Chinese green card

[mahko]

Hi, Was wondering if anyone has info or has gone through getting a Chinese green card? In reading, it suggests they can be granted upon 5 years of 9 months of living there. My wife is a Chinese citizen. We have a home and stable retirement income but she's retired and I will July of this year. Now in America. We assume she'll lose her green card with me having to be in China for 9 months of the years. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated!! Have a great day!!

[Randy W]

See http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/47314-applying-for-a-chinese-green-card/?tab=comments#comment-617361

I still haven't applied for one, but that's partly because I'm retired, and partly because getting a resident permit is the path of lesser resistance. 

[Martin B]

9 hours ago, Randy W said:

See http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/47314-applying-for-a-chinese-green-card/?tab=comments#comment-617361

I still haven't applied for one, but that's partly because I'm retired, and partly because getting a resident permit is the path of lesser resistance. 

Are you aware of foreigners that have gotten one? In another forum I saw a couple complaints about hold ups in processing. The one guy I know of that got one has a very good R&D job, married with kids, owns a house in Shanghai and is pretty well off. Apparently his wife's family was able to "make a few calls" to speed the process up.

[Randy W]

Yes - there are some, but each time my residence permit comes up for renewal, Jiaying has some reason not to bother with the green card. This year, she doesn't want to have to go to Nanning for the medical. I'll need to get a police report from the US when she decides to go for it.

The residence permit is just the path of least resistance each time.

[mahko]

Thanks for the replies!! So Randy...is the residence permit a slam dunk you're always going to get? My concern would be the ability to deny at some point down the road? Course they can deny a green card too.

[Randy W]

A green card is permanent residency - a residence permit is no longer valid once it expires.

A green card can be revoked, but the residence permit must be applied for all over again.

So if Jiaying were to pass away, or get a divorce, I would no longer be eligible for a new (family reunion) residence permit. But the green card (theoretically at least) would still be valid and renewable.

I don't think I'd care to leave any money in a Chinese bank account (beyond what we spend) if that is required, but I don't think that it will be required for a marriage-based green card.

Visas issued by your local PSB (I'm including residence permits here) seem to always be unlimited stay. That is, you won't need to make a border run ever.

Yes, it seems like the PSB_issued visas are pretty much "slam dunk", but the green card has stricter requirements, and must be approved in Beijing.

Edited January 17, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Martin B]

How long do residency permits last? 3-5 years?  Also would it be possible to get a residency permit if my wife naturalizes in the US? Could we use some sort of Q2 visa to visit her sister, uncle, parents and then apply for a residency permit once in China? 

[Randy W]

No - it's more like 1, 2, or 3 years - I'm over 62, so I get 3 year permits.

They are 'family reunion' permits, so, yes, you can get them, even if you are both American citizens, as long as she has family in China.

You are usually told to get a Q-1 visa in order to enter China and apply for a residence permit, but i'm pretty sure you can apply for the permit as long as you are legally in China, say, on a Q-2 visa. But that visa is usually voided when you get the residence permit.

[Martin B]

1 hour ago, Randy W said:

No - it's more like 1, 2, or 3 years - I'm over 62, so I get 3 year permits.

They are 'family reunion' permits, so, yes, you can get them, even if you are both American citizens, as long as she has family in China.

You are usually told to get a Q-1 visa in order to enter China and apply for a residence permit, but i'm pretty sure you can apply for the permit as long as you are legally in China, say, on a Q-2 visa. But that visa is usually voided when you get the residence permit.

Awesome - hopefully they'd allow this conversion from a tourist L visa as well, since those are a lot more straightforward to get. I know of several Chinese that have US passports and had a really tough time with the Q2 visa, either getting less than the 180 days, or only getting 2 years duration, or whatever. Either way, who knows what the rules will be 10+ years out when this becomes an issue for us. I'm trying to get my wife to hold off on naturalizing, at least until she has the 10-year GC in hand (ETA 2022) and we see what the situation looks like politically in the US in the next few years  to keep our options open, but she wants to apply as soon as she is eligible...

[Randy W]

You're not really "converting" - you simply purchase a NEW visa or residence permit.

Many expats think that you need a Z-visa to work in China - not true. As long as they issue you a work permit and an employment related residence permit, you're good to go.

My original visa was an L-visa. The Yulin PSB issued my work permit and residence permit without requiring a Z-visa. When I stopped working, they issued me L-visas with no length of stay limitation, saying they only issued residence permits for employment. Beginning around 2014, they began issuing "family reunion" residence permits. When I left right before a residence permit expired in 2015, I had to get a Q-1 visa to return. I asked for a 10-year Q-2, figuring it would be a good backup, but they said no, get a Q-1. I'm sure that they now cancel your old visa when issuing the residence permit, so it wouldn't have made any difference.

There's a thread here somewhere from someone who wanted to submit his I-130 DCF while on a Q-2 visa. The American visa officer told him he needed to leave China and re-apply for a Q-1. I told him no, don't do that. Just go to the PSB and get a residence permit. When he returned to the consulate with his residence permit, the same visa officer accepted his I-130. Much quicker than having to file stateside.

[Martin B]

15 hours ago, Randy W said:

You're not really "converting" - you simply purchase a NEW visa or residence permit.

Many expats think that you need a Z-visa to work in China - not true. As long as they issue you a work permit and an employment related residence permit, you're good to go.

My original visa was an L-visa. The Yulin PSB issued my work permit and residence permit without requiring a Z-visa. When I stopped working, they issued me L-visas with no length of stay limitation, saying they only issued residence permits for employment. Beginning around 2014, they began issuing "family reunion" residence permits. When I left right before a residence permit expired in 2015, I had to get a Q-1 visa to return. I asked for a 10-year Q-2, figuring it would be a good backup, but they said no, get a Q-1. I'm sure that they now cancel your old visa when issuing the residence permit, so it wouldn't have made any difference.

There's a thread here somewhere from someone who wanted to submit his I-130 DCF while on a Q-2 visa. The American visa officer told him he needed to leave China and re-apply for a Q-1. I told him no, don't do that. Just go to the PSB and get a residence permit. When he returned to the consulate with his residence permit, the same visa officer accepted his I-130. Much quicker than having to file stateside.

Good to know, thanks Randy, in case Huawei offers me that sweet $500k/year gig next time I'm visiting on a tourist visa 😂.

Of course, I know these things can depend on how competent/motivated the local PSB is.  Last time we were visiting my in-laws in my wife's T3/T4 hometown, we went to register my stay and the three guys at the desk didn't know how to do it (two had never seen a foreigner before). Just told me to stay out of trouble and it was all good. Made me nervous going through exit immigration when we were leaving. When my wife asked about renouncing our daughter's Chinese citizenship they were on the phone for 30+ minute with the office in Guangzhou. And these rules change a lot!

[Randy W]

good luck with your job search