Getting an X-Visa outside of my own country

[jurassicbond]

I'm an American currently living in Korea. I'm planning on going to Shanghai in August to study and have already bought my plane ticket. I've tried to get my student visa in Korea, but the travel agency I went through said I need to get the visa in my home country. I will only be in America for two weeks before flying to China, so I'm not sure I'll have enough time to get my visa. Is there no way I can get my visa while still living in Korea?

Thanks,

James Barnette

[Senzhi]

Theoretically, it's not your home country, but your country of residence where you should apply for a visa (to any country in the world), e.g., I'm Belgian, but I officially resided in many other countries for many years, and that is exactly where I applied for all my visas to other countries.

That said, it means you should be registered with your embassy or local consulate in South Korea (I'm assuming you're talking about South Korea). They should have issued you with a document that proves your registration and, as such, your residence there.

Nobody can claim you should go back to your country of origin to obtain a visa, nowhere in the world. If a visa agency claims that, try another, for they don't have a clue.

Nevertheless, many people reside outside their country of origin without ever registering with their embassy. Then, officially, you're still residing in your country of origin.

This is one of many reasons why registering with your local consulate or embassy is key.

[billiardsmike]

Two weeks in the US is plenty of time. I did the same thing last year because I switched schools and getting them to handle it was a nightmare. There are numerous visa services in the states that can have your visa back to you in as little as 3 days. Just google china visa service to find one in the same city as the appropriate Chinese consulate.

[pandaxiongmao]

This is correct. I had the opportunity to the Chinese Embassy in Seoul this January. (My travel agent decided to let me do the talking since I speak Mandarin and they didn't). I posted about it here.

Unless you are Korean, you can't get an X Visa within Korea.

Where did you tell your school you would apply for the X Visa? Before I went to Hainan University, they wanted to know where I would apply for it. I was able to do so in Hong Kong, but this was well before the apparent difficulties obtaining Chinese visas this year.

When I applied in Hong Kong, I could have paid a lot of money to pick up the X visa the following day - I would assume the same express service is available for Americans in the USA.

[self-taught-mba]

The key is how do you define residency status. Being there is not automatic residency. So if I travel for a week and register at the Embassy I would qualify to list my residency there? Not quite.

[Senzhi]

So if I travel for a week and register at the Embassy

You can't travel and register at your embassy, only notify them of your travel itinerary (as advised for certain countries).

Registering at an embassy clears you out of your previous residence status (in- or outside your country). Practically it means that your file will be transferred from your previous municipality/embassy to your new one. The whole process involves some paperwork to fill in, inlcuding your address of residence, contact details and emergency contact details (and probably some other things, depending on the country).

In fact, the whole process should be quite (but not exactly) similar as if you would register at your own municipality.

This is e.g. how embassies know how many of their nationals to evacuate in case of serious troubles, who they are and where they are. Else they simply wouldn't have a clue.

[pandaxiongmao]

To make it more clear, you have to be a Korean citizen to get an X visa in Korea. Having an ARC (Alien Residency Card) doesn't cut it.

The original poster could always get an L visa in Korea (though they will give a double entry visa at most).

[mr.stinky]

does this registration at embassy work differently depending on your country?

for the u.s. (according to the embassy website)

"Travel registration is a free service provided by the U.S. Government to U.S. citizens who are traveling or living in a foreign country. Registration allows you to record information about your upcoming trip abroad that the Department of State can use to assist you in case of an emergency. You may update your contact information at any time, making it easy to keep your information current. Americans residing abroad can also get routine information from the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate on security and other important topics."

don't believe the embassy will provide any documentation proving residency (like that's

what your residency permit is) other than an email saying you've done registereded.

i dunno about transferring files either, seems to be just an emergency contact listing.

if i were to register at the us embassy, that would have no effect on my us residency,

i still have to contact the local registrar in texas for absentee voting ballots.

[Senzhi]

Then it must be indeed country (or EU) dependent:

Belgium has voting obligation. Also Belgians residing abroad do have this obligation (voting at the nearest consulate/embassy).

And we do indeed receive a National ID card mentioning our current place of residence.

As such we receive the same benefits and obligations as any other citizen residing in Belgium. Of course, it has no value towards Chinese authorities.

But I never had any problems obtaining any kind of visa from any country I've been residing in, inside or outside the EU.

[liuzhou]

Registering or not with your own Embassy is a totally separate issue and nothing to do with getting visas or residence permits for China.

[self-taught-mba]

Registering or not with your own Embassy is a totally separate issue and nothing to do with getting visas or residence permits for China.

Thank you!

[Senzhi]

Registering or not with your own Embassy is a totally separate issue and nothing to do with getting visas or residence permits for China.

It may, depending on bilateral agreements between both countries. That was the only purpose of my post, not thinking that there would be such a big difference between some countries in their consular work.

[Flagg]

I'm in the same situation. I currently live in South Korea and will be moving to China to study in January. Will I be able to arrive with a tourist visa and then change it once I'm there?

[pandaxiongmao]

You should contact the school you are interested in studying at and see if they can change an L visa to a residence permit (for study purposes). As you will be coming after the Olympics, it would probably be best to ask this question of your school in October when the visa situation will hopefully return to the way it was before.

[Flagg]

Thanks a lot!

[chrisdelish]

Hey guys,

I've been following this thread and I'm in a similar situation: I'm a US Citizen and I'm already in China on an L visa valid through next year (2009).

Here's my question: I'm planning a visit to Hong Kong in late August. I have been admitted to Fudan University and have all of the paperwork ready to go (invitation, admission letter, etc). Can I apply for and receive the X-Visa in Hong Kong, or must I return to the United States to complete this process?

Thanks so much for your help!

-Chris

[pandaxiongmao]

You should ask Fudan if you can convert the L visa into a residence permit. You might not need that X visa paperwork at all.

The residence permit could be valid up to the length of time you pay tuition for.

In any case, you still have to pay attention to the maximum stay in China noted on your L visa prior to obtaining that residence permit.

[chrisdelish]

Thanks Panda. I think we finally have a resolution to my question.

I had contacted Fudan some weeks ago, and was told that I would have to leave the country to get my Visa changed "according to the new policy" (which I suppose was affected by the Olympics).

I then asked whether I could handle this transaction in Hong Kong rather than in the United States. Yesterday, I received a reply from them "Yes, you can apply for the X-Visa in Hong Kong." That was good news.

Today, I decided to contact Fudan University again, and asked them if they're absolutely sure that I need to leave the country to get my X-Visa. They said "We can help you convert your Visa at registration in the fall". My jaw dropped, and I asked them what was going on. They said "The policy changed again, and we're now allowed to do this again, before we were told that we couldn't."

So, that's how things stand. I'll still have to leave the country next month, following the 60 day limit, but apparently they will be able to do all the Visa conversion for me on the spot.