Job Discussion Forums

[tigerlily20202]

Hi ESL Cafe. I've been skimming strings on this subject, but I'm getting different answers from the admins at my uni and websites.

I have a:

1. Foreign Expert's Card
2. A Residence Card (greenbook) that expires August 20, 2005
3. A Z Visa (single entry, I know they changed the regulations on that, but mine was issued in September 2004 so I don't think the multiple entry thing applies to it)

My plan is to do some trekking/traveling in India/Nepal during August, to finish sometime at the end of August or early September, but I am leaving my things (computer, etc.) with friends in China and my school is paying for a plane ticket home from Beijing. Therefore, I would need to return to China after my trip to pick up my things (and leave via Beijing or Shanghai).

I want:
Essentially to be able to reenter China from Nepal. But I am not sure I am able to -- do I need to get a reentry permit for my Z Visa?
I want to turn my work visa into a tourist Visa, so I can stay in China an additional 30 days past the August 20th deadline. My uni admins say I cannot do that in China; they say I must go to America, and get a whole new tourist visa, or else find a school to sponsor me and give me a new work Visa (I do not want to work here for another year, however, or mislead a school into thinking I do).
Is this information correct? What are my options? The whole L/Z Visa thing is kind of confusing. Usually it works in reverse -- people want to change L's into Z's -- in this case I'm trying to find out if I can get a tourist Visa while still in China, and how to get a reentry permit now that all the Work Visas are supposedly multiple entry and the green book is stamped directly into the passport (is that right?)
Is it possible to get a tourist Visa to China via Nepal?
Sorry for all the questions......thanks for your help.

[smalldog]

The obvious solution is hand in your green book as you leave China and pick up a tourist visa at the Chinese embassy in India or Nepal.

As for converting Z to L, has anyone managed it this year? It used to be possible but my FAO says it isn't any more.

[Alex_P]

[tigerlily20202]

so it IS possible to get a Chinese tourist Visa from outside of your own country? without all the medical crap/letter of invitation? i would probably be entering into Tibet from Nepal, which would require an additional Visa, so the route would be:
Chengdu-Lhasa-Kathmandu-Bhutan-Kathmandu-Lhasa-Chengdu.
. what a mess. is it possible to get an ordinary Chinese Visa from Kathmandu, or only the group Tibet one? does the tibet visa have multiple entries? <SIGH> does anyone know a good travel website or number to call that can help me clarify all this?

[Roger]

I have never heard of tourists having to undergo a MEDICAL CHECK-UP in order to be permitted to enter China... tigerlily, once you leave China your visa expires and you have to apply for a new visa, preferably a tourist visa since you are not going to work in CHina any more. I don't see the least bit of a potential hiccup!

I would much rather worry about my itinerary across Nepal; how to you enter China then? By plane? The Tibetan border might be closed for terrorist activities in Nepal!

[Volodiya]

Lily, you can normally get L visas (tourist) at any Chinese Embassy or Consulate, abroad. They do not require a physical. Other posters, who've had experience getting them in China have posted their detailed advice at-

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=26888

This, then, will allow you to stay in China long enough after your Resident Permit (green book) expires to see Tibet. (I expect the authorities in China to keep your Resident Permit, if they give you the L visa, as you are asking.)
______________________

I thought Roger had a good point, if I understood it correctly. Your itinerary, as you shared it with us, has you trying to re-enter China at the most politically sensitive Province, Tibet, from a country, Nepal, that is racked with civil war.

You might, instead, and if your finances permit it, consider returning to China via Bangkok; picking up your second Chinese tourist visa there, then flying to Chengdu.