt know either. i'm only trying to get a step ahead of them here by looking for info.

if i do indeed need to do a visa run, and i tell the school i dont feel liable for the costs, i know what they're going to say. i've had several headaches here already (accommodation for one) and i thought once that was solved, my problems were over.

my question is, who should pay for this visa run if its necessary? shouldnt the school have moved quicker on getting the Z visa when i arrived here? if so, i see no reason why i should be out of pocket any money, and if the school does want me, it seems to me that they're just going to have to bite the bullet and pay up.

any opinions on this are warmly appreciated. 7969

[7969]

i'm currently reading the sticky on Z visas and residence permits.

[7969]

from what i gather, it looks like the days of converting the L visa into Z from within china have ended. i wasnt aware of that, but the info i garnered from the first post on the sticky (Z visas and residency permits) by kev7161 seems to state as much in its opening.

[7969]

i am in henan province. further, i met with the representatives from the school in mid september on my way from gansu back to hong kong, from where i went to thailand to pick up my belongings before coming back to china.

so the school had the opportunity to meet me, and we chatted, and we got along well. however, when we met in mid september, we hadnt agreed that i would come work for them. i only notified them that i would come here once i was already back in shenzhen on an L visa in late september. but at that time, i'm wondering whether or not they should have asked me what kind of visa i was on while i was still in SZ so as to prevent what has now obviously happened? is it unfair for me to expect that much or is it justified?

7969

[erinyes]

They want you to go to HK to extend your L visa???? Crazy! Go to the local PSB yourself and get an extension. Anyone who wants can extend their L visa.... just say you love China SO much your extending your holiday.

They might want you to go to HK to change your L into a Z, but that's their problem - if they told you they could change it and they can't them they should pay for you to return to HK.

However you do need to be very clear with Chinese people, and if you didn't talk about what Visa you had then they would ask as dum as they can. But on the other hand, you can't get a Z visa without them so they SHOULD have known that the ONLY type of visa you could have was an L visa.

In fact, go to the local PSB and ask them if you need an extension of your L visa. Tell them the situation with the school and ask if they will change the visa for you. In fact, some do, some don't. The law in China isn't really like the law in western countries. It's seen more as a general guideline to be disregarded at any time due to need, or laziness.

Or perhaps make sure your contract says that the �school is responsible for all costs of obtaining a Z visa.� Then make sure they understand that �all costs� means transport as well.

[Roger]

You have created some confusion.

You wrote you got a tourist visa ('L') from Shenzhen, "Lo Wu'. That's baffling for me.

Lo Wu is the train station on the HK side of the border and there you can't get any visa. I assume you got a visa from the PSB at the Shenzhen border - on the mainland side. That is on mainland territory, not on the HK side.

You may say these are just peccadilloes, but I would beg to differ with you.

If you got a visa (by yourself!) from the PSB inside the mainland Immigration Building in Luohu District (what Cantonese call "Lowu"), your visa would indeed be valid for the Shenzhen SEZ only - you would be allowed to go to Daya Bay in the East, Shekou and the airport in the West, and Longgang in the north, and no point farther.

The checkpoints on the highways into and out of the Shenzhen SEZ have been phased out, but the rules governing your visa have not been abandoned.

Anyway, I said you had me baffled. I am baffled because you stated your visa was valid for 3 months. I have never heard of tourist visas issued by the Shenzhen PSB inside the border checkpoint to be valid for more than one month. Maybe they are now these days... they might be, with good reason: no one can check any more whether you actually stay inside the SEZ. The special characteristic of this visa - its validity for the Shenzhen SEZ - can no longer be enforced since no checks can be performed any more. (IN the early 1990s, the checkpoints were sometimes manned by staff wearing bulletproof vests!).

So, since you created a sort of muddle I would urge you to clarify: did you buy your visa in HK, from a tourist agent?
I know they do get their business and tourist visas from the Shenzhen PSB though I don't know which precise office; but to allay your fears I can tell you I used to get a conversion of my F visa issued by the Shenzhen PSB (in the visa it says "Guangdong Gong'an Ju"). into a work visa in Guangdong on at least 2 occasions.

I don't understand why you should have to fork out 2000 yuan for a roundtrip to get a new visa. I suppose half of this amount would do; this time you should go strait to the Visa Office of the Central GOvernment. They will have to cancel your current visa. Sometimes this is a tad fifficult, though (if too much time has to be cancelled they baulk at this idea).

[7969]

[hengyangdave]

same thing happened to me. I got my L visa in HK from a company (cost nearly 500HKD) and all was fine and dandy. I got to HengYang. worked for a while. went back to HK to get my Z visa. all fine. came back. got my residence permit and my PSB FAO mate saw it and was sceptical. got me to write a statement that i bought the VISA and showed him the reciept(how i had it i dont know) and it was sweet.

dave

[7969]

[Roger]

I didn't realise you had travelled all the way to Zhengzhou and are now faced with the need to return to HK.

But you haven't clarified the issue of where you obtained your tourist visa at all.
You keep calling it "Lo Wu", and that is a place not in Shenzhen but on the other side of the border; there is no PSB there.
Either you got your visa from the PSB in Shenzhen (perhaps Luohu District but that would not show on your visa), or your agent got it from someone else.
Visa validities are clearly marked on the visa.
And, unless you got your visa from the visa office on the Shenzhen side, valid for Shenzhen only, (in which case the visa would no doubt have some obvious distinction mark), you can always get it extendced by any local PSB, provided you are staying in a legiitmate place (one that hands over your registration to the local PSB for verification).
If you can get such an extension you could possibly get a conversion to work visa done.

[Volodiya]

[7969]

[towyen]

[quote="7969"][quote]
yeah, i'm in zhengzhou now and i am not in any mood to go back. however, the school is trying to grease the wheels up here a bit and might be taking some people out to dinner to solve the problem............ i wouldnt mind stocking up on a backpack full of western food items that are impossible to get in zhengzhou.

...................we feel for you 7969, and when you are chowing down to fried grasshoppers, dogmeat stew and chicken feet with your school comrads....we'll be downing Big Macs, Pizza and spaghetti.......but just say the word, and we'll send you a care package from overseas.....LOL!!!!!

[tony lee]

[Roger]