Applying for a visa with a passport that expires in 7.5 months

[bobbyd]

Hi, 

I am applying for a Z-visa from the US to go to China and feel like I'm making a lot of mistakes. First of all, my passport expires in 7.5 months, and I'm hoping to leave next month. I just read something about need at least 18 months left on your passport, but could have sworn I only needed 6 months, and that I could just renew it in China with the US embassy shortly after I get there. In addition to that, this idea of getting stuff "legalized" is throwing me off, because the people who are hiring me emphasized that part in order for me to send them the legalized paperwork, then apparently after I get it back I have to send it back to the Chinese consulate once again to apply for the actual visa. I was somehow under the impression they wanted me to get all that stuff, to email it back to them (my future employer) for them to help me apply for the visa. It sounds like I'm legalizing stuff, then need it back to email it to my future employer, then am sending it back to the place it was legalized to apply for the visa? I forget about how all this worked before, but am I supposed to receive the visa in the US or when I land in China?

[LinZhenPu]

Sounds like you need to get your education documents legalized before you can be issued with a work permit which you need before you can get the visa. Given your circumstances, the tight timeframe and that it sounds like you're slightly confused about the process, the best advice I feel would be to contact a visa agent pronto. You need people who have done this before to get everything done right the first time who know the tricks to pull for complicated situations like this. Your passport expiry date is an issue, you will most likely need a new passport as according to this company http://www.mychinavisa.com/visas/work for a work visa your passport must have at least 8 months left on it. If I was you I'd pay one company to handle an expedited passport application and your work visa application for you. You still have one month but you can't afford to make any more mistakes.

 

I would give these guys a call http://www.mychinavisa.com/visas/work as they also do rush US passport applications, give them a run down of your circumstances and ask them what the best course of action is. They may say that a 2-3 rush passport application is unnecessary. And they will know what to do with the legalization of all your documents and liaising with your employer. 

 

There are three separate documents:

Your work permit which is usually obtained by your employer before you apply for your visa. You need to provide documents to your employer before they can apply for your document. Call http://www.mychinavisa.com/visas/work and ask them exactly what you need to do.

Your work visa - this is a sticker that is placed into your passport by the Chinese consulate or embassy that grants you permission to enter China with the explicit intention of seeking employment. You can only enter China once on this visa.

Your residence permit - you will hand in your passport after entering China to your local Public Security Bureau within 30 days. They will cancel your visa and issue a temporary residence permit which is another sticker placed into your passport and will state your job title and company you are working for. This residence permit is what certifies your permission to continue to stay in the country and work for a specific company in a specific job role. Be sure that the name of the company is exactly as is written on your employer's company certificate of registration otherwise you are caught in a scam and working illegally. You will be able to exit and come back to China multiple times with this residence permit.

 

[NinjaTurtle]

11 hours ago, bobbyd said:

First of all, my passport expires in 7.5 months,

 

Can you go get a new passport? It should only take a couple of weeks.

[bobbyd]

Quote

Can you go get a new passport? It should only take a couple of weeks.

I can, but am checking with the school in China to see if it puts my current paperwork in jeopardy. Like maybe there is another way, but that seems unlikely cause they'll likely need to destroy my old passport before issuing the new one.

 

[bobbyd]

@LinZhenPu

 

This is all super helpful. I really appreciate all the advice, and will utilize it as I'm conferring with the school in China. They seem to think things might be more flexible since it's in a province far from the main hubs, but it also sounds like they might be rethinking if they are willing to wait longer for me to come to China.

[Baby Charlie]

If you are counting on your employer being outside of the tier 1 cities to circumvent the document process, I think you will be in for a big surprise! You need those things done before you can legally enter the country! I would also suggest that you renew your passport in the states as doing it here it expensive. You have to go to the designated US Embassy  for your region to do it, and then go back to pick it up a few months later.  You will have to pay for your travel and take some time off of work to do it! It my understanding that having your degree and criminal record check authenticated, getting your letter of invitation, getting a Z Visa to enter the country is now taking an average of 3 months. This is coming from an American who is here in Harbin, who came earlier this spring. He did not need a new passport as his was fine, but the other stuff took a little over 90 days. His employer was willing to wait as this is the average time it takes to get to China! The days of coming here on a weeks notice, like I did, well actually it was 2 weeks, are long gone! The repercussions of coming here under questionable circumstances might seem trivial but please think long and hard about what it could possibly do to your future!

[abcdefg]

 

On 10/20/2018 at 9:27 PM, bobbyd said:

Like maybe there is another way, but that seems unlikely cause they'll likely need to destroy my old passport before issuing the new one.

 

If you are a US citizen, they don't destroy your old passport. They void it and punch two holes in it and return it to you. But your new passport has a different number from your old one. You need to take both passports with you when you head to China. 

[bobbyd]

On 10/21/2018 at 1:38 AM, Baby Charlie said:

It my understanding that having your degree and criminal record check authenticated, getting your letter of invitation, getting a Z Visa to enter the country is now taking an average of 3 months.

My potential future employer suggests I might be able to arrive in little over three weeks. I sent everything out for the new passport yesterday. The authentication process is what I'm most worried about as I express mailed the three docs that need to be authenticated (two diplomas and a background check) to the embassy in DC last week, and included a prepaid express return envelope and the necessary form, but there was no mention of "authentication fee" or anything like that, so I didn't include that any money for processing. I have tried calling the embassy's visa section about 2 dozen times and emailed them to confirm this is okay, but no pickup/reply as of yet.

[LinZhenPu]

*Where* was there no mention of an authentication fee? There definitely is a fee listed on their website http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/ywzn/lsyw/gzrz/rzfy/ which is payable by credit card or money order in person at the embassy. They do not accept mail-in authentications, you have to go in person or appoint an agent to go in on your behalf. That's the way it is with the Chinese consulates and embassy here in Australia too and according to a lawyer I spoke with they are the only country who don't accept mail-in applications for doucment authentication.

So you or your appointed agent need to walk in with taking whatever ID you have just in case (no ID requirement is listed on that page), explain that you mistakenly mailed in your testamurs and background check and could you please apply to have them authenticated. You'll need to make another appearance to retrieve them after they've been processed. And if you haven't yet had them authenticated by the US government then well... didn't you ask the visa agent for advice like I suggested? You'll have to go to the Chinese embassy, beg for your documents back, apologise profusely for the inconvenience (this is important!), send them to the US government for authentication NOT apostille https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/travel-legal-considerations/internl-judicial-asst/authentications-and-apostilles/requesting-authentication-services.html (this is important because if you get the wrong one your documents will be refused by the Chinese embassy), THEN after you get them back submit them to the Chinese Embassy for authentication again IN PERSON. Also if there is a Chinese Consulate closer to where you live than the Chinese Embassy then you should not be submitting anything to the embassy, instead you should be going to the consulate.

[Baby Charlie]

You do understand that your documents need to be authenticated by the US government first then sent on to the Chinese embassy! You really should contact an agency for guidance, as you are trying to do it yourself but you don't appear to have a clear understanding of what you are doing. As for fees, there is a fee every step of the way! Good luck!