Length Of Stay Undecided- Apply For Which Type Of Visa?

[Ren_st]

Depending on whether I get the CSC Scholarship and other factors, I plan to stay in China either for 2 months during the summer or for up to 12 months(summer and fall and spring).

I plan to go to China in July so I need to know which type of visa to apply for.

1. Should I apply for tourist visa(usually 90 days I'm assuming) and should I decide to stay longer, I can either convert to student visa or extend my tourist visa whichever is easier

2. Should I apply for a student visa now?

Is option #1 or #2 more convenient? Any help is appreciated!

[roddy]

Go for the tourist visa - sounds like you might not have the documentation for the student visa, and if you did get one you then have to convert it to a residence permit within 30 days of arrival.

[dali3927]

yeah, right, go for a tourist visa, that would be more convenient, actually, I know some people converted their tourist visa to student visa easily once they decide to study in a school. based on your situation, get a tourist visa first and then to extend the tourist or converted to a student visa once you know how long you would stay in China.

[johndones]

Just try to get as many days on the visa as possible, doesn't matter much if it's a tourist visa or a business visa (F), if you really care about law then you are supposed to have a business visa (for a study period of under 1 year).