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HunanForeignGuy
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 989
Location: Shanghai, PRC
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 Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:00 am Post subject: |
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| vikuk wrote: |
with regard to the very specific question-
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| The OP is aiming to work in Beijing (not Guangzhou) - HFG (or anyone else with knowledge on this subject), can you change an L into a Z there????? |
That last post held a heck of a lot words that, condensed, seem to imply - I can speculate through hearsay but in actual fact I don't know 
I certainly don't know - so posters with specific first-hand knowledge please take over!!!!! |
Great post...I am glad that you have agreed -- finally -- to step aside so that we might hear the opinions of the rest of the world. |
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jeffinflorida
Joined: 22 Dec 2004
Posts: 2024
Location: "I'm too proud to beg and too lazy to work" Uncle Fester, The Addams Family season two
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| Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:13 am Post subject: |
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I have a freind in Fujian who overstayed his visa, never left the country to get a new one, was able to get a Z visa from a "friend" in the Fujian governent, and now does not have to leave again for another year.
And he is not a teacher or married to a chinese girl.
Sometime it's Who you know not What you know...
And in china, sometimes it's who you Pay... |
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thirdrockphoto
Joined: 25 Jan 2004
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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| You are investing 240 pounds in a vacation. Don't expect to find a teaching job in Beijing or any other developed area of China by dropping in. I hope you can become the one-in-a-thousand exception to the law. Unfortunately, then you may post your experience here for others to read. Maybe a thousand of them will fly to China with the same expectations and one of them might also become an exception perpetuating the myth. |
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clarrie
Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 75
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:38 am Post subject: one-way ticket |
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| re the one-way ticket: today I purchased a one-way ticket to enter China and I'll put an application in to the Chinese Consulate for a 6 month multi-entry visa. I have done this sort of thing before and because I have quite a few China visas in my passport it's not so difficult to convince anyne that I will be entering and leaving leaving the country. Seems the major problem is not ENTERING China, but being allowed to leave your country of origin with a one-way ticket. I've been questioned at time of departure and had to explain my intentions before. |
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struelle
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 2372
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:59 pm Post subject: Re: Heading to china on a one-way ticket with a tourist visa |
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Is there any way round it? Could I tell customs that i'm travelling through china, or can I just tell them my plans to find a job there and convert my tourist visa to a working one?
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I don't know what customs actually does for one-way tickets, personally I've never seen them look at my flight ticket anyway, it's only the passport and visa they're interested in.
But one thing I can say is it's a big no-no to tell customs you're planning to find work while on a tourist visa. When you check off those boxes and fill out the yellow entry card, make sure your choices match your story, in other words, be consistent! If you've got an L visa, then say something like you're traveling, throw down a hotel name and location for the Chinese address, and tick off the correct boxes.
I've never been fond of customs officers, but I know how their job works well enough to 1) always make sure the documents line up with the answer to their questions and 2) don't volunteer information.
On this subject, security will be ramped up in the next year or so, and I found out the authorities changed the visa rules so you can't change from L --> Z within the country. It may mean a trip to Hong Kong or something like that once you find a job and need to change the visas -- just a heads up, that's all.
Steve |
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struelle
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 2372
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:06 pm Post subject: Re: one-way ticket |
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| Seems the major problem is not ENTERING China, but being allowed to leave your country of origin with a one-way ticket. I've been questioned at time of departure and had to explain my intentions before. |
I've had this same experience too.
Has anyone noticed that all of the Asian countries have formal customs procedures for both entry and departure? The Western countries, well at least the ones I've been to, don't have departure customs, you only get questioned on arrival. In theory, for leaving the country, you just check-in at the airport desk, get your boarding pass, go through security and you're good to go.
However, the airline check-in staff act as de-facto customs for departure I've found ... I always get questioned about my intentions, asked to see passport, etc. the same as if it was formal customs. If there are problems with leaving the country on a one-way ticket, I get stopped at check-in and have to explain.
It seems strange the airline would care at that point because they sold me the ticket in the first place. If getting a one-way ticket was an issue, why wouldn't they say so when selling it? It makes no sense from a customer service point of view that the airlines would stop and question somebody at check-in, when it's the absolute last minute to make any changes or refunds to the ticket, if at all.
It makes me wonder if this is not a customer service issue, but if customs and immigration has some kind of deal with the airline staff to do these departure checks? After all, customs is extremely busy with entry procedures already, and they wouldn't have the manpower to set up another inspection booth for exit procedures -- at least in my country.
Maybe the airlines do these checks for security reasons on international flights. But then, why is it that when I leave China and go home, for example, I never get stopped or questioned by the airlines?
Steve |
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tw
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
Posts: 3898
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:07 pm Post subject: Re: one-way ticket |
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| struelle wrote: |
| However, the airline check-in staff act as de-facto customs for departure I've found ... I always get questioned about my intentions, asked to see passport, etc. the same as if it was formal customs. |
Well, after Air India and 9-11, they do have to make sure you are the same person whose name is on the ticket.
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| It seems strange the airline would care at that point because they sold me the ticket in the first place. If getting a one-way ticket was an issue, why wouldn't they say so when selling it? It makes no sense from a customer service point of view that the airlines would stop and question somebody at check-in, when it's the absolute last minute to make any changes or refunds to the ticket, if at all. |
The problem is that when airlines sell the tickets, they only need to see the passport and they are not concerned about the visa. As far as they are concerned, if a customer is buying the ticket, obviously he/she is certain that he/she can enter that country. |
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jwbhomer
Joined: 14 Dec 2003
Posts: 876
Location: CANADA
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:55 pm Post subject: |
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| There's a little more to it than that. If, when you arrive, you are refused entry to a country (which you can be, even with a visa, because it's still up to the immigration officer at the airport where you arrive) then it becomes the airline's responsibility to take you back to where you came from, which is a big pain in the pocketbook to them! |
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struelle
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 2372
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 5:41 am Post subject: |
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You may be onto something ... it also explains why airlines in North America are generally fussier upon leaving the country with them. If you're already in Asia you have many options to get around, but you pretty much have no choice but fly out of N.A. for any substantial distances ... including getting to Asia in the first place.
It's another example of clearing the first big hurdle to get to Asia, then once you arrive, things get much easier to travel.
Steve |
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jeffinflorida
Joined: 22 Dec 2004
Posts: 2024
Location: "I'm too proud to beg and too lazy to work" Uncle Fester, The Addams Family season two
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| Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:24 am Post subject: |
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It's so much easier just to fly to Hong Kong on a one way and then cross over.
Hong Kong lets anyone in and doesn't really care |
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upchuckles
Joined: 11 Jan 2007
Posts: 111
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| Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:01 pm Post subject: |
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Alot of people are getting turned away at airport ticket counters that have one-way tickets and tourist visas.. BEWARE!
The Chiense govt. has made airlines responsible for the cost of heaving you back to your own country if you are caught overstaying your visa and you came on a one way ticket.
The days of meandering out to China on tourist visas are all but finished.. |
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