yuehan123

And, on a similar topic. My wife applied, in person, at the Chinese Embassy Visa section. The worker stated: "...let me see your round trip airline ticket..." Although I provided hotel reservations they were neither requested nor submitted. R/T ticket and requesedt stay was for 34 days. The visa: Tourist L multiple entry for one year, 30 days max stay each visit was issued. My wife has been to China as a US citizen many times. Never issued only 30 days prior to this. Something else. Our lady friend returned to China Nov. 1. She applied for a "family" Visa using the R/T ticket and an Invitation letter. She was issued a multiple entry 2 year, 30 day max stay Q2 Visa. HUH? 30 days to go stay with family? Gets to the question I raised earlier this year, "Is it the Q2 visa that gets you pulled aside upon entry with the 'warning' to update your household residence?" We will soon find out.

Just received this in an e-mail from China Visa Service 0ct 21, 2013: Tourist Invitation Letters The Chinese Consulate in Houston and Chicago no longer accept the sample tourist invitation letter on our website. Your inviter must write and sign a personal letter addressed to the consulate with the same information included. This sample letter can be used as a reference to ensure that all the relevant information is provided to the consulate in the inviter's letter. The sample tourist invitation letter is still accepted at our San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and New York offices.

Add another card to the no foreign transaction fee list. Keep an eye on anouncements regarding your card. I'd expect more cards to follow. "Your United MileagePlus® Explorer Card is enhancing your travel experience with a rewarding new benefit. Effective June 1, purchases made with your Card outside the U.S. are no longer subject to foreign transaction fees. Just one more benefit of being a Cardmember."

A link to a list of cards without foreign transaction fees. http://www.drcreditcard.net/fr-0-forex.html

1. Has anyone used....? We use a USA based Paypal Account linked to a USA Bank, not to transfer money though. The relative in China holds the USA Paypal ATM Debit card. The relative can withdraw money at will from those ATMs that allow it, up to 1,000 rmb per day. Worried about mailing a card? Don't. Hand carry it. Or, simply do not actviate it until the relative has it. 1a. When we travel we do the same thing with a second Paypal account for our own personal expenses. 1,000 rmb limit per 24 hour period. It weems to me the 'fee' is something like $1.00 per transaction. A sample withdrawal pasted from my PPal: -$164.47 Fee: -$1.00 Total: -$165.47 USD So, the 'fee' is US $1.00 per withdrawal. 2. My wife has a BOC account. My wife and I both have a China Construction Bank (CCB) on line linked account with Debit cards and my wife has a CCB credit card linked for on line use. In another thread I tell the story of my failure, not to link a Chinese Paypal Account to CCB, rather the failure of China Paypal/CCB to allow me to transfer money to or from the bank. 3. Send money directly? This is probably the easiest part. Use Western Union. Use your USA bank and send a wire transfer. In either case it must be picked up, in RMB, by the receiver. Let the family deposit it? We have done that, in the past. CCB told us that effective Jan 2013 only the account holder with account holder ID in hand could make transactions. Remains to be seen if they enforce it. We have not tried. 4. Fees? There are most likely fees involved on both ends for all transfers.

Thanks. Seriously, I will not pursue this project any further.

We get a bill for all utilities here in China and the mobile phone company will give you a paper copy if you go to their office. Were it so simple & easy I would done it already. We (my wife & I) are in the US. We no longer own a Chinese based cellphone. The Electric Utility at the house we own is in my wife's father's name. The house ownership paper is in her 'maiden' name. The Bank Accounts, and therefore, Paypal are in her US Passport name. Don't overlook the Paypal Account requirement that all names for linked, verified, sending, withdrawing and proof of residence accounts or bills must match, exactly, the name used to create the Paypal account. Even if I did successfuly verify the Credit card charges and jump through whatever other hoops Paypal requests, I still could neither take money from the CCB account into Paypal nor send money from Paypal to the CCB account electronically. It is not allowed. The Paypal China Worldwide account allows only two types of transactions: 1. Wire transfer for $35. That is neither a bargain nor a benefit. 2. Free On line electronic transfer to a Hong Kong Bank Account. There in lies a partial answer. Go to Hong Kong and open an account that is also useful in Mainland China. Then, you will have electronic transfer from Paypal. But, it's not for me. Later, 'somebody' can say how easy and great it all is and then, tell the rest of us how to do it.

