Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:53 am Post subject: Visas / Residency for Spouses of Chinese Nationals
There has been a lot of disinformation posted about what spouses of Chinese nationals and permanent residents are entitled to in the way of visas and permanent residency. Some of the inaccurate information comes from those who just simply aren't aware of new regulations and policies, but some comes from one who likes to pass themselves off as a visa agency and posts information at times so bizzare and untruthful that it would seem they intentionally lie just to sell their services to unsuspecting members of this forum.
The truth ...
1. Visas: If your legal spouse is a Chinese citizen or permanent resident (see #2, below), you have options. You can either keep your work "Z" visa, your student "X" visa or your business "F" visa and continue your life as usual.
Or you can apply for a special one-year multiple entry tourist "L" visa given specifically based on your marriage to the previously mentioned classes of people. This visa can be renewed at its expiration for an additional one year term for up to five years. After five renewals (i.e. five years), you can, in theory, be elegible for permanent residency or, if not, continue to renew your "L" visa supposedly for periods of validity of longer than one year.
2. Permanent Residency: There are about half a dozen categories under which one may be qualified for permanent residency, but I will only talk about the category that applies to those specifically with Chinese or permanent resident spouses.
You cannot just walk up to the Public Security Bureau's Entry & Exit Administration (PSB) and obtain an application, fill it out and hand it in. The PSB will first seek to establish that you seem to meet the minimum requirements prior to even allowing you to hand in an application. If they accept your application for processing, the fee is 1,500 RMB with an additional 300 RMB fee should your application be approved and your permanent resident ID card issued.
The requirements for obtaining permanent residency based on marriage to the aforementioned classes of people are:
a. Currently in a marital relationship of five years duration of longer;
b. Five consecutive years of residency in China with absences each year no longer than a cumulative of 90 days. The five year period must be subsequent to marriage and immediately preceding the date of your application for permanent residency;
c. Certification that you have no criminal history in the country(s) of your citizenship;
d. A stable residence in China;
e. Stable employment in China;
f. The passing of an extremely extensive local background check conducted by the PSB at both city level and provincial level.
The processing time is supposed to be six months, but often it can take longer -- even 18 months. Now that the program has been in existence for about 3 years, they have managed to get the processing time down very close to six months.
great to get some decent answers! I am this case! IMy wife and I just had a baby as well, married for over 2 years..would my situation be any difeerent and couls apply for a a PR because we have a baby?
great to get some decent answers! I am this case! IMy wife and I just had a baby as well, married for over 2 years..would my situation be any difeerent and couls apply for a a PR because we have a baby?
No, you will not get any special consideration just because you have a child. You can have as many children as you like, but unless you have 5 years being married and 5 years continuously living in China along with a permanent job and your own home, you will not get PR.
I really needed some solid info on the subject without any agency bias.
UnderH20 I have some questions for you though.
Right now my girlfriend lives in China. She is a Chinese National. I am in Canada. I am Canadian. I want to move to China without sacrificing my Canadian citizenship and I know China does not allow dual citizenship. She is very close to her family so moving to Canada isn't our first option so I am willing to move there which is no problem since I am Chinese myself and can speak, write, and listen Mandarin. I also have family in provinces other than the one she lives in as well as all over Asia. I have also been to China. But the main thing is I also need to make a living. I know on a L-visa you cannot work but can you go to China with a L-visa and look for work? I know a law just passed that stops the conversion of L-visas to Z-visas in China so I guess if I get a L-visa and a company decides to hire me with a Z-visa that means I have to leave? I would prefer not to come all the way back to Canada if that is the case. Can I go to HK and do the conversion there? Also I understand L-visas are maximum 90 days? Last time I went I had a 60 day visa. How many times can I renew it and for how long...since it is not easy to land a job in just 2 or 3 months of job searching. I am young and without much experience as well although I have a strong degree and of course determination! It seems the green card is really difficult to get but I assume if I can land a permanent position in a company I can just renew my Z-visa? Basically I want to live as long as I can in China on visas. If we get married the 1year L-visa sounds outstanding but I guess I can't work but a one year L-visa does buy me time to look for work. What do you think is the best way to go about doing this?
