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Q: About China's Q2 Visa, I need your help!
This year China (in an attempt to boost their civil/foreign policy) changed the tourist/family visa to something called the Q2 visa. Which basically allows Chinese family and or persons married to a Chinese national to stay in China for up to 1 year without having to renew their visa.
I believe EVEN STILL you are not allowed to work on the Q2 visa... WAY TO GO CHINA! Anyway, I was told that in order to get this visa you MUST leave the country and presumably go back to your native country.
This visa will probably interest a lot of you married to Chinese nationals that have other means of working. BTW it is legal to work as a tutor or in consulting in China on this visa... but nothing else. I work online so I get around it via this method.
I need to know from someone who has already gone through this process.
Did you HAVE to go back to your own country or can you go to HK or perhaps Thailand or something?
Please point me in the right direction if you know where to find the answer as well, thanks!
10 years 44 weeks ago in Visa & Legalities - China
Im on a marriage visa,I get 2 years every time.didnt have to leave the country,dont own a house,visa is done in shenzhen,no one asks questions.800 yuan for 2 years.
biggj123:
Same here, 2 years " although if you ask for more years and it not your first visa you can get longer if you explain your situation" and they never ask me questions they just do it. Nothing about money, or why in here or anything.
I already went with my friend to try this Q1~2 visa in HK, HK can only get you a 6 month Q1~2 visa. But what I don't understand is why do you need a Q2? Just have your wife go to your local PSB and sponsor you a RP, all you need is 2 years of marriage, 60,000 RMB in her account and you are good to go..
Where in the world did you ever see or find a law that states we can be a tutor or consultant on Q2 or any or visa? I would like to read it..Pass it on to us.
Thanks
Robk:
Thanks, I never heard of this RP method. I will look into it, but good to know I can just get the Q2 in HK or Thailand and then renew it every 6 months just within China.
ironman510:
I really hope a Q2 visa can be renewed within China at the PSB. That's new to me but I have heard rumors about it. Hopefully it won't be just for 30 days like the L visa was whenever renewing it within the PSB
Robk:
Well, previously I was on a L-family visa that I could renew easily every 6 months. The old PSB manager was weary at first... plus I kind of pissed him off because he made us wait 30-40 minutes. I let my wife handle it and kept quiet but obviously annoyed and disrespected him in turn.
But the second time, I caught him with a group of his buddies in his office. Because I spoke Chinese and I saw a picture of him on his desk in Chang Bai Shan (near North Korean, as I have been myself), recognized the place and ask him if it was Chang Bai Shan... He was happier and he would have lost face in front of his buddies since they thought I was a good man for learning Chinese.
From then on it was 6 months easy... so I doubt they would make it harder. I thought the Q2 was to make it easier and more humane.
Robk: In HK you wlll get a 6 months visa at best as stated above. You did not say your country of origen. But in the case of USA, there you can either apply personally for a visa or use a visa agent to represent you. Nothing stops you from Fed Ex your application to agent from China. Cheaper than a round trip air fare, and it takes from 3 to 4 weeks
ironman510:
But if he got his passport mailed from China and sent back into China from the U.S ,how does he get an entry stamp? Just wondering.
ironman510:
And technically we wouldn't require help from a China Visa agent, just send our passport back ourselves to a U.S visa agent to do the leg work for us? is that correct?
Robk:
Thanks,
Just to confirm... I can renew the Q2 within China afterward right? I don't know if anyone got to that point yet but the local PSB stated that we just have to leave because I am still using the old family visa. Then when we are back we can renew every year without worry... perhaps I can go the RP marriage route.
mike695ca:
yes you should be able to renew without leaving china. I have a friend that renewed many times and all visas can be renewed or extended without leaving as long asyou arent changing the type of visa
to get this Q2 visa, you have to own house in the city where you stay and will require the visa. after you get this visa, you have to have income, but not allowed to work. even tutoring is not allowed, and you must be carefull.
So, get yours 2millions and buy house first, than you may think about 1 year visa without work. Chinese dream ...
ironman510:
My friend that got his 6 month Q2 visa didn't own a house, he only had to show his marriage book.. saw it with my own eyes.. My wife and I bought a house for 500k, 104m2, 3 bedrooms.. You can read the real requirements here: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/family-reunion.htm
I just got off the phone, here's some news I found out about the Q1~2 Visa
This Q1`2 VISA only works as an entry into China, thus can last like a normal visa, but it's like a Z visa in some ways thats gets turned into a Resident Permit., of course not for work, but it's the same process, you take your Q1-2 into PSB of your wife's hometown or wherever her Hukou is registered at and Turn your Q1~2 visa into a Resident Permit that can be renewed from 3 months to 5 years..
Thats new info for me, i didn't know a Q1~2 visa could be turned into a Resident permit.
Robk:
Hmmm... that's interesting.
Yeah that's what I was told, you had to leave China and enter with the new Q2 visa to get it. But they didn't say where I had to leave to...
I am Canadian so I assumed I may have to go back to Canada but did you find out if I could just get it in HK or Thailand or can you confirm that? I was told point blank by that PSB manager I mentioned it was because they are trying to get rid of "undesirable" foreigners. That bring in drugs, work here illegally, you know the drill.
I did a Q2 visa in Hong Kong as my wife works in Guangzhou and hometown of maoming but didn’t get her Id to Guangzhou so I had to go to Hong Kong to get a 2 year Q2 visa
her hometown would do it if we were living there but Hong Kong processed Q2 visa 3days and $2000 hk
Im on a marriage visa,I get 2 years every time.didnt have to leave the country,dont own a house,visa is done in shenzhen,no one asks questions.800 yuan for 2 years.
biggj123:
Same here, 2 years " although if you ask for more years and it not your first visa you can get longer if you explain your situation" and they never ask me questions they just do it. Nothing about money, or why in here or anything.
oh and no one asked about how much money we have either,it was easy to get and no trouble .takes a week to process.
Yeah, I got a Q2 visa in 2017. It was good for 8 years. Got in Canada. each stay was 180 days. Didn't really understand that part. But I never had to use it for long anyway because I went back to work in China. You still need a work Visa in China to work even if your wife is a Chinese citizen.
Stiggs:
Something I've always wondered is... if your wife(or husband) is Chinese and you're on a Q2 visa or marriage visa and you want to work do you get a working visa alongside your other visa or does it replace it or what?
I hear about guys who are married in China but can't legally work, technically at least, and always thought that was bullshit.
What do people who are married in China and working do as far as the visa thing goes?
biggj123:
@stiggs You either have a work visa or a family visa. You get a residency permit with both of them. I think some who have the family visa doesn't work in China they just use it to travel to China for holidays and such. The one who does live and work on the family visa is illegal, they are in the same boat as everyone on a tourist, student or business visa who work.
Stiggs:
Ah, so if you find yourself unemployed suddenly you might end up having to leave even though you're married.
That's what I never understood. I get it if the govt say you're not qualified to work in China or whatever so can't have a visa to do that but you'd think there would be an endorsement or something on your marriage visa that allows you work on that visa if you're suitably qualified.
when you get your work visa, the Marriage visa is cancelled. As Biggi pointed out you can have only one type of visa at a time. If you stop working for whatever reason you can get another Q2 visa again. I'm not sure if this can be done in HK. Since I go back to Canada every summer I have never explored this issue.
