Registering with PSB

[ipsi()]

EDIT: Based on lilongyue's post, I'm sure sure the answer to the questions below is "Yes". Just checking anyway.

I'm kinda confused about the whole deal with registering with the PSB. When I went last year, nothing was said about it when I got my visa. It was a 90-day tourist visa (L). I didn't register, and nothing happened because of it.

Should I have done so? If I had been found out, what would the penalties have been? And should I do so when I got to China either late this year, or early next year (Ideally for about 6 months, though I suspect I may have to travel in/out of the country to stay that long), will I have to register?

I suspect the reason I wasn't told is that they expected me to stay at a hotel or something, but I only ever stayed at my girlfriend's parent's place, and thus there was no one to do that for me.

[gougou]

I think the reason they don't tell you is that they expect you to be familiar with the laws of the place your visiting (or that you'll accidentally run into one of those reminders that all foreigners have to register within 24 hours). I have never been reminded for any of the visas I applied for (L, F, Z).

I also have gone long stretches without registering, without ever having problems. Enforcement of the rules (which state a maximum penalty of RMB 5,000 I believe?) might have gotten tougher with the Olympics coming up though.

[roddy]

Re: Penalties. Last time I checked, which was some years ago, the penalty for not registering at the police station was a maximum of RMB 500. Like many I went years without registering and had no trouble, but in the current climate I probably wouldn't risk it. The RMB 5,000 fine which Gougou mentions is the maximum for being in the country illegally - ie overstaying your visa, although I guess if you smuggled yourself in somehow it would be the same offense. That is RMB 500 per day, up to the RMB 5,000 limit.

As always in these cases, if you haven't clarified the difference between registering with the local police station and obtaining a residence permit then you're liable to get confused. As far as I'm aware the situation is still as described here.

Obviously it all depends on who you are dealing with, where you are, and how the local fengshui is flowing. But that's the legal, on the books, situation as far as I'm aware.

[ipsi()]

Thanks! That's cleared it up quite a lot. I'll just have to find out where the nearest 派出所 to my girlfriend's place is next time I go. And it has to be within 24 hours, right? I'll be going after the Olympics, so they should be less strict, but are they likely to be bothered by being a day or two late? It'd be kinda suck to be fined because I was dead tired when I arrived and slept for two days straight or something .

EDIT: Also, what are the various terms I'd need to know in order to register? I don't expect my girlfriend is likely to know. Her relatives might, but it's not exactly something they'll have ever had to do.

[roddy]

To be honest if you didn't get bothered last time, you might not get bothered this time either. However if you do go along, you need to complete the [ADSO]外国人临时住宿登记手续[/ADSO]. They'll want to know where you are staying, relationship to the people you are staying with, purpose of visit, length of stay, plus stuff like your home address, date of birth, etc. You don't necessarily have to go along in person, someone from the family will probably do, but they'll need your passport.

If you are a day or two late I'd just expect them to tell you off and then let you off.

[ipsi()]

True, but it's probably a case of better safe than sorry. I'm not likely to do anything that would make having it a liability, so I might as well.

[cdn_in_bj]

EDIT: Also, what are the various terms I'd need to know in order to register? I don't expect my girlfriend is likely to know. Her relatives might, but it's not exactly something they'll have ever had to do.

The PSB may or may not ask for the following when you go to register:

房产证 (fang2 chan3 zheng4) - property deed

身份证 (shen1 fen4 zheng4) - ID card (of the property owner)

[onebir]

"The daily fines are for not having a valid visa, not registering within 24 hours is a 500Y maximum, last I heard."

I was told it was "several thousand RMB" - for a delay of even 24 hours! But perhaps the policeman who said this was getting mixed up with a visa overstay...

[cdn_in_bj]

I've received reminder calls the last 2 times my previous visa expired.

The reason they do this is because it also makes their life a lot easier - as was explained to me by the sergeant lady, as long as you're already in the system they can process your renewal very easily. However, once your registration expires, they're supposed to purge your info from the system. And once you're no longer in the system, and need to get registered, they have to process your registration like a new registration, meaning that they'll require you to bring supporting documentation.

Anyways, I guess the lesson is to get registered, and renew on time.

[imron]

However, once your registration expires, they're supposed to purge your info from the system

Well they don't do this. Every time I register, the Chinese name that gets printed on my slip is the one I was assigned when I was studying at Beida, which I long since stopped using (I say assigned, because at the time I didn't want a Chinese name, but was given one anyway). Anyway, I then have to get them to print out another one with the Chinese name that I actually use. Each time I ask them to change it on the system, and they say ok, ok, but then the next time it's still the same.

[cdn_in_bj]

Well they don't do this. Every time I register, the Chinese name that gets printed on my slip is the one I was assigned when I was studying at Beida, which I long since stopped using (I say assigned, because at the time I didn't want a Chinese name, but was given one anyway).

Is it because you've re-registered prior to your previous registration expiring? Or maybe they're just not following the rules, figuring you'd be back and saving them the trouble of having to "start over" as a new registration. As was explained to me, the purging of records is supposed to be done manually.

Also, this blog post supports the view that they are getting more strict about registrations:

http://www.bizcult.com/content/?p=472

[imron]

Is it because you've re-registered prior to your previous registration expiring?

Nope, the first time it happened I hadn't been living in Beijing for over 3 years. The other two times I went in on the day they called me up to say I needed to come in to re-register.