Really Stressful F Visa Situation - please help!

[Hello120]

Hey Everyone,

I need help with the following issues regarding my F visa, which is valid for 120 days. Answers as quickly as possible would be much appreciated, and I am facing that 500 RMB/day fine potentially:

1. I entered the country in the beginning of September 2007, with the intention of studying at a university in Beijing. I ended up not enrolling and therefore did not get the forms from the university to register my residence. It has now been 30 days, and I have not done this at all, and I have been traveling throughout the country instead. Should I immediately convert to a travel visa (L Visa), as I am not a university student now?

2. I have not registered with the PSB during my travels. Is this something I should be doing in every single city I visit, or does the hostel do this for me?

3. If I leave for Hong Kong and get a new travel visa, will I be fined, or somehow unable to get the new visa since I had an F visa but never studied?

4. Would I be able to convert my F visa to an L visa within China? I have read a lot about not being able to convert L to F, but never the other way around.

5. Has anyone else come on an F visa and decided not to study? What did you do? Am I technically overstaying my visa right now, even though I still have several months on it, because I am not a student?

As you can probably tell I am pretty stressed out and perhaps not thinking clearly about all this, but I did not realize that the F visa had so many strings attached until someone mentioned it to me yesterday. Any advice would be helpful.

[Yang Rui]

An F visa is not a study visa. It is intended for people who are coming to China for conferences or business trips, but this does not stop you from travelling around anywhere in China for as long as the visa is valid. Therefore from what you say I don't think you have violated any terms. If the visa is valid for 120 days you're ok. You don't need to change to another visa. There are loads of foreigners in China doing all sorts of things on F visas so you really don't need to worry about not enrolling on the uni course.

There are some F visas which are only valid for stays of up to thirty days within the period of validity but if you have such a visa it should say so on it.

If you're staying in hotels or hostels, then registering with the hotel (filling out a form on arrival) is enough - you don't need to register with the PSB. The hotel is supposed to keep records which the PSB can refer to if necessary, so i wouldn't worry if i were you.

All in all, it doesn't look like you have anything to worry about, unless your F visa is one of those where you can only have stays of 30 days at a time.

[Han-tiger]

This is a complicated question involving China’s immigration law. You maybe get the right answer or information you want at the right time, but I suggest that, in parallel with waiting for any possible reply to your message in this site, you pay a personal visit to Beijing Administration on Immigration and Emigration (URL: http://www.bjgaj.gov.cn/net_service/consultation/index.jsp?operation=personal&id=160), or turn to a Beijing visa consulting company to get things done.

[Senzhi]

I fully agree with Yang Rui,

as long as you're within the valid dates mentioned on your visa, you'll have no issue at all ... regardless of the visa you may have.

Assuming you're not going to start working, of course.

[shanghaikai]

Nothing new to add from me really but I did want to give you more reassurance by agreeing with what Yang Rui posted.

It seems you got your F visa from the enrollment letter that the school issued you. That is how you got into China. That you ended up not completing enrollment is semi-irrelevant, similar to dropping out or changing schools. As Yang Rui said, if you're staying in hotels, motels, or hostels, they should have handled all temporary residence registration for you. Just to be safe, you should keep the receipts they give you as you check-in or check-out.

[imron]

Just to clarify things and to make sure that future readers don't get the wrong idea, please note that the regulations for F visas are different from X visas. If you come in on a student X visa, then you do need to sort out enrollment and residence permits within 30 days of entering the country. With an F visa there are no such requirements.

[Hello120]

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for all the advice - lots less stress on my end. The other question I have is, if I leave the country, for Macau or Hong Kong, and reenter on this F visa, will they check my enrollment status? Or is having an F visa a free pass once you get it?

Also anyone who has had a similar situation is welcome to reply to my first post.

Thanks

[imron]

Being allowed to re-enter depends on whether or not you have a multi-entry visa, and has nothing at all to do with your enrollment status. Check on the visa itself under the entries section to see how many entries you have. It will say M(多）if you have a multi-entry visa.

They won't check your enrollment status when you enter/leave the country, however, if you don't have a multi-entry visa, or if you haven't applied for a re-entry visa then you won't be allowed back in. If you are only on a single-entry visa, then your chances of getting a re-entry visa without your school's help are probably not very high. However, that said, it's trivial to just leave and then apply for a 6 month multi-entry visa in HK.

A multi-entry F visa is basically a free pass for the duration of the visa, hence its popularity with many expats working in China who for one reason or another are unable to obtain a Z visa.