The Z visa expiry date

[joe]

I had thought I was bulletproof. But then I thought about it.

A "working" visa -- the Z -- has an "issue" date and an "enter before" date, and your passport gets a date stamp when you pass through the physical border check point. And then it "lasts" for a year? From which date?

I was issued a Z visa early 2005 and entered China soon after. I worked at one place for six months and then moved on. I signed a one-year contract at my new and still current place of employ and they transferred my residence permit. That is, they had the old one cancelled and a new one issued. The new one is valid until the middle of 2006.

But that can't be right! If residence was as easy as entering once on a Z visa and then continuously renewing one's residence permit, a Z visa would be a doorway to permanent residence. But a Z visa "lasts" only one year, in some sense, right?

I never thought about this before; I have usually gone home at spring festival and come back on new visas. This year I stayed put to say "wah!" at the sky flowers.

Has anyone else stayed legally in country for more than one solar year, and understood the process by which they achieved this feat?

[Raoul Duke]

Yes. Once you get the residence permit, the Z visa becomes irrelevant. The only thing you have to worry about renewing is the residence permit. This process can become more or less permanent, I think, as long as you can keep the miracle happening on an annual basis.

[Lotus Eater]

Same here - the visa in my passport now says residents permit and I renew that at the end of my contract. Last time I went home was January 2005. They renewed the residents permit after I signed the next contract and it is now valid until Jan 07. Gives me unlimted entry and egress as well.

[joe]

Ah.

Maybe this too confirms it:

"Once you arrive in China you will be required to register with several government agencies and the police department to obtain the official working and residence permit. You may then continue working almost indefinitely given you have a contract with the company and regularly extend the relevant documents."


Now that I think with less of my heart in my mouth and my hand no longer in my wallet, that "one year" idea I had seems to be something I picked up in the green card days. Whatever. Apparently it's not true. So I'm not flying to Hong Kong in the next five days.

Phew.

[Lotus Eater]

Is your contract longer than the next 5 days? The residents visa thing is only for the duration of the contract in my understanding. Once the contract is finished then you need your FAO to chat to the PSB to give you an extension or you need a tourist visa.

Yep just reread your post. It should say it on your new residents visa though.

[joe]

Yep, I'm contracted and residence permitted until July.

Kinda bored though.

I saw a "job" ad yesterday that called for volunteers to work beside Nepalese teachers of English in Nepal. It said you can have dal bhat every day. But that's a job for someone who knew where they could go after they'd done their maximum of six months in Nepal. China ESL is a bit like a prison sometimes.

[Lotus Eater]

Don't know about the prison bit so much - I'm looking forward to starting work to slow down the lunacy that is my current life! At least then I'll be able to say - sorry I have classes tomorrow and so have to go home soon.