Internship on X visa in Beijing

[barashkov]

Dear all,

 

I was wondering whether anyone has an update on the current requirements for doing an internship on an X visa in Beijing?

 

(I have read the previous posts on this, but the ones I found relating to doing internships are mostly quite old and likely out of date in at least in some respects)

 

I will study in Beijing for one semester from February-June 2016.

 

I asked Peking University and Tsinghua University, being the universities who have offered me places on a course, and they both said that a work visa is required for an internship.

 

Speaking to the Chinese embassy in Australia and Hong Kong last year, I did not ask them this question, but I did ask them about doing an internship on an F or M visa, and they said it’s not allowed, and that I would need a Z visa.  However, at that stage I did not ask them about doing an internship on an X visa.

 

It’s my understanding from the regulations and reading previous forums that if I get a residence permit (which may not be possible to get given that my study duration is under 180 days, although I may seek to extend my X2 visa in Beijing if I add a summer course to bring my study duration over 180 days - actually on this point, Tsinghua University said I can get a residence permit even if my study duration is under 180 days), then you can, at the same time, or afterwards, get permission to do an internship from the PSB as long as the University is ok with it.

 

However, perhaps new regulations have come in that I am not aware of?

 

I will, of course seek to ask the Chinese embassy in Hong Kong and the local authorities in Beijing after I arrive in Beijing, but I was just wondering whether anyone in Beijing had succeeded in getting an internship on an X visa recently and getting the approval of the PSB?

[roddy]

This is a tricky one. The new visa law in 2013 allowed for internships, but the language (Art.22) is quite restrictive - it's when there's a need (需要), not just when you want to do one. If it's not a university requirement, the university may not be that keen on helping you - it's extra work for them, after all. I also haven't heard (may have missed something) of anyone successfully doing this. If it is happening I'd expect it to be people on full degree courses - trainee doctors spending time in hospitals, engineering students doing a project at a factory, that kind of thing - rather than language students. Changes in law can take a long time to filter through as the various ministries and local branches decide how they want to handle things. 

 

If this is something you're arranging yourself, I'd expect you to need to arrange a work visa (or to sneak it in on a tourist visa or at the end of a study visa). I wouldn't mention it to anyone during the visa process, you'll just complicate matters. 

 

Anyone got any more info?

 

Edit: I guess you could try the 勤工助学 route - say you need to do this to support yourself. 

[Steven99]

Most internships must be authorized by the school. And from what I have heard the PSB would need to add a notation on your Residence Permit saying that you are doing an internship. In case they come busting down the door of your workplace and see your passport you'll be scot free..

[gchodorow]

Barashkov,

Steven99 is right that, under the Exit-Entry Administration law, a person in China with a residence permit for study who wants to do an internship or part-time work needs to go through a two-step process getting the school's approval and then an annotation on the residence permit from the PSB Exit-Entry Bureau authorizing the activity. Turns out that the procedures are different in every city. Examples are given in Q14 in this FAQ from our law firm. http://lawandborder.com/faq-new-china-visa-law/#14_What_work_authorization_and_internship_opportunities_are_available_to_foreign_students_with_residence_certificates_for_study.

As explained there, PSB will approve an internship or part-time work in Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park for "innovative" activities. Beyond that, Beijing's policy seems to be ad hoc. What I mean is that there doesn't seem to be a public rule issued by the PSB but sometimes students with approval letters from their universities are able to get residence permit annotations from PSB.