From tourist visa to student visa!

[Flipper86]

Hello everybody, I hope this post can help me and other students to solve visa issues.

I'm italian, I got the notice from Tsinghua university that I got full CSC scholarship for my master, so almost all documents are ready, only the official administrative approval of June 2012 is missing. Actually I have been told that It's strongly recommended that I go to China directly to take my admission package in June in order to avoid post-mailing loss (which occasionally happened... as they said). So I decided to go to China with a tourist visa and then change it to a study visa. Is this process correct? I mean..did anyone of u go through this procedure as well? This thing annoys me because I don't want to get problems on my way. I know visa is a hot issue in China.

Thank you for help guys.

[roddy]

Been told by who? People quite often do this, but if you want reassurance you should try and ask your school.

[Flipper86]

been told by the university. I asked them also...the funny thing is their answer: ''it's possible, but we cannot guarantee that it will be possible to change tourist visa to study visa at that time''...lol, wtf it means?

[roddy]

Just do what they suggest then. The visa rules might change, but it's not likely and you can deal with that problem when it happens.

[Flipper86]

alright, thanks anyway

[chinadude2006]

I will say they can and will change it, if something dramatically happened and the rules did change, you would then go need to go to Hong Kong, which is fun for a few days.

[hibicc]

it is always possible to change tourist visa into the student visa. When is your course starting from? I am working for a language school in Beijing and we got few students this year who got accepted in Nankai University (Tianjin) for the fall semester. They came to Beijing on a tourist visa ( 90 days validity and 30 days maximum stay ) thinking that Nankai university will change their tourist visa converted into student visa but they can do that only in the month of August as their course is starting from August.

Make sure to confirm this with your university. All the universities in China can change your visa status (from tourist to student) only if you apply for it during your course or 1-2 weeks before your course start.

[antonjames]

Hey there

I have a similar problem I suppose and I suggest you be careful I came from Australia on a tourist visa and now I want to convert to a work visa. I did my research and thought this was possible in Hong Kong or in China however when I got here it turns out the rules changed just recently (late last year).

If you look at the website for the CHinese consulate in Hong Kong you'll see

If you don't reside or work in Hong Kong permanently, you are required to apply Chinese visa from the Embassy or Consulate-General of Peoples' Republic of China in your resident country.

http://www.fmcoprc.gov.hk/eng/zgqz/bgfwxx/

Apparently lots of people used to do a visa run to Hong Kong but its no longer possible also you cant go to a 3rd country to do it either you now have to go back to your home country this is only if you are applying for your first work visa though (Not sure about tourist visa) I'd suggest you do as your UNiversity tells you to.

I'm now trying to get my work visa by posting my documents back to Australia and wait in Thailand while its processed.

Anton

[chinadude2006]

Work visa and student visa are different visas. A few years ago it was possible to convert a L visa to residence permit (working) in country but they clamped down on that. Some provinces are going even further and clamping down where you can apply for a Z visa. This doesn't necessarily effect students wishing to apply for a student visa.

[just_me]

Hi,

As far as I know, and I've been in Beijing for 4 years and know quite a lot of people who went to different universities (including myself at first),

I never heard of any problems for converting the tourist visa to a student visa while in China. What might be happening is that during May-July

the government is tightening control over visa policies. Anyway, as some of the answers above suggest, it is always the safest to email or better

call your university.

Ilya.

[icebear]

A few years ago it was possible to convert a L visa to residence permit (working) in country but they clamped down on that. Some provinces are going even further and clamping down where you can apply for a Z visa.

This still happens in Beijing, actually. Although your mileage may vary, depending on the company and the amount of guanxi they are willing to spend on your visa issues.

[lorenz]

Hi everybody. I'm going to study in the fall semester program at SISU and the lady of the international students office told me the following in the last email:

With the documents we'll send, you can apply for a student visa (X type). But it’s not for 6 months, it’s only for 30 days. You have to change it to residence permit when you arrived. In that case, the university will organize the visa application. No worries.

As I know, student can also apply for a visit visa (F type), which is for 6 months. So, try to get a F visa. It’s more convenient.

I have some questions:

1) if she was referring to the L type (the only one I know as "visit visa"), it covers 1 up to 3 months of stay, not more. is it right?

2) if she was referring to the F type (which in the website of the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in my country is called "business visa"), she was right about the time covered (6 months), but how can I get a business visa if I give present a university letter?

3) if I choose the first option she mentioned (applying for a X type then convert it into a residence permit), may I stay in China 2 months beyond the end of the course (which actually lasts only 4 months), up to six months globally? Or the resience permit requires me to leave as the course come to the end?

Thanks a lot in advance!

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[icebear]

Regarding (2), a F visa previously was also applicable for non-paid internships or studies with a duration of less than 6 months. Not sure how that's changed since the new standards came into effect this year (your program may also be unaware of these changes).

[jbradfor]

1) She was not referring to the L visa, but yes, L visa are typically good for 30 - 90 day stays. You can get multiple entry visas, which lets you stay for that period of time each time you enter. So, if you get a multiple entry 90 day stay, you can enter, stay 90 days, fly to a foreign country (Hong Kong counts), and then fly back into China for another 90 days.

2) She was not referring to the F visa either. She said X visa, and she meant X visa. To answer your other question, there is no such thing as a "business visa". One is allowed to do business or study on a F-visa, so sometimes it is called that, but strictly speaking there is no such thing.

3) In theory, once your studies are done, your visa / residence permit is supposed to expire. In practice, not sure.

[lorenz]

@icebear: thank you, I must know then about the new standards... I guess it's better to ask the Visa Application Service Center here

@jbradfor: I wrote "if she was referring to..." because of her last sentence!

About the F type, it's called "business visa" in the official website of the Center which processes visa applications for the Chinese embassy here in Italy!

From what I understood, the best way for me to get a 6 months stay in China is to ask for a 6 months F visa or, alternatively, for a multiple entry 90 days L visa (planning a trip to Hong Kong in december). Is it right?