Job Discussion Forums

[gaobidzi]

Hi all.

Firstly theres something to be careful of if you happen to be a careless person like me.

Like many I went to HK to get my 6 month F visa 3 months ago (April) to be told I could only get a L visa "can go 2 times in out". What I didn't realise was that I actually had to leave China every 30 days thinking that I was good til July. Please read your visa carefully as its quite clear (030 on the right hand side) unless your stupid like me and quite a few others according to the internet.

The July part isn't the time you can stay till, it's the time you can enter up until. My bad but I blame the HK people as well.

Ok the result is a 55 day overstay and a 5000 maximum yuan fine. I am lucky, my lady has big guanxi (relationship) and I helped out a lot at the hospital after the earthquake (I'm in Sichuan and went through it) so the result was a warning and 2 days lost at the local police station. I'm lucky but many have to pay the 5000yuan.

And I'm Ok now because through our guanxi I was able to also score a 2 month F visa at the front counter, 160yuan, very happy about that!

But just before that, a ex-pat Chengdu visa service run by a Spanish Guy had got me a letter from the Sichuan Dept of Labour (800yuan) which i was to take to HK with a Chinese hotel booking and return flight tickets and front up at the Chinese Embassy to get my F visa - they said my chance was very good (older and not a teacher) but some do get knocked back

But I already have it now so no trip to HK.

These next days I will go to the visa service who tell me for 3500yuan (and various docs of course) they will get me a Z visa and I don't have to go out of China again. Later we will change this for a working residence visa apparently (I do have a job with a very helpful company).

I do have to have a medical in Chengdu and when i first came to China 3 years ago my own countrys medical wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

Hope some of this helps, especially about the L visa crapola.

By the way, although doubtful they would, in law the PSB can reduce the 5000 fine if they so desire and a local police station can not fine you more than 500 (you have commited a crime by overstaying therefore it is delt with by your local police who are out of the PSB's touch by the way)

[vikuk]

With all those guanxi loopholes - I wonder if the authorities have managed to keep anybody out who really wanted to get in. Can Olympic security and the tight visa regulations hold up against the temptation of making a few backhander bucks