Well, it’s that time again. Visa rumors are flying around again. Like usual, we have only rumors and no way to confirm anything. If you remember last year, you remember how you probably saw half to three-quarters of your friends leave the country, and not come back. Sure, these people had lives in China, they worked, taught, had friends, apartments, girlfriends and boyfriends. Before the Olympics, many people who were working on F visas or whose student visas ran out had to leave. For many, the issue wasn’t them, but that their companies couldn’t get the papers together. The choice was simple, get a one month tourist visa or get a Z work visa.

Photo: mackz

As many of us found out, this came with horrible consequences. Some people took the easier route and just decided to go home for a few months, back to their countries. Others decided that a much needed vacation was in order, and Southeast Asia is always an appealing and economic option when you have 2 months to kill. Being thrown out of the country you live in is always easier as you lie on a beach in Thailand with a fruity drink with a little umbrella grasped firmly in one hand. The real fear, however, was not being able to get back in. What about the apartment? What about belongings?

Those of us whose companies were not gracious enough to have figured out the drastic possibility of their employees’ deportation slacked, and we learned the horrible anxiety that accompanies being illegal in China while your company assures you they are handling the problem. I do not advise this unless you enjoy paying exorbitant fines of 500 RMB a day, and signing away millions of papers condemning yourself for your irresponsibility and irreparable damage you have done against China, for which you should feel eternally culpable.

Now, the issue is that the 60th anniversary of China’s liberation is coming up in October, so expat netizens in China are spouting rumors, saying that there will be no more multiple entry F visas and that they are only available until September. What’s extremely annoying about this is that you have no accurate source for which to turn to in order to get the right information. As we all know, decisions here are literally made on a day-to-day basis, without warning. Tomorrow, tables outside restaurants may be banned, then one week later you see that it’s back to normal.

Photo: Ken Mayer

I guess in the end we will just have to wait again until everything is official. It’s probably a good idea to get your visa extended for as long as possible if you don't want to have to leave the country again. This is just one of those annoyances we have come to live with, though it’s hard to get used to it. As Gilda Radner said: “Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.” Never did those words ring more true than for those of us who live in China!

***

China Explorer> In China..Get On the bus! Part 1
Expat Corner> Chinese Taxis and Led Zeppelin
Expat Corner> Roll, Roll, Roll, your Hamster Ball?

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.