That's it. I quit. Now the Paypal China Worldwide is locked. PayPal is constantly working to ensure security by regularly screening the accounts in our system. We recently reviewed your account, and we need more information to help us provide you with secure service. Until we can collect this information, your access to sensitive account features will be limited. We would like to restore your access as soon as possible, and we apologize for the inconvenience. Begin a limitation review Date Limited Required Response Status Action 2013-Mar-30 Confirm your credit cardTo confirm you are the credit card owner, we'll charge a small amount to your credit card. After you confirm the amount, we'll credit your PayPal account for the amount charged. Waiting for your response 2013-Mar-30 Proof of AddressTo confirm your address, please send us a copy of a bill that shows your name and address. Helpful documents include a utility bill, a cell phone bill, an insurance bill, or a tuition bill. Waiting for your response Yeah, right. As if my wife has any of those....from China, I mean. Oh, by the way, the name must exactly match the name you used to open the Paypal Account.

did I mention- oh, brother, it's not worth attempting this with Paypal? Log in to your PayPal account as soon as possible Dear >>>>>> Recently, there's been activity in your PayPal account that seems unusual compared to your normal account activities. Please log in to PayPal to confirm your identity and update your password and security questions. To help protect your account, no one can send money or withdraw money. In addition, no one can close your account, send refunds, remove any bank accounts, or remove credit cards. What's going on? We're concerned that someone is using your PayPal account without your knowledge. Recent activity from your account seems to have occurred from a suspicious location or under circumstances that may be different than usual.

Re: Unable to send money right now. They said it on the Chengdu forum, but, I'm not tech enough to realize what it meant: "Do not use a VPN for Paypal China Worldwide." Huhhh? From wikipedia- "...A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across public networks like the Internet. " Yep, I was using a sort of VPN. Logged out, logged in to Firefox with standard Trusteer Rapport protection and the send money from US to China went right through. One problem solved.

Just got off the phone with escalated support at Paypal. The gist of our conversation: 1. No. You can't transfer funds from your bank account to your PayPal account. The Paypal agent stated, "..that is a Chinese Banking Regulation." 2. Send Money Error Message: "We're sorry, but we can't send your payment right now." The Paypal agent explained, "...this is because it looks like you are not using the same computer that created the account." Correct, it would look that way. 3. Finally, the withdrawal problem, a partial screenshot from the account's Bank account webpage: Bank Account Select Bank Account Status China Construction Bank China For Verification only** ** For verification only bank cannot be used for withdrawal. Again, according to the Paypal agent, I cannot withdraw money from the China Worldwide Account because, "...in China that is a Bank-by-Bank decisioh to allow or not allow."

Thanks, Dan. I wanted to go the same direction as the OP. Anyway, the first denial is specific: No. You can't transfer funds from your bank account to your PayPal account. I have two Banks linked. One in the US and one in China. Now, it's a few minutes later and I said to my own great self, "OK, self, so start slowly by putting money into the China Paypal from the US Paypal." We (wife and I) each have a standard US Paypal. The result from the send money page begins with- "You can pay for purchases and services or send money to friends and family. Send Money Error Message: "We're sorry, but we can't send your payment right now." I think I'll go stay with those Zen monks in the desert while I wait for "right now" to pass, whatever right now means.

Interesting Dan, thanks for posting. I'll have to take a look at this < https://cms.paypal.com/c2/cgi-bin/marketingweb?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=marketing_c2/FAQs_China_UnionPay_Payments > link in more detail when I have some time. Well, that's about my luck. I read the Chengdu forum info. I asked my wife to translate the all-Chinese instruction page linked above. She said, "That info is no help for us..." because it pertains to 'getting' on-line acces which we already have. So, following up on theChengdu forum I opened a new Paypal China Worldwide Account and did successfully link our CCB account to it. And then, from the Help Menu- "Can I transfer funds from my bank account to my PayPal account? No. You can't transfer funds from your bank account to your PayPal account. If you want to make payments but you don't have funds on your PayPal account balance, you can use a debit or credit card that is linked to your PayPal account instead." And this- "Can I add funds to my PayPal account? No. You can't add funds to your PayPal account for the time being. However, you can send payments using your credit card." And, the final straw- "Sorry we cannot add your Credit card to this account." This is the CCB Union Pay Master Card that is linked to the aforementioned CCB account and which we do use to make inside China Airline purchases. sigh....

