Anyone know about China visa for usc

[GZBILL]

This address gives the instructions on how to become a permanent resident in China.

 

Instructions

 

This link is outdated by way of the Chinese Embassy not updating their information. The old "D" visa system mentioned in this article has been eliminated years ago. The only way to get a "D" visa now is to apply for and be approved permanent residency (the new green card system). Once approved by the Ministry of Public Security approximately 6+ months after applying, the MPS will inform the Chinese embassy to issue a "D" visa which must be converted into a green card once the bearer arrives in China.

[GZBILL]

In order to obtain a Chinese green card, you need:

 

* married with a Chinese citizen or Chinese Permanent Resident

* married over 5 years and have lived in China for at least 5 years (9 months of each year during the five year qualifying period must be in China)

* Has stable income and permanent abode (in China)

* Passed the Chinese medical exam

* No criminal record

 

Actually, when you apply for permanent residency based on marriage to a Chinese national or permanent resident they will have to see the following:

 

* married at least 5 years;

* 5 years (min. 9 mos. / year) living in China subsequent to marriage and immediately prior to the date of application for permanent residency;

* stable, long-term legal employment in China;

* stable, long-term legal abode in China;

* pass medical examination; and

* proof of no criminal record in applicant's country of nationality as authenticated by the Chinese embassy in said country.

 

85% of applications are not approved even though one may appear to meet the above stated requirements. Common reasons include failure of the locally conducted background investigation, the wording of the record of no criminal convictions, one's employment / residence is not "stable," "long-term," and / or "legal."

[GZBILL]

China does has the permanent residency system now. It was issued in 2005 or 2006 for the first time, and CCTV reported it. They were issued to the foreigners living in China for years. Similar to the States, you need to be in China to apply for it, not through a Chinese embassy in the States.

 

Actually, you can apply for permanent residency through the Chinese embassy or consulates in the US. The application is forwarded to China where it goes through the same process as those who have applied in-country. If approved, the Chinese embassy or consulate will issue you a "D" visa which must be converted to an actual green card within 30 days of arrival in China.

[GZBILL]

I was thinking of this in case we are denied a visa. I talked to a woman at the PSB and she told me that to do this is very, very difficult. Probably the best you can hope for is renewable 4 or 10 year visas.

 

If you are talking about applying for permanent residency, it is very, very difficult.

 

There are no renewable 4 or 10 year visas based upon being the spouse of a Chinese national or permanent resident. The only thing available is a one-year "L" tourist visa which can be extended continually for equal one-year periods upon expiration. After doing this 5 times, in theory one is qualified to apply for permanent residence. If not qualified, one can continue extending their "L" visa for one-year periods or, by that time, perhaps for longer periods.

[rogerluli]

I was thinking of this in case we are denied a visa. I talked to a woman at the PSB and she told me that to do this is very, very difficult. Probably the best you can hope for is renewable 4 or 10 year visas.

 

If you are talking about applying for permanent residency, it is very, very difficult.

 

There are no renewable 4 or 10 year visas based upon being the spouse of a Chinese national or permanent resident. The only thing available is a one-year "L" tourist visa which can be extended continually for equal one-year periods upon expiration. After doing this 5 times, in theory one is qualified to apply for permanent residence. If not qualified, one can continue extending their "L" visa for one-year periods or, by that time, perhaps for longer periods.

 

BILL you seem to be very knowledgeable about the Chinese Visa situation. The following is the actual blurb about the "L" visa from the Chinese Consulate website. I have stayed longer than 30 days in China with no problems but if they choose to enforce this provision it would make living in China very difficult or can you get unlimited extensions easily (100 RMB notes) from said visa officer...

 

 

 

 

Visa Validity and Duration of Stay

 

Usually the validity of a Single Entry or Double Entry "L" visa is 90 days or 180 days from the date of issue. This means the holder of the visa shall enter China no later than 90 days or 180 days from the date of issue, otherwise the visa is expired and is null and void. The duration of stay of a "L" visa is 30 days, which means the holder of the visa may stay in China for up to 30 days from the date of entry.The visa officer may extend the Duration of Stay if the applicant needs and requests a stay in China for more than 30 days.

