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Q: Urgent: How do I get a tourist visa to china with only a 1 way flight?
Hello, I have signed a contract with a school in Shanghai. They are trying to get me my work visa and FEC, however because of the high amount of FECs being processed right now, it has been delayed and they may not receive it and get it to me in time for me get my work visa before my flight I have booked for May 19th. I have talked with the employer and they are suggesting I come over on a tourist visa and then on arrival they will set me up with my work visa and FEC. I feel very confident in this company and trust that they need me and are not playing with me.
How do I get a tourist visa with only a 1 way flight (legally and a way that will not get me in trouble). Is this common, safe, and legal to go over on a tourist visa and then get my work visa? Should I be concerned or is this safe and common? Thank you for any help you may give me.
8 years 51 weeks ago in Visa & Legalities - China
you should not even consider traveling to work in China on a tourist visa.
if your employer is legitimate, they would send you the documents you need to get a 'Z' visa.
they are BSing you
end of.
you should not even consider traveling to work in China on a tourist visa.
if your employer is legitimate, they would send you the documents you need to get a 'Z' visa.
they are BSing you
end of.
They are sending me the documents, but they are being delayed and I may not receive them in time for my flight. They are setting me up with the proper documents though.
sorrel:
it still sounds like you are being BSed
what 'delays' are there?
have they given you anything but a vague reason?
just make it clear that you won't travel without the correct visa.
if they are legitimate, they will understand.
you should be VERY concerned.
sorrel:
I should add that they don't get you the work visa.
They should send you the correct official documentation for you to apply for a 'Z' visa in your home country.
When you arrive, you then apply for the Residents Permit and FEC
if they are telling you anything different, they are BSing and this will be the start of you being BSed during your entire time there.
Shining_brow:
You do understand that you will need to leave the country - probably back to your home country - in order to get the Z visa, and then return and have it transferred into the RP...
Yes, getting the Z currently takes up to 10 weeks, with all the BS crap that the government has imposed and all... but coming here will not make the process any faster (they would scan the relevant documents and email them to you back home). So, coming here would actually slow things down a bit - because once you've got the docs, you'd need to fly to somewhere - if you're really lucky, HK. if not, home.
Lose the money, delay the flight! (it will cost less than the price of the return and back anyway!!) Unless you want to actually be a tourist, and look around for a bit...
In order to apply for FEC, School must be authorized by Chinese Gov. to hire foreigners.
If Co. has foreign hire authorization, application for FEC starts only after FT is already in China, and had passed Medical exam (emphasis on 'no infectious diseases').
Why in the (two) world-s would you buy a plane ticket to China, before you even get Z? If L visa require return ticket, you won't be able to get visa with one-way ticket.
'As I stated above.......'
What a fok are you posting Qs here then? You got an honest reply from an old timer in China, and you are in the mood to argue?
Just skip eChina posting, and L yourself for work in China.
Once you're in China with L or F, you must exit again to get Z.
Happy traveling!
Hey benjamin, I can hook you up buddy, just send me your bank details and ill sort everything out for you, dont worry, this place just needs the right wheels to be greased.
Someone is not telling the truth. If you have all the right documents there should be no problem. I suggest you find a different.company. Never work on a tourist visa.
Plus what no one else has mentioned........once you get to China on your tourist visa......you'll then have to leave again to get your Z visa! Normally back to your home country! The only way they can process an FEC/Resident visa is if you've entered China in a Z visa. This can sometimes (rarely) be done in Hong Kong.
icnif77:
No one mentioned?
'Once you're in China with L or F, you must exit again to get Z.'
I'm very sensitive
today!
icnif77:
And I was 'guessing' you're all copying. Not 'pasting' thou
.
You're going to get deported from China at your own expense, and banned for 5 years or more... IF you try to go over on a tourist visa.
Do yourself a favor: don't do it. Legit work visa or nothing. Call your Airline and tell them there's been a problem with your work, and you need to reschedule your flight. It could cost as much as $280, but would you rather lose over $3000?
Hope you don't have any shoulder or neck issues because you'll be looking over your shoulders none stop. Thats not a fun life to live.
Dont get on a flight without a Z visa in your passport.
Wow!! Wow!! Mr bengaminlawson, it is good to see that you appear to have done some research into the visa/residence permit process and taken the time to make a post here.
The first thing you should do is LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE ON THIS FORUM. Those that answer this type of question have a wealth of experience in the various way a FOB (fresh off the boat) teacher may experience a shafting.
Don't come without your z visa. End of story. By moving the goal posts this late in the game, one may speculate that either (a) this school has already reached their quota of foreign teachers, or (b) they don't have certification. The "workload" story is BS. Although my most recent FEC was a renewal and they told me it would take a month, I actually got it back in 7 working days (the renewal process is almost the same a new one).
As Mr ironman510 says, working illegally is not a fun life to live. Your registration with the police will raise some red flags.
