MartinaM

Thank you! Best of luck to you on the remainder of your visa process.

Just an update on my situation in case anyone else is in a similar situation. I had my interview last Thursday and my visa was approved (yay!). The VO said that I could keep my passport and send it back after completing my flight. I chose not to do this as I want my visa issued as soon as possible, so left my passport with the consulate. Before going to Guangzhou I went to the local PSB and asked for a notorized copy of my passport. It took about an hour and cost 60RMB. I also went to my university and got my Foreign Experts Certificate (it is a photo ID). When I got to immigration at Guangzhou airport I handed in my FEC, he looked at it for a minute, checked the stamp, and let me through. No problem! I had the notorized copy of my passport as a back up but I guess the FEC was enough to travel on.

Just an update on my situation in case anyone else is in a similar situation. I had my interview last Thursday and my visa was approved (yay!). The VO said that I could keep my passport and send it back after completing my flight. I chose not to do this as I want my visa issued as soon as possible, so left my passport with the consulate. Before going to Guangzhou I went to the local PSB and asked for a notorized copy of my passport. It took about an hour and cost 60RMB. I also went to my university and got my Foreign Experts Certificate (it is a photo ID). When I got to immigration at Guangzhou airport I handed in my FEC, he looked at it for a minute, checked the stamp, and let me through. No problem! I had the notorized copy of my passport as a back up but I guess the FEC was enough to travel on.

I went through this difficult process back in August and I'll tell you how I had to do it. 1. Go to your PSB (with your passport) and explain to them what you want. They will give you a form (mine was in a sealed envelope) that you will need to take to your local police station. It should be the police station where you registered when you entered China. I had to ask my university for this information. 2. You need to get proof of your residence/reason you are in China. I had to ask my university to provide a stamped document (in Chinese) saying that I was employed with them, including dates, passport number etc. Make a few copies of this. 3. Go to your local police station (bring passport, passport photos, and the proof of employment letter) and ask them to fill out the form stating that they have no knowledge of your criminal record. This should only take a few minutes. 4. Take all of these documents to your PSB and they will have you fill out a few more forms there or request additional information. 5. You pay the fee at the PSB (mine was 600RMB) and they will call you when it is ready. Mine took about 2 weeks. I know the process probably differs in different areas (this was in Wenzhou, Zhejiang) but it's somewhere to start. I was going crazy for about a month before I got it figured out. They don't really seem to know the process so be persuasive that this is what you need!

Great! Thank you for explaining my options. Do you think it would be possible to travel back using my drivers licence? I'm not sure if the airport officer would accept it. Or any other form of picture I.D.

Hi, I am in a very similar situation now myself. I'm just wondering if you figured it out? Any advice? Thanks!