The place to ask China-related questions!
Beijing Shanghai Guangzhou Shenzhen Chengdu Xi'an Hangzhou Qingdao Dalian Suzhou Nanjing More Cities>>

Categories

Close
Welcome to eChinacities Answers! Please or register if you wish to join conversations or ask questions relating to life in China. For help, click here.
X

Verify email

Your verification code has been sent to:

Didn`t receive your code? Resend code

By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .

Sign up with Google Sign up with Facebook
Sign up with Email Already have an account? .
Posts: 48

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Q: how to convert student visa to a family visa?

Hi guys.

 

Hope everyone is fine and doing great. i need you kind guidance if someone had an experience or knowledge of a chinese family visa.

I'm Pakistani national. Me and my GF we studied in England for over five years then in 2011 she came back to china. last year i also came to china and got admission in a university to learn lil bit Chinese and Chinese culture. This year we got married and we got those red books (i don't know the name lol) from BAOTAO, marriage bureau office, but now i am thinking to switch my student visa to family visa. I been through a lot of website but most of them are confusing so i don't know to apply for Q1 or Q2. and for this i have to leave the country so i am thinking to go to MALAYSIA and get my visa from KL.

 

please, help me guys I'll be really thankful. cheers 

9 years 47 weeks ago in  Visa & Legalities - Hohhot

 
Answers (14)
Comments (14)
Posts: 1845

Shifu

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

From what I know you will probably have to leave mainland China if you want to change the visa type. By family visa I am assuming your wife is Chinese. I am sure you probably know this but just in case I will mention that this type of visa will not let you work. I know they seem to think you will stay at home and be a house husband. If you plan on working in China you will still need the z visa (work visa). Once you are married for 5 years and have been in China for at least 9 months each year you can apply for a permanent residence permit.

Lord_hanson:

p.s. I am also married and work in China. I have looked into different visa options myself. If you plan on working and you need a visa to stay in China then it must be a work visa. If you work without one you will be working illegally and risk a fine and may even be deported.

9 years 47 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
9 years 47 weeks ago
 
Posts: 691

Shifu

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Consult Pakistan's consulates in Chengdu, Shinghai or Beijing (Whichever fall nearer to you). Enroll your marriage there and ask for consultancy. They will be in a better position to guide you through all the process. If you tend to work here on a spouse, you are putting yourself and your wife in danger. 

ScotsAlan:

I don't see what the Pakistan consulate can do.

 

It's the Chinese Government that issue visas.

 

 

9 years 47 weeks ago
Report Abuse

thefidu881:

Yeah, when it comes to deal with his application for visa, Pakistan's embassy can't do anything as it is sheerly in hands of Chinese authority. My advice to op is to register his marriage at Pakistan's embassy as if he wants to take her back to Pakistan, he has to do it for documentation and help if needed. Also the staff can advise him for perusal of proper documents and visas as they normally have consultants. 

 

Rest about work, nothing less than a Z visa. 

9 years 46 weeks ago
Report Abuse

samad_khan772:

Both of you are right guys. but one good benefit which my wife will get is that once i register my wedding at the embassy of Pakistan they will make a POC (its spouse card/ same as mine NIC) for her. so, after that she can easily travel to Pakistan and she can stay as long as she want, she can do business even can get a GOVT job. Just for one thing her access is going to be limited that is the right of vote. she cannot cast vote there.

9 years 46 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
9 years 47 weeks ago
 
Posts: 48

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Guys thanks for your kind replies, well first, yeah my wife is Chinese. Another I beijjng Ka close to me so I will consult it at embassy of Pakistan. Another I know it's illegal if later on I work on that spouse visa but what else can be done. Actually why it's happening is just because of lack of knowledge. Me and my wife we are running our own training school. And we nearly established it two months ago but it's not registered nothing else. Is it possible to register this school on my wife's name and then get Z visa from there? Or someone else have another good option will be glad to hear.

 

thanks guys

thefidu881:

Register the school under the name of your wife first.

 

If you need to work here the best possible and legal choice could be as under,

 

Get yourself hired by the school on a certain post. This way you will legally be entitled to get your Z visa and residence permit. I hope you will have the required bachelor degree and two years experience for getting hired and gaining Foreign a Expert Certificate. If it's  positive the above mentioned is the best deal for you. 

9 years 47 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
9 years 47 weeks ago
 
Posts: 4421

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

If you work online and your salary is coming from another country, then you're safe, I did this during my wifes pregnancy. 29,000 a month.

