How long to renew a residence permit?

[Brian US]

Pretty basic question, but how long does it typically take to renew a resident permit through a small school? My resident permit/visa is up July 31st, so I was hoping to wait until mid next week. Will that be enough time?

[gougou]

The company where I work (pretty much the opposite of a small school - large and cumbersome, but supposedly with good government connections) needed five working days.

[Brian US]

The owner of another small private school recommended two weeks, but I wanted to wait to find out about scholarships next week. I don't want to end up running to Hong Kong.

Thanks for moving my question into its own thread!

[kdavid]

As long as the paperwork is submitted to the appropriate office prior to the expiration date, you shouldn't have any problems.

With that said, why wait until the last minute if you don't have to?

[dumdumdum]

do it early, dont shoot yourself. if your school admin close office for summer holidays and you couldnt get the rubber stamp for your forms, you could be in trouble.

[Brian US]

I applied to the Chinese government scholarship (CSC) and the results should be posted early next week. I think my odds aren't good, but I still want to wait on what school they might put me in. I don't want to pay for 6-12 months of classes only to find out I'm moving to the other side of town or even a different city. Plus, wouldn't there be problems with having a visa for one school when registering at a larger public university? The private school doesn't close for the regular summer break, so no need to worry about paperwork.

[dumdumdum]

yes, the school is supposed to be the host party inviting you to china, so changing school would pose some problems, mainly paperwork. but since the procedures are the same for every school, unlike changing from student visa to a working visa, your medical papers and other documents etc are probably re-usable. you just need to fill up a different '202 form', which is the registration with their ministry of education, telling them you are joining another school.

if somehow they got lazy, or maybe you got lucky, the 2 school admin might sort it out among themselves for you, and you can save yourself a lot of trouble. but sometimes school admin charge you a fee of one or two hundred rmb(30 bucks) for such things so be aware.

[benhadad]

Hi I am facing a similar issue, I am currently with a small school and it end mid August, I am waiting for my paperwork to arrive from CSC (its in the mail) and probably will be here around august 2nd. My current visa (X) expires August 8th. The problem is I will be attending in a different city than now. Once I get my paperwork shouldn't the school be able to help me get it swapped? I however heard registration doesn't start till August 15th. So has anyone had this work out for them?

[Brian US]

So I ended up getting the scholarship to study starting in September, but that leaves August with no visa. I went to a small private school for a three month visa. This was done two weeks ago and they told me I should be getting it back in the next few days. Problem is that my visa expired July 31st, but they said it wouldn't be a problem since the government already has my passport.

How long after I get a new visa do I need to register with the police? Will it be a problem that my visa expired July 31st if I don't get it back until today or tomorrow? My landlord has been warning me for weeks to get it done early and just told me today about a foreigner who was fined over 5000 kuai for an expired visa.

Again the reason I waited so long was I wasn't sure if my scholarship was sending me to another city or if I would get it at all. I didn't want to pay for a year of classes and a visa at a private school when the Chinese government will pay for it.

[roddy]

All you can really do is tell the police that your passport is with the PSB, and if they want they can phone up to check - or you could give them the number for the school. Whether you do that proactively or just wait and see if they notice is up to you. Once you get the visa go down and tell 'em you've got a new visa.

[benhadad]

Brian,

When you turn your passport in for VISA extension or anything to do with it, they give you a piece of paper saying they have it etc. You present this to police and it will not be a problem. If they did not give it to then make sure you have a student id card and copy of your passport and tell them to contact the school.

Ben