Visa extension

[shong]

Hi,

I urgently need help to extend my visa. I'm currently in Beijing (I'm Malaysian) with an F visa, which will expire very very soon (15 August). I got this visa through Tsinghua University, where I studied Chinese in Spring 2005. The course is completed, but I do not wish to continue to study here. As mentioned by many of the peers in this forum, I think private language center would be more value for money. However, many of them are either have no idea whatsoever on how they could extend my visa, or they are charging exorbitant fees (I think they do it through agents) like RMB1150 for an extension of 6 months. And they give me the impression that they are not quite legitimate.

My question is...are these private insitutions authorized to issue the documents needed for this type of visa extension? What are the documents needed? Does anyone know where I can register for a course (private language center) and get the necessary documents so that I can apply the visa myself? I'm not willing to pay so much for an visa extension when the visa fee is only RMB200. Worse come to worse, I may take a trip to Hong Kong (like advised by many here) to renew my visa. Does anyone know how much does it cost (about would be fine, I know different nationality have different pricing) if this is done in Hong Kong? And if I eventually do take a trip to Hong Kong to renew my visa, do I need to apply for this with the Alien's Entry and Exit Department? Thanks for all the help, I really need someone to guide me on this.

[roddy]

1150RMB sounds about right for a 6 month F visa through an agency. There are various agents advertising in thats Beijing and City Weekend though, so you might be able to find a better deal. I don't know of any private schools able to issue the documents you officially need, and I think they all go through agencies (could be wrong here, but I don't know of any)

Going to HK would work out more expensive when you add in travel, but you get to go to HK. HK agency I've used before here