We also bought and paid for a house in China by using US Dollars from US to China. Back in 2007. We did this two ways: 1. East-West Bank out there in California. We authorized wire transfer by mail. That is, we made the first transfer in the Bank's office and signed the appropriate paperwork to authorize all future wire transfers be by mail. We sent the money to the father-in-law's account on several different occassions. Never heard from any gov't agent then, or since then, about how much or why. 2. We were physically in China during the house construction and decoration stages. We took advantage of our 3 Bank accounts and 5 ATM Debit cards to withdraw the max (in RMB) from each card on most days. Frequently, I had to call the Bank to re-authorize the now frozen cards in spite of having pre-approved the cards for use prior to travel. I don't blame them (much) for freezing the accounts- we took out the max day after day. At that time, an earlier post in this thread already advised caution, time and rules and people have all changed, B of A and China Construction Bank (CCB) had a no fee ATM use agreement. p.s. CCB told my wife last fall that effective Jan 2013 an account holder must appear in person with the ID used to open the account to get money out or receive a wire transfer. Don't laugh. The family used to be able to get money, or move money out for us. No more.

Yep, so far........... We also have avoided the issue. So far. I had hoped to find out if this had any ring of truth to it or, is this another case of ridiculous rumour mongering arising out of 002 or just somebodys' own paranoia. Of course the deal, if it's to be any kind of deal, big or small, is how will it affect our Chinese born US Citzen wives who are ID based property owners if the local ID is 'suddenly' confiscated. Of course, the person who told my wife about this could not, and did not provide any reference whatsoever except to say, "Oh, I know it's true, it's been a law for years. It's on all the web sites."

You know- somebody said, Starting next year (2013) Chinese born naturalized US Citizens will have their local ID cards confiscted based on an "new" system linking Chinese or US Passports to local IDs. This is just a really bad rumor, right?

Seems to me the Visarite services web site FAQs covers this: " FAQs Regarding New Requirement for Chinese Tourist Visa Application Effective immediately, Tourist Visa applicants must provide one of the following documents: A) Photocopy of round-trip airline ticket AND hotel reservation; OR B ) Invitation Letter for Tourist Individual/Group issued by a Duly Authorized Tourism Unit; OR C) Private Invitation Letter by individuals. If the invitation is issued by an individual, a photocopy of that person's Chinese ID is required. If the inviter is not a Chinese citizen, a photocopy of the inviter's passport, together with a photocopy of inviter's China residence permit is required. The Private invitation letter sent by individuals in China must include the following items: (a) Personal information of the application: name, gender, date of birth, passport number, etc. (b ) Information concerning the applicant's visit to China: purpose of the visit, date of arrival and leaving, places to visit, relationship between the applicant and the inviter, and who will bear the cost of the applicant's accommodations in China. (c ) Information of the inviter: name of the individual, phone number, address and signature of the inviter. Invitation letter can be submitted as a photocopy. However, original invitation may be requested at visa officer's discretion. 1) What if I don't have an airline ticket? You may provide a confirmed flight itinerary or E-ticket itinerary to the same effect. A round-trip flight itinerary emailed or faxed to you by airlines or travel agency is acceptable. If you use flight itinerary, it must be on travel agent or airlines letter head or printed from airlines website. The flight itinerary must show guest name, detail flights, confirmation number or record locator. Please highlight your name, arrival & departure dates and flights on the itinerary. FYI, flight itinerary format is also important, if it doesn't look official, it may be rejected. Please refer to the link below for samples of acceptable flight itinerary format. http://www.visarite.com/images/clip/3cbulgr.gif http://www.visarite.com/Sample_Flight_Itinerary.htm Hint: if you don't feel comfortable to purchase a non-refundable ticket before you obtain the visa, you may call a travel agency to make a flight reservation for you. Travel agency will normally allow you to change or cancel reservation later with only a minimal fee. You may also contact with Asia Connect Tours at: (800) 803-3656 for assistance. 2) What if I don't have hotel reservation? That depends. If you stay with your relative or friend in mainland China, you will need to provide a signed invitation letter specify your name, relationship between the two, address and duration of the stay. The signed invitation letter must be postal mailed or faxed. Otherwise, you must provide hotel confirmation. Hotel confirmation must show your name as guest, duration of stay, hotel address. Please highlight your name, arrival & departure dates and hotel address. FYI, hotel confirmation format is also important, if it doesn't look official, it may be rejected. Please refer to the link below for samples of acceptable hotel confirmation format. http://www.visarite.com/images/clip/3cbulgr.gif <a href="http://www.visarite.com/Sample_Hotel_Confirmation.htm" target="_blank">http://www.visarite.com/Sample_Hotel_Confirmation.htm Hint: Hotel confirmation is safe proof, better than invitation letter. Further, you may change or cancel hotel later without worrying about your visa. Most hotels do not charge penalty, if you cancel 48 hours before arrival. www.Hotels.com is a good place to review hotels, see rates and make reservation. Note the part that says, "...The signed invitation letter must be postal mailed or faxed...." Bold text is original.