Report Abuse
9 years 47 weeks ago
 
Posts: 48

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

For registering a school is there any requirement. I heard but m not sure about this statement (that school should be two years old) and also depending on the number of students studying there. At the moment I only have 43 students.

Report Abuse
9 years 47 weeks ago
 
Posts: 7178

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Get your visa first. Forget about the school. 

 

As far as I am aware, you do not need to leave China to get a Q visa. You can do it all at your local PSB office. Just get the phone number from the interweb and ask your wife to phone them.  Don't worry about what it says on the PSB website, it is always out of date.

 

I think you can get a Q1 for 1 year first time, then a 2 year Q1 the second time if you do the medical. You need to do the medical to get a 2 year, I know that for sure. But other posters can correct me if I am wrong.

 

To complicate things though, your wife needs to be legal in the place where you are living. That is, she needs to have a residence card or, even better, a  Hukou for the city you reside in. If you don't, you need to go to her home town. This could be an issue if your wife in running an unlicensed school. Does she pay tax on her income?  If not, you have problems.   Every country want's their tax buck. No pay... no play.  

 

I have a friend doing a Q1 visa at the moment. I will report back . Hopefully by the end of this week. He is lucky in that he has a private income and does not need to work.

 

So far as the school goes..... don't !!  Leave it to your wife.  You are not allowed to work on a Q visa, and your wife's school needs to have a license to employ foreigners . 

 

Also, no need to register your marriage in Pakistan. You are married. 

 

If you are recently married, your wife will be having a baby soon. So you need to stay at home to look after baby while your wife goes to work. 

 

Last but not least.... to get the holy grail (no offense if your Muslim).... the D !!!!, you need to have five years of tax records.  And you can't get that on a Q.

 

Good luck and enjoywink..

 

But please remember, play fair and be honest. No Z = no work. Please don't try to abuse the system, because if you do we will all suffer for it when you are caught. 

 

Report Abuse
9 years 47 weeks ago
 
Posts: 48

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Dear scotalans.

 

Thanks for your kind and detailed reply. it's really informative.

 

My wife is legal at her place and she's a govt officer and paying tax regularly. To get the information regarding my visa my first step was to call the local PSB office. after my wife called a lady spoke to her that i have to exit the country. Apply the Q visa outside and then fly-in to china and get the residence permit from us...so what to do now. !!! do you have any link which states all this? if you do, please let me know........cheers

Report Abuse
9 years 46 weeks ago
 
Posts: 48

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

And another thing mate, Jesus is important and holy for me as it is for you and for my other brothers and one another thing i wanna bring in notice (might be you know or not). A Muslim cannot be a Muslim until he/she believe on JESUS. AND Muslims callS JESUS as (EISSA ALLEH SALAM).

.

We all are in same game but with different roles and characters. 

.

smiley

ScotsAlan:

Erm. I mentioned "the holy grail" in a colloquial sense. Then I thought you might take offense at that, so I indicated no offense was intended, just in case you took it the wrong way.   I say again.... "no offense".

 

Anyway, I hope to be able to report back on the Q1 visa question very soon.

 

 

 

 

9 years 46 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
9 years 46 weeks ago
 
Posts: 48

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

yeah bro........ i knew it. this was just a conversational term, but i don't mind so no offense .......cheer up.....and yeah for sure get back ASAP m waiting for a good news.......!!!!

Report Abuse
9 years 46 weeks ago
 
Posts: 48

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Got an update from PSB. they said new rules are coming regarding Q1 and they will let me know on Monday.......when my wife called PSB the guy on the phone was very helpful, first he said i have to go back to Pakistan to get Q1, then my wife gave them the reference of the xian case (stated above in comment) so then he said he will get back to us on Monday.......let's see what happens.......!!!

Report Abuse
9 years 46 weeks ago
 
Posts: 7178

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Feedback on the current situation as promised Samad laugh

 

 

My friend and his wife went to the PSB today to ask about the Q1 visa. 

 

My friend's wife has written down a translation of the information given.  I have pasted it below.

 

I want to write up an accurate step by step description of how to do it, so I can cut and paste for people asking the same question. I will update as my friends application progresses.

 

The good news?  Yeah, it's fairly easy and you don't need to leave China.

 

Here is the cut and paste.