[GZBILL]

I was thinking of this in case we are denied a visa. I talked to a woman at the PSB and she told me that to do this is very, very difficult. Probably the best you can hope for is renewable 4 or 10 year visas.

 

If you are talking about applying for permanent residency, it is very, very difficult.

 

There are no renewable 4 or 10 year visas based upon being the spouse of a Chinese national or permanent resident. The only thing available is a one-year "L" tourist visa which can be extended continually for equal one-year periods upon expiration. After doing this 5 times, in theory one is qualified to apply for permanent residence. If not qualified, one can continue extending their "L" visa for one-year periods or, by that time, perhaps for longer periods.

 

BILL you seem to be very knowledgeable about the Chinese Visa situation. The following is the actual blurb about the "L" visa from the Chinese Consulate website. I have stayed longer than 30 days in China with no problems but if they choose to enforce this provision it would make living in China very difficult or can you get unlimited extensions easily (100 RMB notes) from said visa officer...

 

 

 

 

Visa Validity and Duration of Stay

 

Usually the validity of a Single Entry or Double Entry "L" visa is 90 days or 180 days from the date of issue. This means the holder of the visa shall enter China no later than 90 days or 180 days from the date of issue, otherwise the visa is expired and is null and void. The duration of stay of a "L" visa is 30 days, which means the holder of the visa may stay in China for up to 30 days from the date of entry.The visa officer may extend the Duration of Stay if the applicant needs and requests a stay in China for more than 30 days.

 

Are you married to a Chinese citizen?

 

If you are married to a Chinese citizen or permanent resident you can get a one-year "L" visa which allows you to stay in-country, if you desire, without leaving for the entire year. This visa can be renewed annually for like periods of time.

 

If you are not married to a qualifying individual, you are basically stuck with what you have quoted above. Lately visa issues have been tightened in China and it is difficult to get longer "L" visas. "L" visas can be extended here in China, but I have never heard of more than 2 extensions.

 

If you are not married to a qualifying indiovidual and need more time than an "L" visa allows, consider an "F" visa. You can usually pick them up in Hong Kong and they often will allow you a one-year period within which you must exit every 6 months.

 

Another option is using a visa agent inside China. There are tons of them and they all seem to be able to get one-year "F" visas and 6-month "L" visas. That said, things are getting stricter now and even visa agents may have problems in the near future.

[rogerluli]

I was thinking of this in case we are denied a visa. I talked to a woman at the PSB and she told me that to do this is very, very difficult. Probably the best you can hope for is renewable 4 or 10 year visas.

 

If you are talking about applying for permanent residency, it is very, very difficult.

 

There are no renewable 4 or 10 year visas based upon being the spouse of a Chinese national or permanent resident. The only thing available is a one-year "L" tourist visa which can be extended continually for equal one-year periods upon expiration. After doing this 5 times, in theory one is qualified to apply for permanent residence. If not qualified, one can continue extending their "L" visa for one-year periods or, by that time, perhaps for longer periods.

 

BILL you seem to be very knowledgeable about the Chinese Visa situation. The following is the actual blurb about the "L" visa from the Chinese Consulate website. I have stayed longer than 30 days in China with no problems but if they choose to enforce this provision it would make living in China very difficult or can you get unlimited extensions easily (100 RMB notes) from said visa officer...

 

 

 

 

Visa Validity and Duration of Stay

 

Usually the validity of a Single Entry or Double Entry "L" visa is 90 days or 180 days from the date of issue. This means the holder of the visa shall enter China no later than 90 days or 180 days from the date of issue, otherwise the visa is expired and is null and void. The duration of stay of a "L" visa is 30 days, which means the holder of the visa may stay in China for up to 30 days from the date of entry.The visa officer may extend the Duration of Stay if the applicant needs and requests a stay in China for more than 30 days.