As with all things in life, and as with this forum- It all depends. It happened to us, so go figure for your self. We took a package to a Chinese Post Office to mail to the US. They said "open it....nope you can't send that and you can't send that...' So, as with all these things, you pays your money and you take yor chances.

Congratulations. My wife's parents have not been here for a visit. Furtherr, I am somewhat surprised your post is one week old and nobody has answerred you. If my in-laws did visit I would: 1. Make sure a sheet of plywood was available for a firm bed. 2. Find a way to let them watch Chinese Language TV, Movies and News. Lot's of advice on that in other forums. Communications, perhaps. 3. Determine their favorite food to eat in China and then find out where can I get it? 4. #3 leads to find out where the nearest, and greatest, Chinese market is. Not Asian, not Vietneamese, not Philipino, although they are useful, sometimes the products carried are different. 5. Find the nearest big Chinatown. 6. Take them on a driving, even better, camping trip if your circumstances permit it.

Hard as it is to accept, it is still all about the money. That is, how much money does Mom have, and still earn, in China? It doesn't matter if mom and dad own their own house. It matters not how much money the sponser(s) have. That's a direct quote from the Chengdu staff's e-mail on my wife's parent's failed attempt there. And yes, we failed several times at GUZ, were rebuffed (denied an opportuntiy to apply at Shanghai & Bejing, even though the new rules say you can apply "anywhere" and finally denied again at Chengdu. Once denied, the applicant will be denied until something SIGNIFICANT changes. Oh, yes, sure, I agree- try and try again. You might make it.

In an earlier reply I stated my opinion that those low airfare websites are a joke. Here's the headline and the link: DOT fines Orbitz $60,000 for deceptive advertising http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/18/8383116-dot-fines-orbitz-60000-for-deceptive-advertising

Look, face it, first of all those 'Come On See My Low Fare Sites' are a joke. With rare exception their fares rarely include taxes, fees and surcharges. Worse, good luck trying to book a real seat. Our recent and cheapest fares to Nanning have been through Hong Kong.

It's been a few years since my sweetie arrived. I recall detailed threads from that time period on tax choices and their consequences. Sadly, my recall is limited to this: 1. A standard recommendation to seek competent tax advice. 2. Something about a 'used to be required' first year statement regarding filing status required by the IRS.

Here is how some, although not Chinese Teachers, did it... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44708445/ns/today-education_nation/t/foreign-teachers-american-dreams-vanish-flash/ Probably doesn't apply in your situation, rather it points out what we already know. It depends on who you know. I seem to recall as I researched this article that the number 29,000 "imported" teachers came to mind. Another case I have heard of involves a Chemistry Teacher, supposedly highly rated in China. In fact, her transcripts did not convert to a full BS Degree. Consequently, in order to obtain a BS Degree she needs additional credits. She needs to meet the local College's minimun 2 year in residence graduation requirement. And, just as was stated above, she will likely need "remedial" courses following whatever her pre-placement test result are. Sadly, she has too many credits and is ineligible to attend local Junior College. I'm sure I've read of success stories over the years. The devil is in getting the nitty gritty details of how it was done. Exactly. There are authorized Agents who,for a fee, will analyze the transcripts, translating them, if necessary, and give you (and the school) a full report.4 weeks is not enough time to do this before you arrive in the US. My meaning was to try and make sure of the BS prior to leaving China. And, I don't mean the Chinese BS, I mean the Agency Rated Equivalency. Good Luck on this important project.

Not so fast.............this is only simple if you are not reboarding for a domestic flight. I once filled a hot water bottle at Shanghai's Pudong airport after security and prior to boarding. They made me pour it out during a carry on backpack inspection that took place after collecting boarding passes. My wife bought duty free perfume on the way to Hong Kong. They took it away from her carry on prior to her domestic flight. Whats the rhyme- 4 each of 4 oz in a 1 quart bag?