COVID-19: The Chinese Closed Border and My Visa Status

Original Julian Expat Services SH 2021-10-12

收录于话题 #ExS - Trending 34个内容

**************

Many articles recently posted on WeChat discusses a number of international airline plans to start flying to and from China. Please note that all of these are just plans because they are promoted based on the airline's website or based on the reporting by foreign news sources. Some airlines have been booking tickets for passengers and then rescheduling or canceling the flights closer to the event. There is no official confirmation on these plans. It is highly unlikely for many of these airlines to start flying to and from China anytime soon.

Some of the Chinese airlines have already started posting their international flight schedules for next month (June), which continues to involve once a week flights to and from major destinations around the world. Even if some foreign airlines are allowed to start flying to and from China, this does not indicate whether or not the Chinese authorities are lifting the entry ban on foreigners. There is enough demand for returning Chinese that wants to return to China. In contrast, citizens of other countries want to return home. It is also likely that select groups of extremely qualified people whose job or company has a significant impact on China will be allowed back in first from certain countries.

So with this said, in this article, we will address the current situation and how it affects one's visa or residence permit.

Can I apply for a second automatic extension for my visa, and what are my visa options if I am "stranded" in China?

According to the national guidelines, during the peak of the epidemic, automatic extensions were given, so you would not qualify anymore for an automatic extension, and most city governments will not issue a second automatic extension.

The policy regarding the automatic extension was initially introduced on the National Immigration Administration (NIA) website on February 27 and was discussed at a press conference on March 1. The basic idea was that if one's visa was to expire at that time, their visa would be automatically extended to April 27, however, there was no new guidelines given nearing the beginning of May therefore indicating that such automatic extensions are not given. Please check the following links for more information:

https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741542/c1247617/content.html

http://www.nhc.gov.cn/xcs/s3574/202003/bfd0b2ffd57741abb58423b956ba6a8f.shtml

If you hold a business or tourist visa and are nearing your mandatory exit with or without your automatic extension, there are very few options available to you, and these are only short term options.

One option is applying for an extension to your current visa, which is usually only valid for thirty days, starting from when your application is submitted.

Another option is called a humanitarian visa or a stay permit, which is also only valid for thirty days from when you apply. Please see our article here for details regarding the application process.

The disadvantage of the stay permit is that it will invalidate your current visa, and after the stay permit is over, your current visa will no longer be valid.

Generally speaking, you can only extend a visa or obtain stay permit once and these are generally not renewable.

For a work permit and residence permit holders, there should be no reason you should not renew it on time. You can start the application between 60 and 90 days before expiry. Before the epidemic, you needed to hand over your residence permit application at least 30 days or more before expiry. Our article regarding renewing your work permit and residence permit with the same employer is being published next week. However, you can read our article regarding transferring to a new employer.

In some exceptional and rare cases, the Public Security Bureau issued other types of visas.

Some people think they will tell the officer that there are no flights out of China at this time, so they have nowhere to go. Many Chinese airlines are still operating flights out of China. It is not China's problem that you may have difficulty or not be able to change planes in some places, or you may have trouble to book or there is an expense barrier for taking these flights.

If you are planning to change your visa purpose, we would like to remind our readers that Chinese visas have a particular purpose. It is illegal to hold a China visa for another purpose other than your entitlement.

It may be possible, due to the limited flights out of China, to obtain a residence permit for work or study without getting the initial student or work visa. Still, the local authorities at the Public Security Bureau Entry and Exit Bureau where you live are the decision-makers in that regard.

In the normal process, for a long term student or work visa, you would obtain a work permit or student invitation letter and get an initial visa outside of China before obtaining a residence permit within China.

Besides, the officers at the Public Security Bureau Entry and Exit Bureau accepting your application do not make any decisions. They merely receive your documents and pass them through for review, and then a decision will be made on whether your visa or residence permit will be issued or not.

Please note that if you exit China at this time, we do not know when you will be allowed back. China has suspended entry for those holding Visas and Residence Permits who are currently outside of China. There is no new information about whether a new visa or residence permit will be required to re-enter China after lifting the entry ban if yours is still valid. However, we do know that for those particular groups that have received approval to come to China on specially arranged flights, will be issued special visas. In such cases, only these individuals are allowed to return to China, and dependents, including spouses and children, have not been authorized.

If your Residence Permit expires while you are outside of China, you will need to obtain a new visa to come back to China and then apply for a new residence permit. In the example of work, you can get a new work permit while not in China, apply for a new Z-visa, come to China, and apply for the relevant residence permit. In most cities and situations, you cannot convert from another visa (e.g., tourist or business visa) to a residence permit.

Please review our article regarding the consequences of overstaying your visa, as if you overstay your visa or stay beyond your exit terms (either for your required exit (with or without the automatic extension)), consequences still apply.

Authors:

Are you looking for more useful tips for your life in China? Get in touch with contributors for a consultation and follow us in our WeChat Group to receive the latest news.

Julian (WeChat: julian_beijing) is based in Shanghai but often travels for work and runs a company that works with individuals and organizations doing business between the US, China, and Africa. He has been based in China for a number of years.

Ikky (WeChat: ikky888) is an R&D Manager working in Shanghai. He has been living in China for over 11 years.

Jatin (known by the nickname "Prince Jatin") (WeChat: jatinsoni) is a Multicloud DevOps Engineer working in Shanghai. He has been living in China for over eight years and owns three Indian community WeChat groups known for "Helping Indians" with their specific inquiries.

**************

You may be interested reading about

#Business

#Legal

#SH Life & Tips

#Housing

#Visa

#Travel

**************

Your opinion is important

Click to answer our satisfaction survey

**************

Follow our WeChat Channel

**************

About us

Expat Services is an online media for English speakers living in Shanghai. We keep you informed about what you should not miss in Shanghai, and soon in some other cities of China.

Our media is on ex-s.cn and our official account: Expat ServicesSH. We also broadcast and interact with our community on Western media.

We offer targeted information about networking, associations, professional clubs, events, tips, things to discover and promotions from many shops and other service providers in Shanghai.

By joining our WeChat groups, you can exchange and share with our community. Please add our support service team (WeChat ID: ExS-SH), we will add you in different groups.

To get your free ExS Membership Card,

click on the card

Our network is Your network, join us!

Discover our different sections,

Click on it below

News

---------------------

Selections

---------------------

Networking

---------------------

Events