Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
this situation, contact the China Travel Service (CTS) in Hong Kong, Beijing Expat Service
Center, or another visa service for help.
If you're changing jobs in Beijing and maintain the same visa category, such as a Z1 to
a Z1, you should be able to stay in Beijing to do it—as long as you can a get a release letter
from the company that you're leaving. Legally the company is required to give you the re-
lease letter, but if you left on bad terms and for some reason the release letter isn't coming
your way, then you may need to make time for a trip to Hong Kong or a holiday back home
and apply for a new visa from scratch.
Be careful about quitting your job if you don't have another job to immediately go to.
Legally your current company is required to cancel your work permit when you finish up,
and if your paperwork isn't being transferred to another company and you're not transfer-
ring visas, you'll be required to leave the country within seven days.
Everyone, unless staying in a hotel, hostel, or university dorm, must register for a Tempor-
ary Residence Permit at their local Public Security Bureau (PSB) (
pàich
ū
su
ǒ
) within 24
hours. This includes even family members who are just on holiday, staying with you for a
week. Registering can be a fairly quick, painless process, but not always. The manner in
which the police will deal with you varies from police station to police station and officer
to officer. Stations in student-dense areas, such as Wudaokou, are notoriously battle scarred
and harsher on transgressors. The first time you register in a new location it's best to take
your landlord or at least a local friend with you. Make sure you have your passport and your
lease. If you don't register, you can be fined RMB500 per day. You need to then re-register
every time you change address, job, or visa; marry; or come back into the country after a
holiday. Door knocks by police checking up on registrations are quite rare, but they do hap-
pen, particularly in known expat areas. Failure to register within 24 hours can result in a
fine of up to RMB2,000.
It might seem daunting taking your children out of their home environment and moving
them to a city as foreign as Beijing, but in most cases the culture shock is felt more by you
than the kids. Beijing is perhaps the safest city in China, and kids can roam freely within
their housing communities playing with their multitude of friends. Children are extremely
