Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
D
resident
dìngjū
F
business or student
fǎngwèn
G
transit
guòjìng
J
journalist
jìzhě
L
travel
lǚxíng
X
long-term student
liúxué
Z
working
gōngzuò
Visa Extensions
The Foreign Affairs Branch of the local PSB - the police force - handles visa extensions.
The visa office at the
PSB main office
( Běijīngshì Gōng'ānjú Chūrùjìng Guǎnlǐchù; 8401 5292,
8402 0101; 2 Andingmen Dongdajie, Dōngchéng; 8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Sat)
is on the 2nd floor, accessed
from the north second ring road. You can also apply for a residence permit here.
First-time extensions of 30 days are usually easy to obtain on single-entry tourist visas;
further extensions are harder to get, and may only give you another week. Travellers re-
port generous extensions in provincial towns, but don't bank on this. Popping south to
Hong Kong to apply for a new tourist visa is another option.
Extensions to single-entry visas vary in price, depending on your nationality. At the
time of writing, US travellers paid ¥185, Canadians ¥165, UK citizens ¥160 and Australi-
ans ¥100. Expect to wait up to five days for your visa extension to be processed.
The penalty for overstaying your visa in China is up to ¥500 per day. Some travellers
have reported having trouble with officials who read the 'valid until' date on their visa in-
correctly. For a one-month travel (L) visa, the 'valid until' date is the date by which you
must enter the country (within three months of the date the visa was issued), not the date
upon which your visa expires.
Residence Permits
The 'green card' is a residence permit, issued to English teachers, foreign expats and
long-term students who live in China. Green cards are issued for a period of six months to
one year and must be renewed annually. Besides needing all the right paperwork, you
must also pass a health exam, for which there is a charge. Families are automatically in-
