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Olympic condoms are faster, higher, stronger
A few weeks ago, Richard Brubaker of All Roads Lead to China reported:
I just received an email from a friend who said that they were being told they could not renew their F visa fro within China anymore. A quick Skype to another confirmed that F visas cannot be extended past the Olympics.
That apparently is not the case, but the cost of an F visa has gone up quite a bit. In Richard's latest post:
Over the last 10 days or so, I have been fielding emails, Skypes, and phone calls from friends and readers about the pain in the butt that has become their extension process… and apparently the news is BAD. In a couple of cases, U.S. citizens were told they would have to pay 2300 RMB for a 3 month visa (same price as a usual 1 year). A 1 year visa.. a whopping 14000RMB!
Meanwhile, this is what we found over at bizCult:
1) F visas can be renewed within mainland China for six-month periods if you are of certain nationality. Citizens of developed countries, have no fear, your F visa renewal can be near. However since late last year, citizens from certain developing countries cannot have their F visas renewed, at least not in mainland China. Renewal in Hong Kong may be an alternative. African and Middle Eastern citizens appear to be those especially affected by the new stricter regulations. One consultant suggested citizens of countries in which suicide bombings typically occur will have more trouble renewing their F visa.2) Consultants are at odds over whether F visa restrictions will tighten or lessen from now until the run-up to the Olympics. One consultant suggested the May through August period will be especially difficult to extend one’s F visa. Another said she didn’t think so, because government officials want to encourage business during the Olympic Games, so they will make it easy if one can demonstrate an Olympic-related business purpose.
3) The suggestion that F visas cannot be extended past the Olympics appears to be false, as renewals can be six months in duration.
4) Those who have broken Chinese law while holding F visas may have more trouble renewing them – duh.
For those of you that go to Hong Kong, read what the moderator of the Oriental List, Peter Neville-Hadley says:
Word has it that the duration of visas issued in Hong Kong continues to get shorter and shorter, down from one year to six months last year, and now down to a maximum of three months. Expect controls to continue to grow as the Olympics approaches, and possibly a shut-down in visa issuance altogether if the government panics as it did at the time of the Women's Conference.
He adds:
When deciding whether another person's individual experience with acquiring a visa is relevant it's important to note the following:1. Whatever the current state of play, there's always someone who got round the rules either deviously or by accident. That doesn't mean you will.
2. The situation changes at very short notice.
3. Success in getting a visa of a certain type depends on where you apply for it. In general Hong Kong is the easiest place, where for many years visas requiring supporting paperwork elsewhere have been available without the need for any such thing.
4. Success can also depend on whether you are a national of the country where the application is being made. Foreigners who have permanent residence in Hong Kong have access to a better range of longer visas, in general.
5. Success can also depend on your nationality.
6. Success can also depend on your race: those of Chinese descent, with Chinese names or Chinese appearance, often get better visas with less fuss.
7. Success can depend on your planned point of entry, and method of passing through it (entries from Kyrgyzstan and Nepal in particular).
8. Success can depend on what you put down as your destination (Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, anywhere having a fit of the ab-dabs at the time, not recommended) and what you put down as your job. Don't be a photographer, be a marketing executive.
9. Having multiple previous visas in a passport can help to obtain on of longer duration.
We imagine many readers of this blog are holders of F visas. If you've been applying for an extension of your visa recently, share with us your experience in the comment section below.
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I think you're definitely right about the benefit of having many previous F visas in your passport. I have about four or five previous F visas issued in New York and Almaty in my US passport, and about ten 90 day extensions issued from within China (and within Xinjiang). When I went to the consulate in NY last December, I was given a 2-year multiple entry F visa good for a stay of 180 days on each entry... without even presenting a letter of invitation or intent on letterhead! The price was only $100, which I think is a pretty good deal.
hi all of you writers in china. it would be really helpful if you would convert chinese money to pounds or dollars. dja think you could?
Here scruz;
http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Do it yourself.... The internet is an amazing learning tool!
for Canadians and Kiwis, you can no longer get anything longer than a 3 month F visa in Hong Kong.
personally i think the best way to do it now is student visa, just find a really cheap university and you can get a 6-12 month visa, saving you many trips down to HK or wherever.
Heh, now laowais start marrying chinese to stay in China, hmm? ;)
I’m American, currently in the Mainland on an F-visa. I went down to HK this past week to try and get a newer, longer F-visa. I was told that F-visas of up to one year are available, but that the maximum length of stay (amount of time you can remain-in-country after each entry) is 30 days. They were singularly unimpressed by the copy of the PRC Embassy in Washington DC’s visa policies that I brought along. I decided to keep my current F-visa which is still valid and has longer length of stay.
They said 2 year F visas are still available to holders of HK permanent resident cards. Unclear what the length of stay would be.
I think the quote from AllRoads regarding visa prices is inaccurate. My experience is that all American applicants must pay a flat rate, higher than other applicants, regardless of visa type or length. This has been policy in the US & HK for about 5 months. The current price in HK is about 1200 HKD, I think. Or maybe that's the price with express processing. Can't recall.
Ah the messy world of visas in China. I've been thru all sorts of nonsense with visas here, and seen even more nonsense from many others.
The real annoyance is that no one knows the law at any given time, it's always grey and ever-changing. It depends on who you talk to, and when you talk to them.
Be very careful with these "visa consultants", as many of them don't know what's up, they promise they got you all covered, and then you end up in a panic going to the airport for an HK run with only 5 hours left on your current visa. Drill them with questions, and if they don't have a solid answer, go elsewhere.
At any rate, this new restriction does look serious.
I know it seems to be ever changing, but can anyone advise on the latest policy for business visas in Shanghai?
I have a 30 day F visa with invitation from a Chinese company, but would like to extend for as long as possible without support from that company. What is the current policy for doing this in Shanghai and can anyone recommend a company able to help?
I was in China three months ago to visit my friend and his wife. I met my friend's wife's friend, Yong Shu. We liked each other very much. I returned to Canada, but kept in touch with Yong Shu via email and telephone. I proposed to Yong Shu and she accepted.
I travelled back to China and have been living with Yong Shu in Dong Guan. My Visa is about to expire so I have travelled to Hong Kong to renew my visa. This morning I was told I will only be able to get a seven day visa and it will take seven days to get it not the usual three day.
We are to be married on the 13 of May. It appears I will have to stay in Hong Kong untill just before our wedding. After we are married, I am told, it will be easy to get a visa.
If any body knows how I can get back to Dong Guan sooner I would appreciate your help. My email is slickfowler@hotmail.com.
Due to the approaching 60th anniversary of P.R.China, the visa practical rules are tightened again after Olympic games.
Hopefully after China National Day (Oct. 1, 2009), it can be relaxed little by little.
At present, it is hard to conver L visas to F visas. And it is impossible to convert Residence permits to F visas without leaving China mainland.
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