Job Discussion Forums

[Dan123]

Hi guys. I just sent off my application for my Z visa for a job in Changchun, Jilin province today, and fingers crossed, I'll be there within the next few weeks.

I've started looking at flights to there from London, and for several reasons (flight times, flight costs and wanting to see my girlfriend who is in Beijing at the moment), I would prefer to fly to Beijing, spend a day or two there, and then travel by train to Changchun, but I have two questions relating to this:

1) Is it possible to travel in China on a Z visa without yet having a residence permit? Obviously, since my job is in Changchun, I won't be able to get it until I get there. Will I have any problems getting out of the airport or travelling by train? I'm pretty sure that this won't be a problem, but I'd like to check to make sure.

2) Getting train tickets from Beijing to Changchun seems a bit hit and miss to do at the last minute, so I'd prefer to get one a week or so in advance, which would be whilst I'm still in the UK. Would it be possible for my girlfriend to buy a ticket for me if I give her my passport number or a photocopy of my passport? If so, will she also need a photocopy of my visa? I seem to remember my train tickets in China only having my passport number on them, but I'm not sure if my visa details are also required to purchase a ticket.

Thanks.

[vikeologist]

You can buy the tickets once you're in China. You don't need a residence permit. All you need is your passport, but you do need the original.

That said, there is online booking, and it's possible that this might be an option. In fact it must be, because I've had hotels buy tickets for me with a photocopy of the passport.

The visa or permit is irrelevant.

[doogsville]

The Z visa is only used to enter the country, so you shouldn't have a problem. You only have 30 days to have it converted to the RP though, and your employers will need to take your passport to the PSB to do that. It can take anything from a few days to a few weeks, if your unlucky, to process it, so you need to make sure you leave enough time for that. If your only staying in Beijing for a few days it shouldn't be a problem, but it's probably best to check with your employer as to when they need you to arrive and hand over the paperwork for the RP.

I've never had anyone look at my visa in a train station, and I've used a photocopy, and even a photo of my passport I keep on my phone to buy tickets in the past. You could send a scan of your passport to your girlfriend for her to print out and use to buy the ticket.

[Dan123]

[Toast]

No problem about travel before you get your RP.

Having your GF use a copy of your passport shouldn't be an issue. I've used photocopies before, and once even just gave a piece of paper with my passport number on it. Seemed to just be a formality for a foreigner...."System requires a number" kind of thing, although if your missus is Chinese they may be a little stricter.

Sometimes the ticket booking offices that are scattered around the place and charge 3 or 4rmb extra per ticket can be a little easier (rule-wise) than actually buying at the train station.

[Bud Powell]

A little advice:

Don't expect your prospective employer to send your invitation letter shortly after you are accepted for employment so you can travel before you begin working. This is something that a lot of newcomers don't understand: the Z visa is issued solely for one to enter the country to work.

Most newcomers don't like the practice, but the employers (universities, anyway) give you just enough time to receive your letter of invitation, send off your paperwork to the Chinese consulate, receive your passport back with the Z visa and buy your tickets and fly to China.

Prospective FTs often commit to a position in April, then become really antsy when their letters of invitation don't arrive by June. If you have a start date of Sept 1st, expect your paperwork to arrive during the last week of July or (most likely) the first or second week of August.

If you've made big plans to travel about China before you start your job, you may want to reconsider.

[chinatimes]

[muffintop]

[choudoufu]

be nice, CT. don't be a $##&^@ until we know fer sher it's just
another STFU sock puppet.

dan....

1. no problem travelin' in china on a z-visa. that's sop. many times
us fur'ners arrive at a major city, clear customers, then take a train
or plain or automobile to our host city. in my case, i crossed the
land border from laos, then bicycled to kunming. took about ten
days, with enough time remaining to do all the necessaries for the RP.

2. yes! you (or your significant another) can buy a train ticket using
a photocopy of your passport. that's the way many folkses do it, and
is coincidentfully just the way china rail announced the policy.

3. we dunno when you're gonna travel, nor do we know which train
you wanna take. some lines sell out early. some runs on the same line
sell our more earlier than others. ignore bad advice to just wait until
you arrive in bei儿jin儿. your ladypal can buy the tickets up
to ten days in advance. email a scan of your passport to her, once you
have your flight booked, she can buy tickets for doomsday+2.

[Dan123]

[Bud Powell]

I'll keep what you said in mind, Bud Powell. I plan on confirming with my school whether or not it will be okay before I do anything though.

Good idea.

Are you going to work for a university/college, or for a language school/private school?

When is your starting date?

[Dan123]

[chinatimes]

[johntpartee]

[roadwalker]

OP asked valid questions and got reasonable answers. And some unexplainable hostility to boot.