Can I come back to China on a single-entry visa that was issued within China?

[LinZhenPu]

Background information:

I came to China on a 60 day L (tourism) visa to take classes at The Mandarin School. Really great school, recommend.

After a month and a half, with the school's help I switched to Heilongjiang Bincai School 黑龙江滨才学院 taking classes at their Chinese school 滨才汉语学院。I signed up for 3 months and they arranged a visa for me. The 60 day L visa was cancelled and an X2 visa was issued. The visa 有效期至 is valid until 20 MAR 2017. 入境次数 is 01, so it's a single entry visa.

 

The 签发地 place of issue is 黑龙江哈尔滨。

This is what it has in the remarks:

准予停留2017年03月20日，下次入境后每次停留30天

Permitted to stay until 20 MAR 2017 for this time, and to stay 30 days each time since the next entry.

 

Since the entry in the visa has not been used since I did not enter China on this visa but rather had the visa issued from within China, does this really mean I can exit and then come back? And once I come back I can stay for maximum 30 days? I wouldn't blame someone for saying "oh no because getting a visa issued in China counts as an entry", but I don't agree with that. I think the only thing that counts as an entry in this context is going through customs at a port of entry.

 

Is the 有效期至 the last date I can enter China on or is it the date on which the visa is no longer valid? Let's say it's the former which I think it is. If I entered China on this visa on the 20th of March what would be the last day I would need to leave before? 19th of April or 20th of April?

 

 

I know that people have successfully gotten a tourist visa 'extension'. What this actually means is that the L visa is cancelled and a new visa is issued in its place, from within China. So what does such a visa look like? Is it also an L visa with a single entry meaning the same implications? Or are those 0 entry L visas? Could I get one of them after entering China on my X2 visa?

[889]

First off, you don't take chances with something vitally important like this: you ask the PSB.

 

My concern is that you've got a "valid until" visa, not an "enter before" visa, and my understanding is that that type of visa permits a stay only until the "valid until" date. Indeed, that's what the notation says.

 

As you say, a visa issued in China that doesn't permit re-entry is usually marked "0" entries. That suggests you do have another entry, but that if you were to exit and re-enter tomorrow, you could only stay until about March 4, not March 20. That seems odd.

 

Like I said, ask the PSB to be sure.

[LinZhenPu]

Yeah, I went to a PSB station and confirmed that yes, I can come back in and stay for another 30 days from the date of entry as long as I make sure I enter within the validity period of the visa.