 

Are you married to a Chinese citizen?

 

If you are married to a Chinese citizen or permanent resident you can get a one-year "L" visa which allows you to stay in-country, if you desire, without leaving for the entire year. This visa can be renewed annually for like periods of time.

 

If you are not married to a qualifying individual, you are basically stuck with what you have quoted above. Lately visa issues have been tightened in China and it is difficult to get longer "L" visas. "L" visas can be extended here in China, but I have never heard of more than 2 extensions.

 

If you are not married to a qualifying indiovidual and need more time than an "L" visa allows, consider an "F" visa. You can usually pick them up in Hong Kong and they often will allow you a one-year period within which you must exit every 6 months.

 

Another option is using a visa agent inside China. There are tons of them and they all seem to be able to get one-year "F" visas and 6-month "L" visas. That said, things are getting stricter now and even visa agents may have problems in the near future.

 

Well I am currently married to a Chinese citizen but she wants to become a USC... so we may be in the "seeing what the future brings" crowd...

[GZBILL]

Well I am currently married to a Chinese citizen but she wants to become a USC... so we may be in the "seeing what the future brings" crowd...

 

As long as your spouse is actually a PRC national now and has valid "hukou", you are eligible for the one-year "L" visa. Now, this "L" visa is not granted by the Chinese consulate. The consulate will only give you the normal 30 or 60 day "L" visa. Upon arrival in China, you go to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and they are the ones who will change your visa into one with one-year validity. Again, this visa can be renewed annually for like periods of time.

 

There are a few things to take notice of. One can not legally work on an "L" visa. The "L" visa must be applied for at the PSB where the Chinese spouse maintains their "hukou" unless the Chinese spouse has a valid temporary living permit in another city through their employer.

 

To apply for the special "L" visa, you need to present, obviously, your passport and your spouse to the PSB. The spouse also needs to have their "hukou" book and ID card in addition to your original marriage certificate. If the marriage took place outside of China, you are often required to have the marriage certificate authenticated by the Chinese consulate serving the location where the marriage certificate was originally issued.

 

Since China does not recognize dual citizenship, if your spouse obtains US citizenship, she will lose their Chinese citizenship.

Edited August 2, 2007 by GZBILL (see edit history)

[chilton747]

Great info GZBILL. Thankssssssss

[SirLancelot]

Hi GZBILL,

 

This one-year L visa you mentioned below, is this a one-entry or multiple entry visa? It would be very useful to have a multiple entry one year visa which doesn't have the common 90 day limit per entry.

 

Well I am currently married to a Chinese citizen but she wants to become a USC... so we may be in the "seeing what the future brings" crowd...

 

As long as your spouse is actually a PRC national now and has valid "hukou", you are eligible for the one-year "L" visa. Now, this "L" visa is not granted by the Chinese consulate. The consulate will only give you the normal 30 or 60 day "L" visa. Upon arrival in China, you go to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and they are the ones who will change your visa into one with one-year validity. Again, this visa can be renewed annually for like periods of time.

 

There are a few things to take notice of. One can not legally work on an "L" visa. The "L" visa must be applied for at the PSB where the Chinese spouse maintains their "hukou" unless the Chinese spouse has a valid temporary living permit in another city through their employer.

 

To apply for the special "L" visa, you need to present, obviously, your passport and your spouse to the PSB. The spouse also needs to have their "hukou" book and ID card in addition to your original marriage certificate. If the marriage took place outside of China, you are often required to have the marriage certificate authenticated by the Chinese consulate serving the location where the marriage certificate was originally issued.

 

Since China does not recognize dual citizenship, if your spouse obtains US citizenship, she will lose their Chinese citizenship.

[GZBILL]

Hi GZBILL,

 

This one-year L visa you mentioned below, is this a one-entry or multiple entry visa? It would be very useful to have a multiple entry one year visa which doesn't have the common 90 day limit per entry.

 

Yes, it is multiple entry and you may come and go as you please during that period. Or you can just stay the entire year without leaving.

