Hello all,

I am in love with a Chinese woman, and wish to work in China. The company I work for produces about 200 products in China. I am the Art Director for the company, and am trying to have them allow me to relocate to China, to monitor our product's printing, manufacturing, etc. So, I have a very legitimate reason to be working in China.

I found some information about the "Residence Permit," and was wondering if anyone out there can shed some light on a few questions.

Is the permit process as involved as it seems?

Say if I was in China for a year, and wished to continue living and working in China, and my company supported it, is it difficult to extend the permit, or can the government just bump you out of the country "just because?"

Am I mistaken, or does the Z Visa only last for 30 days? How then, do you find enough time to be granted the Residence Permit?

If anyone out there can share some of their experiences, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks for your help!

Brad Holahan

I think I found most of the answers to my questions above in another Z-Visa post, thanks to mr pango and lunchalot.

But, still was wondering about the lenght of a Z-Visa. Are they only 30 days at a time? Doesn't seem like it leaves alot of time to run around and get your paperwork in order.

Any help would be great. Thanks for the informative posts. Very helpful for the newbees...

Take care,

Holahan

you have to be with an established company, maybe there is a size/capital requirement too, to get a 6 or 12 month Z visa. They are limiting long term, Z visas because too many people are getting around paying taxes, etc. with it. If it's a real company and you have a good job there, and the company meets other standards, the company can apply for a residence permit and a work permit for you, which is usually good for at least 1 year.
If your company is not already working with a visa/permit company, you can call those types of companies directly and get the specific requirements. SantaFe relocations, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), etc. are some of the bigger, legitimate ones.

coffeehawk,

thanks for your time. i greatly appreciate it! yes, the company i work for is large (50 million, i hope thats considered large!) and is in the process of purchasing a company in china. so, sounds like it is all in-line. "Duoxie ni de haoyi!" now i just have to convince them to let me be in china!

take care and enjoy the adventure over there!

holahan

When I first arrived I came in on a multi entry tourist visa that was valid for 6 months but I could only stay 30 days at a time.
All the running around for paperwork etc. can be done in 30 days, but I actually took my time and went to visit mates in Hong Kong half way through the process.
It is only the last stage that you need to leave your passport.