In answer to your specific question: you will not be issued a tourist visa should you book a one way ticket. The application form clearly states you must have a return ticket. I would suggest that you talk to the airline, explain your issue and request a new departure date. I may cost a few bucks but that is surely better than the real risk of being imprisoned until you can get someone to buy your deportation ticket (you can't buy it should you manage to get a phone call), then deported with a 5-10 year ban from returning. Your embassy will be of little help in this situation, please do not think that they will help, you would be wrong.
xinyuren:
umm... I came to China on a tourist visa with a one way ticket. I wasn't planning to return to the USA. It's possible.
Ben, you should listen to the veteran expats. Under no circumstances should you ever come to China on a tourist visa with the intent of working. Your school is either not legit or they are willing to risk directly violating the law. If they're willing to try and skirt the law, then they're probably going to violate your contract down the road. I just received an offer from a well known public school in Beijing that wanted me to do the same thing, claiming there will not be adequate time to process the visa. I told them to frig off and promptly reported them to the PSB.
icnif77:
SAFEA is better venue for reporting, IMO.
Cops don't care much, but Foreign Expert Bureau is in charge of all licensing.
By all means, book an outgoing flight from PRC to the Philippines/S. Korea, then cancel the flight once you are in PRC.
What the other posters are saying is true, you cannot be issued a Z visa from within PRC, so ... You will have to leave anyway, if your school actually CAN get the documents together to get you one.
Is it worth the risk of fines, deportation, and being banned from entry for 5-10 years?
The only time you should hang around in China without a Z visa and RP...
...is if you are married to a woman with friends in the Entry/Exit department.
Just another thought. I have flown twice with one way tickets, and both times the airline refused to check me in without going to their supervisor. The first time I was going to the US with a valid US work visa, the second time I was flying to China with a Z visa. If you dont have a return ticket that is dated within the validity of your visa the airline might not take you. It because if you are refused entry to your destination country it is the responsability of the airline to get you home.
xinyuren:
That's strange. I came to China on a one way flight. I had no problems.
icnif77:
I returned to China in Jan. 2015 with Z and one-way ticket. I forgot how was it other times when I flew into the country.
I remember, they're always more detailed with return ticket, when I flew in with tourist visa, but detailed ticket check happened at departure, and rarely in arrival country (in Shalom Land once).
Shining_brow:
I've regularly bought tickets online one-way into China. Never a problem. Maybe once or twice they check the RP at the counter, but otherwise not questions asked! Perhaps your airlines were more cautious (paranoid)?
Find another school. The losers that you have signed with are one of millions of fish on the sea, an they are already flouting the contract. If they cannot give you a work visa, you owe them nothing. You could risk heavy fines, deportation, and a blacklist by doing this favor for them...all because they blindsided you with this situation at the last second. Knowing the Chinese, they probably could never give you the actual papers.
Repeat that mantra with every Chinese employer you meet---ignore their stupid excuses for wanting you to take massive risks upon yourself and keep on repeating 'if you do not pay me x amount, I owe you nothing.' 'If the money does not come on this day, I owe you nothing.' 'If you do not give me a visa that is 100%legal and pay ALL the costs, I owe you nothing.'
Hey guys, thanks for the advice. I have refunded my flight and the proper Z visa and FOC are being mailed to me now. I will be going to china with all of the legal documents.
You must apply for Z at Chinese Embassy. Z cannot be mailed to you.
However, Working permit and Invitation letter must be mailed to you to present both docs. in original, when you'll apply for Z. 
Since you're insisting on mail-ings.
Hulk:
Wrong.
I was able to have my Z mailed to me in 'murica.
You can pay a company to go to the embassy on your behalf and fill out the appropriate documents, THEN receive it in the mail.
icnif77:
I've never used agency for Z application:
| No application by mail country list: |
| if you are holding passport from one of the countries on the following list: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Congo, France, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kirkistian, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uzbek, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Nepal, etc, you are required to apply for the Chinese visa in person at Chinese Consulate. You need to bring the following additional paperwork with your application. |
The school is mailing me the invitation visa and FOC. I will apply for the visa at the embasy.
I have a question. How long does it usually take for a school to get a visa invitation and fec for a teacher? It has taken almost a month for my school to receive this visa invitation, and though they are promising me that I will have a work visa and FEC comming in to the country and I understand with these documents I am 100% legal, i do not understand why it is taking them so long to get these documents... should I be worried? The school says, and I quote "Cos too many people apply for the FEC and the invitation letters now.". As long as I have a work visa and a FEC going in to the country, am I okay and legal to work? I dont want any surprises.
yongge:
Mine took more than a month. Once you have the invitation letter and FEC, you need to apply for a Z visa in your home country, as advised many times above. You need a Z visa IN YOUR PASSPORT before you can enter China. The Z visa is only valid for 30 days, once you arrive in China, you need to apply for a Residence Permit before the 30 days expire. Your school should assist you in this, but it will require another medical test and jumping through hoops. In my case I just gve my passport to one of the office girls and two weeks later I had a residence permit in my passport.
Thank you. In conclusion I should not be alarmed that it is taking so long for my work visa invitation to process and arrive in the states?
Come over