I want to move to China without sacrificing my Canadian citizenship and I know China does not allow dual citizenship. She is very close to her family so moving to Canada isn't our first option so I am willing to move there which is no problem since I am Chinese myself and can speak, write, and listen Mandarin. I also have family in provinces other than the one she lives in as well as all over Asia. I have also been to China. But the main thing is I also need to make a living. I know on a L-visa you cannot work but can you go to China with a L-visa and look for work? I know a law just passed that stops the conversion of L-visas to Z-visas in China so I guess if I get a L-visa and a company decides to hire me with a Z-visa that means I have to leave? I would prefer not to come all the way back to Canada if that is the case. Can I go to HK and do the conversion there? Also I understand L-visas are maximum 90 days? Last time I went I had a 60 day visa. How many times can I renew it and for how long...since it is not easy to land a job in just 2 or 3 months of job searching. I am young and without much experience as well although I have a strong degree and of course determination! It seems the green card is really difficult to get but I assume if I can land a permanent position in a company I can just renew my Z-visa? Basically I want to live as long as I can in China on visas. If we get married the 1year L-visa sounds outstanding but I guess I can't work but a one year L-visa does buy me time to look for work. What do you think is the best way to go about doing this?
You're right in that China does not allow dual citizenship. You are also correct in that one may not work on an "L" visa, and, in most cases, on any type of visa except a "Z" visa / residence permit although many people do work on "L" or "F" visas. Doing so, however, is becoming increasingly difficult ... and risky.
Landing a decent job can be difficult, especially for overseas Chinese, and it's a good idea to allow yourself a few months to find one you find appropriate. Leaving the country when you need to apply for your work visa shouldn't be a problem as you can likely do it from Hong Kong.
"L" visas (except for those married to Chinese nationals) are usually good for 90-day entries, but can be renewed once - and sometimes twice -- for another 90 days while in China. After that, you'd need to go to Hong Kong and reapply. Depending on which city you live in, it might not be so bad. Obviously living in, say, Guangzhou makes it much easier.
Another option is getting an "F" visa. An "F" visa is basically a glorified "L" visa in that you still cannot work, but you can usually get a longer period of stay -- like 6 months or longer. That might be more convenient for you. These visas are readily available in Hong Kong still so it might be best for you to just fly into Hong Kong and process the visa there. I am not sure about what kind of "F" visa you can obtain from the Chinese consulate in Canada.
Once you land a job that can provide you with the legal documentation necessary to work, it's just a matter of renewing your residence permit every year (well, generally every year, but maybe every 2 if you are lucky).
I was just wondering. Don't you need a company invitation letter to obtain a F visa? So how will I go about doing this in HK without such documentation? Do I have to use a visa agent?
I was looking at emoo and I see that they convert L visas to 6 month or even 1 year multiple entry F visas but are they legitimate? I don't want to anything illegal or sketchy. Do you have any info regarding emoo or similar services?
I was just wondering. Don't you need a company invitation letter to obtain a F visa? So how will I go about doing this in HK without such documentation? Do I have to use a visa agent?
To answer your first question, yes & no. If applying from, say, Canada, the consulate will ask for an invitation letter. In Hong Kong they generally do not. In HK there are two basic options for obtaining your visa. One is to go to the actual PRC government visa office in Wanchai where they will likely ask for the invitation letter. The other option is to go to one of a dozen visa agents where they usually ask only for a business card.
The agent is a tad bit more expensive, but they offer same-day service and considerably less hassle.
Lostinchina wrote:
I was looking at emoo and I see that they convert L visas to 6 month or even 1 year multiple entry F visas but are they legitimate? I don't want to anything illegal or sketchy. Do you have any info regarding emoo or similar services?
Generally speaking, I think EMOO is ok and does what they say they will. They are, however, expensive. Their services are not illegal and as long as you are not using them for something like a "Z" visa / residence permit, not dodgy either.
I don't really have any first-hand experience with Mainland visa agents since I have never needed to use their services.
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