Student X2 Donghua visa revoked?

[Keunyeong Kim]

Hi, 

So i am an university student in Japan, taking online classes right now in Shanghai. 

As I wanted to stay in Shanghai with my parents (dad working here), I got a X2 visa for Donghua chinese classes. 

It was fine before, because Donghua was only conducting classes online. 

 

But now, they are starting face to fact classes from mid October. 

the problem is, the time for Donghua classes and my Japanese uni classes clash two times a week. (in the morning)

 

I consulted my Donghua teacher, she says I have to come to class, or I will have visa problems. 

 

It says that if I dont attend at least 2/3 of my donghua classes, i will have visa problems (with explaining to the teacher). 

 

They also sent a document for me to sign before saying that If i skip 5 times or more classes for donghua without saying anything to the teacher, they will revoke my visa.

 

Do you think it will be okay if i dont attend donghua classes two times a week? Will I have problems with my visa? Or is this just an empty threat? 

 

Please help :((( 

[xinoxanu]

It's not an empty threat: the university is sponsoring your visa so if you don't comply with their regulations, they will act on them and you'll loose your visa. In the best case scenario you'll get banned from getting another visa with them; in the worst, you won't be able to get another student visa anywhere in China and you'll face many issues when trying to apply for other types as well. It's a pretty common situation nowadays, so if I were you I'd do my best to attend classes or proactively inform them that you want to stop being a student, so they can cancel your visa and then you are welcome to enrol again in the future.

 

Yes, it used to be the case that you could pop in once in a blue moon and they wouldn't mind that provided you kept paying your fees. Heck, teachers probably didn't even your name and it was a great way for them to keep a steady flow of money, get fresh graduates to teach for peanuts (about 3000yuan per month in Chengdu) since everybody knew they were visa farms and couldn't care less about the quality of education and, thus, only invest a little bit of money in keeping up the charade... But the PSBs all over China are no longer tolerating that and they request monthly updates on each student's whereabouts, attendance and even semester tests (they don't care about the grade, just that you attended). Many universities have also installed AI cameras at the front gate to make sure they can control attendance, I've seen it with my own eyes.

 

Again, they are being pretty straightforward with you and when that's the case I wouldn't play chicken with them, even if there's that teeny tiny chance that they are not really going to revoke your visa because they don't want the hassle. 99% of the time they will.

 

[roddy]

Whether it's ok or not depends on the university and the PSB. If you miss 2 classes a week, do you fall below the 2/3rds requirement? It sounds like you should be ok if you keep that requirement and keep the school informed. If you can't keep that requirement, I'd start considering other options.

 

A better arrangement might be to get a visa via your dad - that would be an S visa, for family members of foreigners working in China. Assuming he meets the requirements, of course. 

[anonymoose]

Are your Japanese classes interactive? Could you just record the Japanese class for later review and attend the Donghua class?