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jaybet3 · Joined: 15 Dec 2010 Posts: 140 Location: Indonesia

Here's my saga. Starts back June. I'm changing schools from one province to another. The new school asked me to wait around to process paperwork. I said, "no" because I have a wife and six year old daughter back home and didn't want to sit around for who knows how long for the new visa. Because of computer problems at new school province it takes 7 weeks before, the school sends me a scanned copy of my Foreigner's Work Permit. Category B. Whoo-hoo! Didn't even think about invitation letter since this is a new process. All the while school says apply for Z of L visa. So, I prepare for Z visa like last year.

I take all my paperwork and fly to my local Chinese Visa Processing Center (very nice place BTW) and show the scanned copy of the Work Permit to the officer. He asks me; "What is this?" Where's your invitation letter in English and Chinese. I tell him it's my work permit and the government office where my school is located. Polite gentleman checks with his manager and says they can't process a Z visa. I need the invitation letters.

Contact my school. They say apply for a L (tourist) visa. 24 hours later I get my documents in place. Go back to Processing Center the next day. A different gentlemen, equally polite, helps me make a few changes to the application and accepts it for processing.

I'm a bit upset because to get said L visa you have to buy an outgoing ticket from China. So, that's a few hundred bucks out the window. Maybe school will reimburse me. Or I'll take an unplanned trip.

Contact my school and tell them L visa application has been accepted. Will not know until later this week if it's approved. School contact asks which city will I arrive? Hong Kong or the city of the school. I say, the city of school. (Side note: I had already bought tickets to school city months ago and would be able to get there as scheduled once I pick up approved L visa).

School contact says; The answer from government is: fly to Hong Kong, get a business visa there, then come to China and change a residence permit.

WTF. Now I lose my cool. I send slightly upset email to my school contact , then a more strongly worded message to the supervisor who hired me.
Their response. Sorry, national policy. Same with other school and cities.

At this point, I'm not doing anything until I get clear instructions from the school on what to do. It's obvious the government person told my school incorrect information.

So, now I'm out almost USD 1,000 between plane tickets, hotel, taxi and L visa application. It's unclear if the school will pay for the business visa or residence visa. I feel like I'm in an episode of "The Twilight Zone," or "Lost" for you younger folk.

So, my question: Has this happened to anyone else or am I the only victim of the new visa policy blues.

It's like I'm forced to go through with the process because I have a Work Permit already and likely couldn't get a job at another school if I wanted without a release letter from this school.

Any suggestions?

LarssonCrew · Joined: 06 Jun 2009 Posts: 1308

Why on earth did you buy an out going ticket?

The whole new process is a mess. I had to get an L visa, and I put a booking.com reference I made and a fake airline ticket I printed from 'fake airline ticket generator' to acquire my L visa.

Fortunately the school has already started processing everything for me.

siologen · Joined: 25 Oct 2016 Posts: 336

LCrew and all.

I know for a fact that lots are leaving and have indeed left China due to all this visa nonsense. Some to south east asia, others back home, others elsewhere.

Taiwan offers residency after living there for 5 years, China is on the nose now, yet somehow people still clamour to go there, with all the stress of the visas involved....I really do not understand it!

Good luck anyway with visas to all in that place.

S