Job Discussion Forums

[samhouston]

Yes, well, I was warned about working on an F-visa. But I could have pulled it off indefinitely had it not been for the upcoming non-political and very open and friendly Games.

Actually, on the flip side of "I was warned," I was also told over and over that I would not be able to get a job in Shanghai with no degree and no experience. Well, after four days in country, I landed a 14k/month cake job. So it can be done! Never mind the naysayers!

BEST SIX MONTHS EVER!!!

Now the problem...

My current F-visa was due to expire on May 20. When I tried to get a new 6 month F-visa, not only did my application get rejected, but they put a new 10 day "visa" of unknown type in my passport that said I had ten days to leave the country! By the time I was made aware of this, I only had six days left, thanks to the ineptitude of the visa service people.

I lost about four weeks from the visa that expired on May 20. No one had any solid answers for me, but they did say all the applicants whose previous visas were issued from Qingdao got the boot. No, I never went to Qingdao, but that's where the previous visa service company sent my passport, back in November.

I'm back in the US now, and my knuckles are healing well. I'm sure by now they have replaced the smashed buttons in the elevator at the visa service office.

I am going to start my process again, this time legitimately (within reason). My main question is that when I submit all my paperwork to apply for a proper Z-visa in Washington, are they going to reject my application because of my ten day get-the-hell-out visa? I really hope I haven't been somehow blacklisted. But who would I call to find that out, to save myself the time and effort of applying and then getting rejected?

P.S. Family and friends are nice to see, and man, my Les Paul and Fender Deville 212 sound like God almighty...but after four days, it's time to get out.

[eslstudies]

[North China Laowei]

As I have posted otherwise here and in very, very polite deference to the previous poster, your visa problems had nothing to do with your working on an "F" visa. Nothing at all, IMHO.

As has been very, very widely discussed on this Board, on the Internet, and in all of the major Western newspapers, and in the Official Gazette of the PRC, dated April 14, 2008, new and very stringent visa regulations went into place on April 15, 2008.

Essentially, the F visa is being held in abeyance until at least October 18, 2008. It is still possible to acquire an "F" visa but that requires an official Letter of Invitation from a Chinese (please note "Chinese -- not Western") corporation and this letter needs to be sent to the Foreign Minister where it will receive the "Apostille" of the Foreign Ministry of the PRC. Once this has been done, you would need to take this apostilled letter together with various other documents, etc., etc. In-country "F" visa are NOT being granted anymore.

You were simply given an exit visa, IMHO, which is what it appears to be to leave the country. There may be other factors at play and things that you have divulged to us here which would allow for a more in-depth answer.

There is no shame in having an exit visa affixed to one's passport here in the PRC. For example, if you lost your passport here, and were issued a new one by your respective consulate, you would then need to secure either the transfer and/or reissuance of your previous visa in the lost passport to the new one, but more commonly, the PSB routinely issues this exit kind of a visa.

It had nothing to do with the visa service and Qingdao. I learned in mid-March that Beijing had ordered Shanghai, Qingdao, Beijing itself and various other cities to immediately desist from issuing in-country "F" visas or extensions to "F" and tourist visas.

Subsequently, the rules were quite tightened in both Hong Kong and Macau and additionally thirty-three countries are prohibited from now securing any kind of a PRC visa in Hong Kong. This was also published in the Official Gazette.

You should absolutely check with the Consulate in New York or Washington or wherever you are to see what kind of a visa that you might be given -- I mean in terms of duration, etc., etc. There is still one major city open for business and if you can acquire a tourist visa for thirty days, it is still possible to claim some kind of temporary residence in this city and then have the thirty-day term removed but you would still need to exit the country every thirty-days for three months.

It's not the best situation in the world but frankly as with all things in China, they just didn't implement but first, a "great noise went worth", meaning there was gossip all over about the impending changes, they way they do things here.

[eslstudies]

Well, I may be right. HFG may be right. Let's see.

[samhouston]

[Teatime of Soul]

Glad you enjoyed your (brief) time here.

I hope you can come back with a proper visa and continue the experience.

[North China Laowei]

I really do believe that it was an exit visa. I have seen this before in my years.

I worked with a colleague whose papers were not in order. Initially, the local PSB gave him a 30-day L or F visa (I am not sure now) to arrange things if possible. At the end of this time, he was not able to obtain all of the papers that he needed so they placed a ten-day exit visa in his passport, just like yours.

I know several visa services in Shanghai and when I spoke with them last week on my colleagues' behalf, they told me that they were not issuing any "F" or "L" in-country visas.

Your passport went to Qingdao because the PSB there was more foreigner-friendly. However, a directive went out from Beijing specifically to Qingdao and voila, things changed.

I write this in a friendly manner : I am more concerned about tearing up the elevator in the building where the visa service was located. If that was reported to the PSB, and if your name was attached to the act, that might cause you some inconvenience.

[samhouston]

[arioch36]

In Henan, I have seen that they do not hold such things against you, and you would have no problem coming back on a z-visa. From my experince overall, you also will not have a problem in other parts of China getting a z-visa. Actually, the provincial education office probably wouldn't even have access to this information. They are the ones who issue the invitation letter to get your z-visa.

No I wouldn't think there would be any trouble gettingyour z-visa

[hereinbeijing]

I wish you good luck in your efforts to come back to China.

[samhouston]

[arioch36]

Unless you shot a lot of people ... wait no, unless less you did something really serious, like go to school wearing a certain flag from a certain place, don't worry