Now that I’ve related my research visa ordeal in India, let’s move on to Chinese student visas! I stayed in China from January to July 2019 based in Shanghai University under a postdoctoral write-up fellowship. The procedure for a Chinese student visa was overall a straightforward and smooth process. These guidelines are valid as of December 2018, so please use it as reference and always making sure check the most current official guidelines.
An X1 visa is a good option for short consecutive research-related stays in China of over 6 months. In this report, I will detail the process through which I obtained this visa as a Japanese passport holder. Amend according to your passport, you may get slightly different instructions from your local China Visa Application Centre office on numbers of copies, fees, etc. Keep in contact with someone at your affiliated institution’s international office throughout, who will be very helpful for you.
X1 Visa: begin four weeks before your appointment at China Visa Application Centre to submit documents, actual decision takes only four days.
I suggest you first consult your nearest China Visa Application Centre to make sure you are applying for the correct visa and get precise instructions on application documents. Then confirm with your university contact and employer that you will apply for this and get going!
1. Assemble necessary documents and make copies of all originals
- JW201 or JW202 form: these will take the longest, about three to four weeks, because your affiliated Chinese institution needs to request them from the Chinese government. You will need to send your institution contact a scan of your passport and they will mail these in the post to you. The institution will fill it out for you, do not write anything on it yourself.
- Admission Letter from university: also request from university.
- Photographs (four copies): make sure it’s the Chinese visa size of 33 mm * 48 mm; you can request this at your local photographer. It may also be an option on most passport photo booths.
- Digitally completed and printed Visa Application Form V.2013: you can find PDFs online.
- Actual passport, with 12 months validity and at least two blank pages: check your passport’s validity lasts for the duration of program to be safe. You need the blank pages for the X1 visa and the Residence Permit. If you’ve visited China before on other visas, you may also be asked to give copies of the pages with the entry stamps.
2. Submit X1 visa documents in a China Visa Application Centre in your home country
- According to a very kind representative (Korean student who once studied in China) at the China Visa Application Centre in London, you will get the best conditions if you apply from your home country: see list here http://www.visaforchina.org/. I believe this is generally a good principle. You will also not have to provide extra evidence of your stay outside your home country (ie: a UK Tier 4 Student Visa), which you will have to do if you apply in a third country.
- In Tokyo, you can just walk-in, but in London, you need to make an appointment online in advance. Figure out which for your local China Visa Application Centre by emailing or calling in advance. Don’t go to the Chinese Embassy like I did, you cannot make your visa application from there.
- Once you submit, you will get a slip that states the fee (8400 yen for Japan) and when at the latest you can expect the decision to be made and you can come to collect your passport with X1 visa inside. It should not take more than four days maximum and you will pay the fee upon receipt of passport + visa if successful.
3. Enter China and use your X1 visa at Immigration
- The X1 visa allows you to enter China once, after which it must be converted to a Residence Permit within 30 days of arrival. For this, you need to collect a few more documents. Book your flights accordingly, however, I don’t believe Chinese visas, especially for certain passports like Japan (for instance, Japanese passport holders are exempt from visas for shorter stays in China), are usually likely to be approved. Therefore, once you have assembled all documents from your institution, I think you can safely reserve your flights.
- Bring all the documents you used to make your X1 visa application to China with you. Just in case, bring another form of photo ID, such as a driving license.
- Make sure you get stamps at immigration showing when you entered China.
Shopping around for a bit :)
Residence Permit: submit documents to the local Entry & Exit Bureau within 30 days of arriving in China.
1. Gather necessary documents with university’s international office contact’s help
- Accommodation registration form: this is the first priority, as it must be done within 24 hours. You also need to provide this slip to get the following medical check report. You will register at the Foreign Experts Building 1 Reception. Bring passport with X1 visa.
- Medical Check Report: the most pressing and time-consuming document for Residence Permit, you will need to get a medical check at your local International Travel Health Centre, for which you will need to book an appointment online (http://sithc.shciq.gov.cn/). They tend to get booked quickly, so make your appointment as soon as possible, even as soon as you get your X1 visa. There are several locations, choose the one closest. I was based in Shanghai University, so my closes Centre was 15 Jinban Road near Shanghai Zoo Station, Line 10 – the health centre is a near half hour walk from the station but alongside a main road, so you shouldn’t get lost. Although my appointment was at 2 pm, I arrived at 1 pm, began the check and was finished around 2:30 pm. Bring all documents you needed for the X1 visa, as well as some leftover photos.
- The health check is a relatively long and rather invasive process. They will do X-rays and blood tests, so be prepared for needles (the nurse could not find my veins and really dug around in both arms! I almost fainted). It should cost around 461 yuan. Once this is completed, have your health check report sent to your above address by writing it on the envelope, or the university international office contact may advise you have it sent directly to them or give their phone number since couriers don’t speak English. It took about 10 days or so for mine to arrive with no issue at my apartment.
- Student ID Card: you will need the help of your university international office contact for this.
- Medical insurance receipt: I purchased this through my university’s international office contact for 800 yuan (it cost 1200 for others, perhaps because the duration of mine was shorter) because the registration system wasn’t working, and got a screenshot receipt.
- Letter from the Institution’s International Education College or similar: again, my university’s international office contact took me through this. It shouldn’t be a problem so long as you don’t do it during any major holidays, such as the Lunar New Year break from late January to late February. This is what happened to me, but my contact still kindly worked through her holiday to help me.
- SHU Admission Letter: you should still have this.
- JW202 form: you should still have this also, or a second original.
2. Submit originals at the local Entry Exit Bureau
- Finally, you must submit all the above documents within 30 days of arrival at the Shanghai Entry-Exit Bureau on 1500 Minsheng Road (easy 15-min. walk from Shanghai Science & Technology Museum, Line 2). It can get busy so try to arrive early. On the third floor, you will need to complete a simple form, then queue to make your application, but once you get to a desk, it doesn’t take long.
- Once you’ve submitted, you can choose to have it sent to you or go collect it yourself: I was advised to collect. You will get a receipt telling you when you can come to collect and it will only take 7 business days.
- You will pay on receipt of Residence Permit, it should be 400 yuan. You pay on the first floor, get a slip, and go back and get your passport with Residence Permit.
Now you’re all set to stay in China consecutively for the duration stated on your Residence Permit and leave the country with no issue! Good luck.
Tips:
· Follow the rules, there are few surprises. Do as asked and you should be fine.
· Express thanks to your university’s international office contact. My institution was welcoming and helpful, so maybe you can get the contact a gift or a letter. It’s good to always remember in international fieldwork that local people are helping you on many levels: things as basic as translating for you to speaking with someone in the ministry or visa centre on your behalf (maybe even because you forgot a document!).
Observe and compile a mental dictionary of how a country’s bureaucracy works. It can often explain quite a lot more than what people tell you about a country, which is usually based on general media.
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