 

from foreigner :1,passport ,last visa and last time come to china )orignal and copy) .2,1 photo  and the receipt.the paper for register your living place now .3,marry book .4.health certificate )if make the visa more than  6 months) go to a designated hospital from govermant   . form chinese :1.if local people need  the family book and ID card)orignal and notorised copy  ,not the local people need the residence permit of Guangdong provice and ID card)oringal and copy . fee standard RMB:1.Less than 1 year 400 yuan .2.1)including 1 year ) to 3 year 800 yuan.3.3 ) including 3 year ) to 5 year 1000 yuan .  

thefidu881:

As a Pakistani national he doesn't need to pay for visa and residence permits. They are exempted from any such fees.

9 years 46 weeks ago
Report Abuse

ScotsAlan:

I remember reading something about this.

 

Anyway, This is a question that many people have. Not just people from Pakistan.

 

 

9 years 46 weeks ago
Report Abuse

thefidu881:

Yeah, You are right for the precious information you brought in are universal and anyone can get guidance from.

 

I just tried to let Samad know about my personal experience with respect to residence permit and visa fee as I went through the process last year and I didn't pay anything for both.

 

Anyhow I appreciate your efforts in bringing in some useful information for all those who are looking for this topic.

9 years 46 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
9 years 46 weeks ago
 
Posts: 48

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Thanks Alans to be punctual and for bringing the great news.

Y

ScotsAlan:

My friend is doing his medical tomorrow. There are lots of threads here about the medical, so I will not say anything about that.

 

He will apply for his visa on Monday. I will update then.

9 years 46 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
9 years 46 weeks ago
 
Posts: 48

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Thanks Alan's;to be punctual and for bringing the great news.
I also got the same information this evening from another nearest PSB Hohhot. It's really a great news now I don't need to leave china and can apply for visa while staying in. The information which I got and I want to share it here.

1-That if some one is having residence permit no matters he's on student or on working visa he can apply for family visa while staying in. The PSB finds out only about the residence permit.

They gave two forms and a page which contains list of supporting documents required. All of them are same which you stated nicely above in your comment.

Now I just need to roll the dice only......

2- Pakistani national exempt only from the visa fee (as of pakchina relations) but they are not examp from the residance permit fee they have to pay that.
In my case, I'm might be exampt from visa fee but I have to pay the fee for getting residence permit.

I'm really really thankful to all of you. Specially Alan's you and fidu. You guys are welcome to ordos anytime. If any plans for visiting north please let me know.
It'll be an honour for me to be your host.

And I will keep you guys updated with my case. Hope everything goes well and smooth.

Cheers

May ALLAH give you reward for helping people. God help those who help others.

thefidu881:

You are welcome. Wish you a happy life ahead. Regards

9 years 46 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
9 years 46 weeks ago
 
Posts: 48

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Hello everybody

 

hope everyone is doing great. Yesterday I applied for the residence permit, been through all of the processes e.g. Medical, hose registration, invitation letter, it was very easy and got it done. Tomorrow I will get me passport back with the residence permit validity  one year for the first time and they said next year we will give you 3 years permit.

Thanks guys for helping me out and giving my your kind informations.

 

 

Kind regards

abdul samad khan

 

ironman510:

Wow, great news. Good job. Thanks for the update.

9 years 42 weeks ago
Report Abuse

Hotwater:

Good news & thanks for letting us all know :-)

9 years 42 weeks ago
Report Abuse

thefidu881:

Thats a good news.... Enjoy

9 years 42 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
9 years 42 weeks ago
 
Know the answer ?
Please or register to post answer.

Report Abuse

Security Code: * Enter the text diplayed in the box below
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img> <br> <p> <u>
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Textual smileys will be replaced with graphical ones.

More information about formatting options

Forward Question

Answer of the DayMORE >>
A:  "... through ..."?  Only "through" comes to mind is "S
A: "... through ..."?  Only "through" comes to mind is "Shenzhen agent can connect you with an employer, who's authorized to hire waigouren ... and can sponsor Z visa." It's not like every 10th person you meet in Shenzhen's hood can sponsor work visa ...  The only way to change from student to labourer visa is just a regular way by: 1. Finding an employer, who'll apply for an Invitation letter; 2. Exit China and apply for Z visa in your home country's Chinese embassy; 3. Enter China in 30-days after Z visa was stamped into your travelling instrument ...As I am aware, you won't be able to switch to Working permit by remaining in China....,so make ready for a return to your home .... -- icnif77