90 day visa, one year ticket

[irishfalconer]

Hello,

I need help regarding my visa, I am attending a kung fu school in zhengzhou for a year, they have told me to get the 90 day Tourist visa in london and they can help me renew out there for the year. So I was wondering if I book my flights for the spetmember returning the following August will that cause problems for myself when it comes to getting it checked because my visa as its only for 90 days ?

Any help will be much appericated.

Thanks

[abcdefg]

It's been my experience that nobody cares about your plane ticket when renewing your visa. It should not be an issue.

[hidden12345]

PLANE TICKET

I agree that the plane ticket is a non-issue. In my experience, it has never even come up. If you want something beyond anecdotal evidence, then you will have to do the research and find something definitive, as posting on a board like this will only get responses that elicit anecdotal evidence.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

What I do see as a potential issue is this: The school wants you to get a 90 tourist L visa, and then they will help you deal with extending the visa later. I presume this is after you pay them a year's tuition up front. What happens if they can't get you the extension? Do they refund the remaining portion of your tuition (9 months)? L visas are incredibly thorny in that they are (1) hard to extend beyond 30 days without having to leave the country; zhengzhou is very much inland, and getting and staying in hong kong while you apply for a visa (typically 3-4 days) will cost both time and money.) and (2) hard to convert into a more flexible visa, like a F business visa. This is compounded so by the upcoming national holiday (国庆）on October 1st. The government, in all their graciousness, is once again tightening visa policy. A lot of members here, including myself, are unable to secure extensions beyond September 15th without leaving Beijing. I'm not saying it is impossible --there are reports of successful extensions happening in Qingdao --but this further strengthens my argument.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Is your school qualified to issue the necessary paperwork to get an X student visa? A lot of these wushu shops call themselves schools, but are not, in the eyes of the government at least, qualified to accept foreigners (even though some will "under the table"; an L visa is precisely that "under the table" way of doing so.) If I were you, I'd do my homework first and ASK the school to issue you paperwork for a one-year X visa, either before you arrive or before you pay tuition. In the latter case, get the 90 day visa, go to zhengzhou and if they don't play ball (ie. issue you paperwork sufficient to get an X visa, go to another school. This entails you finding backup schools before you leave your home country.) If neither option is possible, then you stipulate that will make tuition payments in 90 day increments (按季付的), that way they have an interest in securing you another visa once this one expires. I would NOT, however, pay them the year's tuition upfront and then take their word for it they should the circumstance arise where you would be unable to extend your visa, they will simply refund your remaining 9 months or whatever tuition. This is not your culture, and being such, you do not understand the rationalization they will employ to justify why they will go back on they word. When I think of Chinese people, two words come to mind (出尔反尔，and 敷衍）. Be smart and do your research first. Good luck.

[irishfalconer]

Thank you so much for your help. I will take your advice and not pay the full year up front. I did ask for the paperwork and they told me to come on the tourist visa and they will sort it out there. Which has made me a bit concerned. Thank you for your advice, I think I am going to book a one way ticket and leave it so I can come home early if needed and also look for backup schools just encase it goes all wrong.

[onebir]

I was refused an 90 day L visa because my itinerary involved a stay in excess of 90 days. But that was in London, in 2003, and since then things might have changed.

Might be worth asking your school if they can give you an invitation letter for an F visa. You might be able to get one for a continuous 180 day stay.

[Madot]

I just had a very similar problem, coincidentally also with Zhengzhou! Perhaps the local officials like to avoid the paperwork necessary for long-stay visas like year-long X or Z visas. Who knows?

There are, as others have said, really two issues here. One is whether the school is legit. If so, they really should be able to give you the right form in order for you to get a proper X-visa.

The other issue is about having tickets for a stay longer than your visa permits. I have got conflicting advice in this regard. I SHOULD get a Z visa because I will be teaching, but since it will be for only 4 months, rather than a year, the university has said that I can get an F-Visa (cultural exchange/business, etc) for 3 months because it takes less paperwork and that they can get it exended with an L-Visa (or whatever) for the extra time I need. I know these people and I trust them, so my issue is not exactly the same as yours. HOWEVER-- my travel agent, who, apart from being very experienced, is also Chinese, said that there could definitely be a problem when you go to enter the country at passport control. Some officers couldn't give a damn, but others can be sticklers. Her advice, which I have taken, is to buy a ticket which is VALID for the whole year, but with a 3-month itinerary actually booked. Once I am in China, I can simply change the return booking (at no charge). I suppose it depends on how much of a worry wart you are. Of course they do not ask for your itinerary or return ticket when you go through Passport Control but the DO ask for your Arrivals Card (Disembarkation card, whatever it's called) and on that, they ask for the details of your return flight.

Best of luck!

Mado

[abcdefg]

But that was in London, in 2003, and since then things might have changed.

That's probably the understatement of the year.

[irishfalconer]

Again thank you all for your help. Its all starting to give me a massive headache. Im flying back to london ( again) to apply for a 90 day visa. If all goes to plan im going to book my flights from sept to july but leave them open so i can return anytime within those dates just in case it all goes tits up. Surely having a open ticket shouldnt cause much grief?

[abcdefg]

...im going to book my flights from sept to july but leave them open so i can return anytime within those dates

You may find this difficult or costly to do. Perhaps this link will be of some help even though it's out of date: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/600939-open-return-date-airline-ticket-question.html You might even consider re-posting your question there to find a more current response.

I've traveled between the US and China quite a few times and I often find I need or want to change the return date after spending 4 to 6 months in China. I just bite the bullet and pay the penalty. It still comes out cheaper than purchasing an "open date of return" ticket or "flexible" ticket up front. Of course different airlines have different policies and they all change from time to time.

Edited July 6, 2009 at 10:48 AM by abcdefg

[adrianlondon]

Some airlines sell "student" tickets (with arbitrary conditions such as maximum age, proof of student status etc.) which are valid for 12 months. You pick a return date and can then change it free of charge (with certain conditions).

[abcdefg]

I've never used student tickets because I don't qualify, but this link might be on target for you. Have a look. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-mileage-plus/913186-open-return-ticket.html

[DoubleD]

You have had some sound advice about the ticket.

Regarding the visa,I work for a company that arranges travel and visas to china. We have arranged many visa for Kungfu students going to study with a school called Kung Fu Experience in Zhengzhou!

The process that has been suggested to you of getting a 90day tourist visa then getting the visa renewed is what they do. I have not heard of any problems so far. You might find our website helpful http://www.5starchinesevisa.co.uk.

Hope you enjoy your studies.

[irishfalconer]

Thank all for the excellent advice, I got my visa today, I filled in a forum they stamped it and I picked it up, wasn’t too much trouble. I also looked into my flights I found it was cheaper to book my flights till June and then extend or return home early if needed by paying the 75.00-pound fee. Fingers crossed everything goes to plan. My nerves are starting to kick in as London is as far ad I’ve ever travelled, don’t know what to expect in China.