2 semesters in 2 different universities

[Timtim]

Hi everyone!

I have some doubts about visa procedures and I can't seem to find the answer to my specific question.

Basically I'm planning to study (full time) in China next year (from september to july). The thing is, i'd like to spend one semester in Beijing (Tsinghua) and the one after that in Shanghai (Fudan).

So i'm wondering what kind of visa I have to ask for and when/how.

I guess I need a X visa, but i read that some people went to China with a L visa, then asked their university to convert it to a X visa. Is that a good idea?

Now i suppose X visas are associated with a specific university? So i can't have a 1 year X visa that would cover the two semesters? Since i can't apply to Fudan yet, will i have to go to Hong-Kong to have my visa renewed between the 1st and 2nd semester?

I hope i'm clear enough. Thanks for your help.

[yialanliu]

Universities will transfer X/F visas over to another university once you are done with the current university.

My roommate at PKU this fall transferred his to BLCU after he was done although it was short enough to fit within the 6 month original F.

However, Tsinghua won't give you an X visa for 1 semester study. They will get you a 6 month F since that's how long you'll be studying. They will not give 1 year visas for 1 semester worth of classes.

Renewing an F tied to a school is not that simple since Tsinghua won't sponsor you to Fudan. Thus, you need to get Fudan to sponsor you which is not hard. Most PKU who stayed for internships got a new F that was a followup on their current F. The company will sponsor a new F. You don't even have to leave the country. Since you'll also be getting a new F, it should work the same way once you get accepted to Fudan.

The good news is that 6 months is enough to give you time between ending Tsinghua and getting the other paperwork done. If you arived say Sept 1st, (Tsinghua starts later than some schools), you don't have to leave until February 25th ish. So you'll have plenty of time as many classes end at christmas break for froeigners. OR Chinese new year. Even the later chinese new year should give you almost a month of time to get your new visa sorted.

[Timtim]

Thanks a lot for the answer Is it really that easy to renew a F visa? I guess it would be even easier if I decided to stay in Tsinghua after my first semester there?

What's bugging me is that I read the requirements for a 1 year visa are different from those for a 6 months visa (you need a medical examination for example, unless it's for X visas?). If renewing a visa is that easy, isn't it a perfect way to bypass these requirements?

[yialanliu]

You're not renewing but getting a new F. Since you're doign everything correctly with a legitimate sponsor then it's very easy.

Renewing legitimately such as doing an extra semester is also very easy. Universities have a lot of clout with visas considering they don't lie and fake visas for people unlike some companies might so there should be no problem.

If you want to stay a year at Tsinghua, I'd just apply for the year long program. Yes you need to do a medical for X visas, but it is not hard. I only have to pay a copay and everything else was covered by my insurance. What they ask isn't that unusual;, HIV test, vision, chest x ray, and the like whch you probably already get most from a normal physical.

[Susie Park]

@yialanliu

I just stumbled upon your post while looking into studying Chinese at PKU or BLCU. I am curious if you know why your roommate decided to switch from PKU to BLCU after a semester. Was there any specific reason? Did he find the PKU program not as effective as the BCLU one?? Thank you!