China’s New Exit-Entry Administration Law Go back »
2013-08-26 | All chapters
The regulations on the Administration of Entry and Exit of Foreigners will enter into effect on 1st September. These new regulations provide further clarification and explanation to implement the new Law. They introduce new visa categories, e.g. R visa for high level talents and professionals urgently needed by China, M visa for foreigners who enter for commercial and trade activities, and provide general requirements and documents for application.
So far, the details of the new application processes and the impact in practice is not clear. We expect detailed implementation rules to be released over the course of the coming weeks to provide further guidance.
However, foreigners should immediately pay special attention to comply with the visa requirements, in particular:
• ensure holding the correct visa type;
• carefully monitor the visa expiration date and do not overstay, if possible, extend the visa in time, i.e., at least 7 days prior to visa expiration. F visa holders should note that their cumulative stay in China is limited to 90 days within a calendar year;
• consider longer visa processing periods, e.g., the processing time to apply for an employment certificate in Shanghai in order to obtain a Z-visa is 15 working days, the processing period to obtain or extend a residence permit is now 15 working days;
• make sure interns hold the correct visa, i.e., overseas students may only qualify for a F-visa if they do not receive payment and do not stay in China for more than 3 months;
• carry identification and visa at all times since the authority may randomly conduct on-the-spot checks.
The European Chamber will continue to monitor and inform members on upcoming changes.
We invite members to communicate concerns to the Chamber by contacting Lanna Wu in Beijing at lwu@europeanchamber.com.cn and Ioana Kraft in Shanghai at ikraft@europeanchamber.com.cn.
