ticket for a 90+ day stay means max 60 L visa!

[onebir]

I bought a ticket to china recently. I actually want to stay about 7 months, but it seems this can cause problems getting a visa. So i bought an extendable one for a 116 day stay. I told the embassy official i'd either extend the tourist visa in china, or convert to a student visa if i found a good school.

She said: "since you're stay is more than 90 days, i can't issue you with a 90 day L visa - only 30 days"!!!! I resisted the urge to tell her how stupid that was and asked for a 60 L visa, and she said ok...

Moral of this story: if you want a 90 day L visa BUY A TICKET FOR 60-90 days. Unless this is one of those bizzare embassy staff making it up as they go along instances... :-s

[snarfer]

I have had a 90 day L visa issued at the Chinese embassy in Bangkok, no questions asked. I did not have to show a flight ticket or any other type of itinerary.

The Chinese consulate in Los Angeles also would have issued me a 90 day L visa, except that I wanted it issued on my Swiss passport instead of my US passport. They told me there was a new rule that dual citizens are required to use the passport of the country they are currently located in. I interpreted that as: we won't let you get out of paying double visa fees for US citizens so easily. And I waited until i got to Bangkok to get the visa, out of spite.

When I finally went to use my 90 day visa, I had a change of plans and left after two weeks. The immigration official at the airport saw it and, perhaps not noticing my date of entrance to China, began to test my language skills by asking me questions in Chinese. Evidently she suspected I had been working illegally. I told her that I didn't know there was going to be a Chinese test at the airport or I would have studied harder. All the other immigration officials were laughing. Finally they let me board the plane.