X2 Visa Requirements

[trmw]

Hi everyone,

 

Hoping someone might be able to offer some advice on my situation.

 

Tried to apply for an X2 (short-term study) visa yesterday at the application centre in London, UK.

Was told that the admission letter that I had was "not an official admission letter". Was kind of surprised by this, called again today, then emailed in a copy of the letter to the centre - they said the same thing again - "this is not an official admission notice".

 

I've scanned a copy here: http://imgur.com/SqUmGmz

 

Has anyone ever had a similar experience? The school are confused - they say they've used this letter many, many times before and have never had a problem with it. The visa application centre are now saying to apply for an L visa instead, using the letter from the school as the invitation letter to meet that requirement.

 

Any ideas what an 'official admission notice' looks like? I suspect that it's just whatever the person looking at your application thinks looks 'official enough'?

 

Any thoughts much appreciated

 

Regards,

Mike

[roddy]

They'll want a JW202 / JW201 form, I imagine, which are printed by the Ministry of Education and issued to authorised schools - mostly universities, and some private schools. How long's your course of study going to be? 

 

Edit: Actually that's on your admission letter. I'd ask the visa people exactly what they need and pass that on to the school, and maybe ask the school for a letter explaining that they've had X2 visas issued on this basis from countries X, Y and Z on dates A, B and C.

 

Let us know how you get on. 

[trmw]

Thanks for the quick reply Roddy, appreciated!

 

I've just forwarded an email from the school to the visa centre which says "we've used this exact letter many times before for X2 visas", so we'll see how that goes.

 

I was wondering if it's just the application centre being 'cautious' because it's a private school and not a big university. I was very surprised yesterday when they started talking (at the visa centre) about needing a JW202 (I didn't include that in my original post as I didn't want to confuse matters further). But the guy at the centre (who was very polite I might add!) said either a) get a JW202 (for an X2, the school said they've never done that ever), or b) get an L visa.

 

I will keep the thread updated for the benefit of others as things change and (hopefully!! fingers crossed!) get resolved!

Regards,

Mike

[roddy]

Good to hear the visa people are being communicative, at least. Easiest thing to do might be to put your school in touch with them and let them talk it out. 

 

Do let us know what happens, and we'll look forward to hearing how you get on at Yudefang as well. How did you end up choosing that particular school?

[trmw]

I think communicative is pushing it slightly, but they are replying promptly, which is nice

 

I asked them what kind of application letter they needed to meet the X2 criteria, and they just replied saying:

 

"The current regulation for X2 visa has changed."

 

Along with a copy-paste of their original reply this morning

"You can only apply for L visa providing: Invitation letter with full requirements (including your accommodation) + flight confirmation."

 

So, apparently, nothing can meet the criteria for the X2 visa... I find that very hard to believe! I'm not sure how hard I want to push them now, I don't want to upset anyone so they refuse to accept any further applications. Hmm...

[Johnny20270]

I checked the Chinese embassy in London (as I will be doing th same thing as you very soon)

 

I see from here their official website  https://www.visaforchina.org/web/guidance/StepByStep_stepAgreeGoNext.action

they say 

(1) Original and photocopy of Admission Notice issued by a school or other entities in China;
(2) Original and photocopy of “Visa Application for Study in China” (Form JW201 or Form JW202) issued by Chinese relevant authorities

[trmw]

Hi Johnny,

 

I think you were looking at the X1 (Long-term study visa, >6 months) requirements there.

The X1 does require the JW202, but the X2 does not... according to the website anyway.

 

Appointment back at the visa centre again tomorrow - fingers crossed! I'll update with an outcome...

[Johnny20270]

great do keep us posted

 

A bit confused now. it says  

(2) Original and photocopy of “Visa Application for Study in China” (Form JW201 or Form JW202) issued by Chinese relevant authorities

 

so I assume for your X2 visa (<6months) and you still need the form (JW201)? But you're saying the embassy told you you need the JW202 form?? Strange

[trmw]

@Johnny20270: The X2 requirements still don't say anything about either JW201 or JW202 as far as I can see. That's only the X1.

