Employment & Professional Development

My new Dean has made it clear to me that the work visa documents are good for 90 days. I understand I have that long to go to the Chinese embassy and get my Z visa. My understanding of this is the Z visa is good for 30 days once I touch Chinese soil. My question is can I wait a few months before going to China once I have the Z visa? For example, I get the Z visa in late May and then I spend the summer in the Philippines, is my Z visa still valid since I haven't crossed into China yet? Does anyone know how long this is visa lasts? This is what I am hoping to do this summer. Thanks.

Danny,

Both the visa documents and the Z-visa itself are time sensitive. The Z-visa is valid for entering China up to 90 days from the date it is issued so, no, you would not be able to travel for several months once it was issued by the embassy or consulate. The PSB generally requires five days to convert the Z-visa into a residency permit (assuming there are no problems), so you would probably not want to enter China with that Z-visa more than two-and-a-half-months after it was issued, and even that would be cutting it very tight. Most people schedule their flights so that they will arrive in China within one month from the date the Z-visa is issued.

hi Greg

i was just wondering since the z visa is valid for 90 days does that mean that i can enter china a couple of months before i begin my teaching position?.
I have a few friends in china around the country that i would like to visit before i begin teaching, would this be possible to do a bit of travel before beginning my job.

Regards Joel

Hi Joel,

Legally speaking, you are supposed to register your presence (residence) with the local PSB within 48 hours of arrival in a new location, even if only visiting (and, for example, when you change residences, such as when moving from on-campus to off-campus housing) and foreigners are expected to apply for a residency permit within 30 days of arrival if their stay in China will exceed 30 days, but I've never heard of tourists getting in trouble for not applying for residency on a 90-day tourist visa. However, the technical duration of each stay on a Z-visa is 30 days, and most provinces will hold you to this such that you would be facing a fine if you showed up for work more than 30 days after you first arrived.

Just to play it safe, I would probably run your plans by the school so they can advise you what the sensibilities are of their local PSB. Legally speaking, they are responsible for your welfare once you arrive in China so they may have something to say about it.

Okay, I understand better than before. I am wondering if I can get my Z visa while out of the country. I will have the documents needed in May. Can I wait till early July and get the visa using a service while I am abroad and then arrive in China late August and have a month or more left on the Visa? If not, I will have to reschedule my plans but I need to be overseas at least in early July. Thanks.

If you are going to be in one place for an extended period of time, the school can request a different location as the point of origin for the issuance of the Z-visa within your official Letter of Invitation (i.e., there is a place on the Letter of Invitation itself where the school indicates which embassy or consulate you will be using to apply for your Z-visa). This is how, for example, foreign teachers who are currently teaching in different Asian countries can apply for a Z-visa without first having to return to their native countries.

I am also aware of a former reader who was staying with friends in France and express-mailed his passport to his father in the United States who, in turn, used a proxy service to obtain the Z-visa and then mailed the passport back to his son after receiving it. The thought of living in a foreign country without access to one's passport is a scary proposition I think. I would suggest you go with the first option, but this will necessarily require that you involve the school in your plans because you'll need their help in specifying the use of a Chinese embassy outside your own country.

Hi Dr. Greg,

I'm just wondering about the interpretation of the Z visa validity. I would post the link but I don't know the rules on this site yet.

I read this on Chinese Consulant. org out of Los Angelese, " III. The Z visa is for single entry and valid for 3 months, with the duration of stay being "000 days after entry". The holder of Z visa should enter China with 3 months of the issue date, and go through procedures for obtaining residence permit in the local public security bureau within 30 days of entry." This seems to mean that the holder of a Z visa has 90 days to enter China and then the visa is good for 000 days after entry. I understand that 000 means 30 days in this case. So a holder of a Z visa could enter on day 90 and still have 30 days to obtain his residence permit. That seems to differ with what you were saying in earlier posts where I believe you said the 90 days was inclusive of the 30 days after entry. Of course, I may not be understanding clearly what you're saying. If I am misunderstanding what you said, please forgive me, sometimes you have to spell it out for me. You guys are right 99% of the time anyway as far as I can tell. Thanks.

Technically, you are correct: There are two different time factors at play. The first is the validity of the Z-visa itself for entering China and the second is the duration of stay. On an X, Z, D, or J-1 visa, the duration of each stay is 000 day, in which "000" is regarded as 30 days, and that clock starts on the day of arrival irrespective of the date of issuance.

Legally speaking, you could arrive on the 89th day from the date the Z-visa was issued, travel around China for 28 days and then show up for work and apply for residency on the 29th day from the date of entry, but I was deliberating erring on the side of the angels, i.e., I wouldn't advise anyone to do it that way as a practical matter.

In regard to Z-visas, provinces apply different tolerances regarding when that legal duration of stay officially ends, which is why I advised Joel to notify the school of his intentions. A few will not make a fuss if the teacher applies for residency within the valid time frame of the Z-visa, while others will issue a fine for doing so if the duration of stay has exceeded 30 days from the day of entry.

To play it safe, i.e., to allow for unforeseen problems, one should arrive in China with at least 30 days of validity left on the Z-visa and then report to work well within 30 days from the day of arrival. Overstaying the duration of that single entry for more than 30 days (before having the Z-visa converted into a one-year residency permit) could be overlooked in the presence of a legal contract or it could lead to a fine, so anyone thinking about doing this should consult with the school first to determine the particular sensibilities of the local PSB.

Thank you for addressing the ambiguity in my reply to Joel. I have revised it in the interest of clarity.

As a general rule, it would not be a good idea to enter China on a Z-visa and then plan to travel with it for more than 30 days from the date of entry before reporting for work and applying for a residency permit.

Any ideas about a time frame for the school to send those visa documents? I gather it is about 4-6 weeks before they arrive. I understand the school has to deal with the various types of red tape before express mailing this. Is this 4-6 weeks accurate? Thanks.

Once the school has received all your paperwork, which may include the Physical Exam Record for Foreigner, and brings all your documents over to the PSB, it should not take longer than a few days for them to return your Letter of Invitation and Work Certificate (assuming there are no problems), perhaps a full work week if they are really backed up.

If the school uses DHL's "overnight express," you should receive the documents in three days. The whole process shouldn't take more than two work weeks from the time the school has received your documents, assuming there are no problems and the school assigns someone to this task who can stay on top of it.