complex L visa issue

[annie- baxter]

Hi,

I will be starting work in China soon; I have all of my documents for my Z visa, but my partner (not married) defacto- is not allowed to come on my Z visa according to my employer, so he is having to come over on a tourist L visa. 

 

We are wanting to stay in Beijing for a week or so before we travel to Shanghai for my work.  I know a typical tourist visa is 90days, but I know you can get an extention in Shanghai when it's nearly expired, so is it possible for us to now apply for a double entry 180day L visa?  And with the flights, can he provide the one way ticket ro China then a return trip that is closer to the 180day mark?  As well as a hotel reservation in Beijing?  Is this enough to get the L visa for him?

 

It would be great to get him on the S1 visa, but he can't do that until I get my residence permit from Shanghai a few weeks after I arrive there.   We may choose that option after the 6 months.

thanks!

[abcdefg]

What's your partner's home country? (In other words, what passport is he traveling on?)

 

If it's the US, he should apply for a one-year tourist visa with multiple stays, the duration of each stay being 90 days. If he supplies the necessary supporting documentation, like you outlined, he has a good chance of getting it.

 

If it's his first China visa, they might give him a shorter one for no real reason except their whim. Those things change from day to day, sometimes in reaction to current events that cannot be predicted.

[annie- baxter]

We are both Australian.  It would be great if he could apply for the multiple entry visa, but Im just worried about that 'return ticket' issue, if he still needs a return ticket when should it be booked?

[abcdefg]

Need to be able to show proof of the round trip airline ticket at the time one applies for the visa. What I do is buy a round trip ticket that allows rebooking (date change) of the return leg either free or at a small charge. This requires some research, because policy differs from one airline to another.

 

I don't have any specific knowledge of Australian visas, the application process, their lengths or provisions. Someone else will have to help you with that. (I'm from the US.)

[fanglu]

 is it possible for us to now apply for a double entry 180day L visa?  

 

 

My information is a bit out of date, but in 2009 for Australians the longest stay for double or multi-entry tourist visas was 60 days (90 for former Chinese citizens and their children), the longest for single entry tourist visas was 90 days (180 for former Chinese citizens and their children).

 

It would be great to get him on the S1 visa

 

Is it possible for a defacto partner to get an S1 visa?

[zhouhaochen]

unfortunately there is no such thing as a "typical" L visa. These are given for durations from 10 days to 180 days, depending on your nationality, place of application and luck. The best people who could give you relatively reliable information is your local embassy (you would have to go and ask), a visa agent who goes there regularly or someone who has done this recently (same visa, same nationality, same embassy - any of those are different, all is different). I remember hearing of Australians who managed to get 180 day L-visas recently, so it might be possible though I am not sure.

How far these can be extended for in China is currently unclear. This used to be a straightforward process until July last year, however now it is not anymore. What is sure is that it will not be possible to extend them for very long. Basically staying in China long-term on a tourist visa is not a very good choice anymore. Study or work are the only two real long-term visas that work.