 

So, just to update. This is what happened in summary:

 

1. We tried to apply for an X2 short-term study visa, and were told at CVASC (London) that the school admission notice was not 'official' enough; told to apply for double-entry 90-day L visa (or get a JW202).

2. We emailed to confirm, and were told "apply for the tourist visa"

3. We booked extra flights to cover double entry, got an additional letter from the school covering the L visa requirements (including stipulating they would arrange accommodation for us on arrival).

4. Application was submitted last Friday in London.

5. Visas received today! We both received double-entry, 90-day L visas. PHEW!!

 

I think what CVASC were saying is that if the admission notice had been from a University, rather than a private school, the X2 would have been just fine (the X2 is always a single entry too apparently, they confirmed that). The fact it was from a private school, they said meant the embassy had advised these should be dealt with as L (tourist visas) instead. It seems this may be a recent trend, and it also seems it may just be in London. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has had similar/totally different experiences!

 

Moral of the story: check with the application centre whether they think your admission notice is acceptable, otherwise, apply for an L visa.

 

I'd also point out that my gf has had many visas before to China (L,F and I think some other older types), but I've only had one single-entry L visa 3 years ago - and it was in an old passport that was stolen. I didn't have any proof of that previous visa. I was worried that would effect whether or not they'd give me a double-entry, but it obviously didn't.

 

@roddy - you also asked:

 

 

Do let us know what happens, and we'll look forward to hearing how you get on at Yudefang as well. How did you end up choosing that particular school?

 

My gf found them online, we spoke to them a couple of times, and they offered evening classes which was something we wanted to do. We're planning on (gradually) networking/looking for work/interviewing during the day. The goal would be to leave and come back on a Z visa at some point in the future, and continue on with the evening classes too ideally!

 

I would say that the school (http://www.yccshanghai.com/) have been very, very helpful indeed. They've provided everything we've asked for quickly, professionally and without complaint. Looking forward to getting there! If the standard of their classes is as good as their administration, I'll be happy

[Johnny20270]

hi trmw

 

congrads, so how long are you planning to stay in China for study?

 

Whats the length of stay for your 90 day double entry visa? I for a 180 day double entry before but only 30days max per entry 

[trmw]

Hi,

 

It's 2 entries, each of a maximum duration of 90 days. So, we will go for 90 days, leave for a week (holiday!) and then go back to china for another 90 days.

So, in total it's about 6 months worth of visa.

 

Does that make sense?

 

The visa looks like this (this is not my visa, but same number of entries and stay duration)

 

[Johnny20270]

thats good, I only ever get 30day stay from the London embassy but I maybe its because you said you were going to study

[Jamasian]

I'm glad things worked out. I want to use this program to do an internship. (Unless someone believes there is a better way.)

How has your program been so far? Do you think doing an internship would have helped you qualify for the X visa? Please help me get in touch with anyone on the internship program there.

[trmw]

Hi Jamasian.

 

I'm sure others can provide better information, but I'm not sure there is an 'official' internship visa any more. There are two people on my course doing internships, but they were arranged themselves rather than through the school, and they're just studying Mandarin because they want to. I think one of them is on an F visa (this person is working for the consulate of their country) and not sure about the other. I'll try and find out.

 

I don't think the internship would have helped my application for an X, as that's really supposed to be a study visa, but... you never know!

 

Have you looked for any internships yourself independently first? That's probably what I'd do. What are you looking to intern doing?

 

As an aside (and for any others interested), I'm pretty happy with my Mandarin classes @ YCC. School is nice, good location (Nanjing Xi Lu), teachers are decent and the class sizes (for me at least) are small. Now I've got a full-time job I'll be carrying on with my evening classes for as long as possible. I see that you have HSK 5 Jamasian, so this paragraph is probably not really relevant to you - just wanted to add it anyway