z-visa.com
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China's Visa Squeeze
By Melinda Liu, Newsweek
The Chinese police have a new computer network that's got a few teething problems. You've probably been through similar misery; every IT upgrade risks a few weeks of lost data and puzzling glitches. My recent visit to Beijing's main visa office suggests its personnel are experiencing just this type of problem.
As Newsweek International reported earlier this month, ["Beijing's Visa Crackdown" Feb 18], the police have toughened up on lax enforcement of China's visa rules as part of a wide-ranging pre-Olympic house-cleaning. They've cracked down on an army of shady visa agents who rely on corrupt deals with local police to procure visas for money. Strictly-speaking these visas are illegal, but they have been widely tolerated.
At a conservative guess, perhaps a quarter of the foreigners in Beijing have such grey-market visas. For many young Westerners in particular, these passport stamps are springboards into good jobs, and are held by interns in multinationals and in big law firms, as well as by language teachers and artists.
Visa agents say the tightening is because of the Olympics. The police first clamped down on dodgy one-year work visas (Z visas) last summer, exactly a year ahead of the Games. Next to vanish were one-year F visas for business visitors, a blurred category that suits part-time earners. Visa agents still supply 6-month F visas, but shorter stays are common. Beijing is awash with rumours about the clampdown – one version is that there'll be a wave of visa refusals ahead of the Olympics. An American movie production assistant told me she's "nervous" about renewing in June. "I wanted to get a year-long visa but from what I heard it was impossible", she said.
In the visa office, a grumpy policewoman with a cough tapped in my data and said my residence permit was cancelled: I might face a hefty fine. She swung her screen round to display the evidence. Although I was sitting in front of her, the records said I had left China. It was true that I'd spent a dismally chilly Christmas in Vietnam, but with a multi-entry visa, it shouldn't have been a problem. Clearly, I had returned to Beijing.
Despite the somewhat chaotic (and friendly) way my problem was solved, the police are making a concerted attempt to improve their grip on Beijing's footloose foreigners. I'd narrowly escaped being fined as an overstayer, something that appears to be happening to more people as validity periods get shorter. Even 6-month visas now often stipulate holders must leave China every two months. "People don't realise you have to leave the country", said an American who accidentally overstayed by two months and paid the maximum fine of RMB 5000 (or US$700). Diplomats say deportations are rising too as the squeeze on visa agents changes the ground-rules (if not the law, which the Chinese say they are simply enforcing).
Applicants from countries whose nationals cannot (legally) renew in China are more likely to be deported, as happened to six Indonesian students last September. Helping clients avoid expensive trips abroad is one of the most popular services visa agents provide, though some no doubt go further and sell false identities too. Police worries about prostitution apparently have driven up the price of visas for young Russian women who're frequently suspected of being sex workers. One visa agent said he charged Russian women almost RMB 7,000 (about US$970) for non-renewable three-month visas -- about twice the going rate for Russian male applicants.
The police seem to be on a professionalization drive to enforce the visa laws, and weed out corruption in their own ranks. Whether they succeed is another matter. Even if they do succeed in shutting down today's shady visa-sellers, the visa entrepreneurs may be replaced down the road by a new batch of players -- though probably not until after the Olympics, of course.
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Fast, Reliable China Visa Service or ESL Teachers.
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Guest
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I'm sure most of you who rent an apartment in China know that they must register with the local PSB. What I didn't know is that I must re-register anytime my visa changes. I thought it was a 1 time thing - I'm here, if I move to another apartment in a different neighborhood then I will register with the local PSB there. That is not the case.
The other night the local PSB came to my building in Shanghai. There are a lot of foreign residents here. They had a list of all the foreigners and their "registration expiration dates". I was told that I wasn't registered - my registration expired in June 2007, 1 year after my initial registration.
The police checked my passport to confirm that I had a valid visa and told me that I needed to register again with my latest visa. The nice English speaking officer told me that anytime I change jobs and/or get a new visa, I must re-register.
The next day, yesterday, I went to re-register. The lady at the counter asked for my "expired" pink form. I did not have it. She said I will be fined and went to her supervisor. Fortunately for me, he was the same guy who had come to my apartment. They let me slide.
I'm not sure of all of the details, but I did learn a few things - 1) keep your registration form 2) re-register anytime you receive a new visa or move 3) be nice and say "Oh, I didn't know."
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