Is It Easy To Convert A Tourist Visa Into Study Visa?

[Diana27]

Hi All,

Want to take 8 week Mandarin courses in China and cannot decide upon the type of visa. Seems I cannot easily get a study or business visa for that, as the embassy requires originals of authorisation forms and admission notices (which are so hard/impossible to get from the school for some reason). What the school suggests is to get a short stay tourist visa first and then get a study visa after arrival to China. Is this really cheap and easy to do and should I go for this?

Hope someone can help me with this,

Thank you!

[fanglu]

Apply for a 90 day tourist visa, then you won't need to change it at all.

[Diana27]

Unfortunately I am not allowed to do that... I am not applying from my home country. Thirty days of tourist visa - everything I can get, or a study/business visa, but I need the authorisation form

[roddy]

You won't get a student visa for only eight weeks. Sounds like you'll need to come in on a four week tourist visa and then extend it here. Shouldn't be difficult, but if you're in Beijing you may need a few thousand dollars in the bank to show you can support yourself (does that rule still hold?).