[rogerluli]

Well I am currently married to a Chinese citizen but she wants to become a USC... so we may be in the "seeing what the future brings" crowd...

 

As long as your spouse is actually a PRC national now and has valid "hukou", you are eligible for the one-year "L" visa. Now, this "L" visa is not granted by the Chinese consulate. The consulate will only give you the normal 30 or 60 day "L" visa. Upon arrival in China, you go to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and they are the ones who will change your visa into one with one-year validity. Again, this visa can be renewed annually for like periods of time.

 

There are a few things to take notice of. One can not legally work on an "L" visa. The "L" visa must be applied for at the PSB where the Chinese spouse maintains their "hukou" unless the Chinese spouse has a valid temporary living permit in another city through their employer.

 

To apply for the special "L" visa, you need to present, obviously, your passport and your spouse to the PSB. The spouse also needs to have their "hukou" book and ID card in addition to your original marriage certificate. If the marriage took place outside of China, you are often required to have the marriage certificate authenticated by the Chinese consulate serving the location where the marriage certificate was originally issued.

 

Since China does not recognize dual citizenship, if your spouse obtains US citizenship, she will lose their Chinese citizenship.

 

This is great info Bill... I've never seen it laid out so precisely before. Thanks very much...

[GZBILL]

One thing I didn't mention ...

 

Once you arrive in China on whatever visa you have, you need to apply for the special one-year "L" visa in the city where the Chinese spouse / permament resident has their hukou. Any other location will generally refuse your application unless the Chinese spouse is present and working in that city. The only way the PSB will allow you to prove that is if the spouse has both a letter from her employer and a copy of her employment contract with that employer that has been endorsed by the labor bureau in the city where you apply.

 

That is to say, if the spouse holds hukou in, say, Shanghai, you'd need to apply in Shanghai.

 

If the spouse holding hukou in Shanghai resides in, say, Beijing, unless they can present a valid employment contract emdorsed by the Beijing labor bureau & a letter from her employer, Beijing will refuse to issue the visa and tell you to go to Shanghai. Valid employment contracts emdorsed by the labor bureau or generally only obtainable if the person has a permanent or long-term position in a stable company. Working at, say, some small or informal enterprise probably won't cut it.

 

Still, even with some of the obstacles in place, this sytem is far, far better than what there was before: zilch!

[jbray]

My SO researched the 1 year L visa while we were in China. She was told the same thing by the PSB as what Bill is saying.

 

There are many ways to stay in China long term. If you can't get the L visa, the F visa is a great option. If you want to shell out about $500, you can get a 1 year student visa (with temprary residence card) and one semester of tuition for learning Chinese (it's really a great deal). But, again, none of them will let you work... If you don't mind teaching English, you can pretty easily get a work visa. They try to make the rules strict for getting work visas, but most of the schools know ways around that.

[GZBILL]

My SO researched the 1 year L visa while we were in China. She was told the same thing by the PSB as what Bill is saying.

 

There are many ways to stay in China long term. If you can't get the L visa, the F visa is a great option. If you want to shell out about $500, you can get a 1 year student visa (with temprary residence card) and one semester of tuition for learning Chinese (it's really a great deal). But, again, none of them will let you work... If you don't mind teaching English, you can pretty easily get a work visa. They try to make the rules strict for getting work visas, but most of the schools know ways around that.

 

Recently in the major cities issues relating to visas and working are getting sticky. One used to be able to get long-term F visas as easy as just paying $100, but now even F visas are generally limited to 60-day stays. One also used to be able to enter on an L or F visa and then "upgrade" to a Z visa upon finding employment. Now almost all visa changes from one type to another require the individual to exit China first.

 

In Shanghai and now Beijing, the PSB is conducting quarterly visits to all registered foreigners and conducting surprise inspections where ever foreigners are living and, more commonly these days, working. They claim it is in buildup for the Olympics, but I am not convinced.

 

The only major city where nobody cares what you do or for how long you do it is Guangzhou. Perhaps that will also be changing.