L visa extension

[orangutan]

Hi, does anyone have experience of this situation?

I came to Beijing on a one-year X visa but decided at the end of this semester to leave the uni where I am studying. The university would only refund my tuition fees for next semester if I first changed my visa, which they did for me. So now I have an L visa which expires on February 10. But I want to extend this.

Do you know if this is possible? Does the fact that I had an X visa before affect the length of extension I can get? Would I be able to get an extra or 30, 60, or even 90 days on the L visa or do I have to pay extra and try to change it to an F? Also, is the residency permit which I obtained when I had a student visa and which says it expires on June 30 still valid - or do I have to update it/change it since I no longer have a student visa?

Thanks in advance.

[Senzhi]

The latest visa received, regardless of kind, expires all previous visas in your passport. Since I can assume from your post your latest visa is an L one, your residence permit is indeed cancelled.

L-visas can be extended, although not easily.

A change into an F-visa might be a better option.

[gougou]

L-visas can be extended, although not easily.

This might have changed, but about a year ago, I could extend a 3-months L visa by a month twice very easily (i.e. going to the PSB, paying somewhere above 100 yuan, waiting a week). Two extensions were the maximum, and both could only be 30 days.

[Senzhi]

I think this depends, as with many things, on location and goodwill.

It's always worth a try, as long as you keep timeframe in mind to switch to another visa.

[orangutan]

OK, thanks for that guys. I would still be interested to here from anyone who had an X visa, then changed it to an L and then still managed to extend the L.

Also, about the residency permit. Since that is issued by the police station, rather than the PSB which does the visa, will they even know that my visa has been changed? The residency permit is obviously on a separate piece of paper which still has an expiry date of 30th June. I have not moved house so it still has the correct address on it.

If I do try to change/update my residency permit, am I entitled to one with an L visa?

Thanks again!

[gougou]

The "residence permit" you're talking about should be your registration, which is a different kind of document. It serves to tell the police where you live, but does not give you any rights to remain in the country.

If you change your visa, you will have to renew your registration, I believe. In fact normally, to change/extend your visa, you will have to hand in that slip.

[SeekerOfPeace]

I came in China with a "Z" Visa, which I "changed" to a residence permit within one month of my arrival.

After my contract (6 months), I finished teaching and I wanted to travel for a while. The school changed provided a "L" Visa for me.

So I once had to extend my tourist visa (type "L") just like you and it was a breeze.

I went to Hong Kong, it took a whole afternoon and that's it, it was done.

[orangutan]

I went to the PSB today to ask if I could extend my L visa. They said that the L visa I currently have (which was obtained for me through the university when I gave up my X visa) is actually an exit visa and cannot be extended. They said I have to go to Hong Kong if I want another L visa. I guess the other option is to get an F visa through an agency in Beijing.

[cdn_in_bj]

I guess the other option is to get an F visa through an agency in Beijing.

Which I hear has recently gotten very expensive and/or difficult to do so.