JW202 form from university after being posted

[azari]

Hello everybody,

I am new to the forum.I have been accepted for a doctorate course in China and the university has posted the Acceptance letter and JW202 form about 2 weeks back on 2nd July to be exact.But it still hasn't reached me yet.

So I was just wondering if you guys could share the time it took for the application package to reach you after being posted by university.

I am currently in India and the application package is sent by registered post.

Thanks.

[steveh]

Took me a two weeks to get it in the States. Depends on how your local postal services work I guess.

[azari]

Just an update.I received it on 16th July.Took almost 15 days so its quite late considering the fact that India is just next door to China.

[prateeksha]

For some reason being neighbouring countries makes no difference. A cargo package from China to India takes 3 months by surface transport.

[azari]

Majority of the time a cargo package is withheld by Indian customs for unnecessary reasons.

Between I had been tracking the letter and it took just 3 days to reach my home once it landed in India.But it was like lost in transit for about 8 days after it left China.

[azari]

@prateeksha

You have any idea for where I can get Chinese currency in India.Any banks or currency traders that you know of.

[Sal]

Is it mentioned on form, about minimum level of currency, student is suppose to possess while coming to China for studies?

Congrats btw, which university are you accepted at azari?

[azari]

The university is saying that I would have pay the tuition fee in cash on the day of registration.So it would be quite a headache to carry about 30K in cash to China.

[azari]

Anybody having experience with the travelers check issued in Yuan by American Express ? I am thinking of buying them to pay the tuition fee.

[prateeksha]

Azari, I took travelers checks with me to pay for tuition fee. They are convenient to use and can be exchanged easily at the bank in your university. It would be good if you carry some cash with you in RMB. Money can be exchanged at any Western Union outlet. The airports in India will do it too, but the rates are absurd. The Chinese airports do not convert INR.

Carry your Indian visa debit card with you. It can be used at any Chinese bank's visa ATM. Although you would be losing some money per transaction [something like INR 120], it is still a very fast method of getting money from back home.

Which carrier are you flying by? I do not know if you have done this already, but you can show them your student visa and they [usually] double the amount of luggage you are permitted to carry.

PS: Carry a few packs of ready-to-eat food in case you are a vegetarian.

[azari]

Thanks Prateeksha for the reply.

I am also thinking of getting the travelers checks for payment of the tuition fee.But do you have any idea of the yuan denominated travelers check issued by American Express. How feasible and pratical they are ? I will save a bit on the conversion rate (Rs>RMB instead of Rs>$$>RMB) if I directly get them in Yuan instead of dollars.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/prepaid/travelers-cheques/chinese-yuan.html

I am flying Air China.Unfortunately I dont think it would be practical to get the special student allowance on luggage as it wont be applicable on the domestic flights in China and I would have to pay a bit on the excess luggage.

[prateeksha]

They issued only in USD when I did this last year. I would suggest you head to your bank and ask them about this. I had to go to Axis Bank for this work and it took 2 hours. Don't know if the national banks would handle this job or not.

I know students who flew Air China and got 40 kgs instead of 20. Do you have a direct flight to your destination city? Even if not, you can call Air China and ask them if they will allow you increased baggage. No harm in trying

[azari]

Thanks Prateeksha.

Were your travelers check of American Express.They do issue them in Yuan.Here is the list of the authorised dealers in India who can do it for you.

http://www.americanexpress.com/india/travel/travelerscheques/cny/pdfs/purchase_locations.pdf

I did ask Air China after reading your reply and they said the allowed student baggage allowance(46 Kg) is valid only for international flights and for any connected domestic flights I would have to pay for the extra luggage.