mark14ox

Hi everyone,

I'm in China at the moment on the 2nd stay of my 2-entry, 30 day tourist visa. I entered the country on the 15th of November, and have a ticket to leave on the 15th of December. According to the CVASC, the 30 day countdown starts on the day after entry, so I would be fine -- but the Internet is full of other pages saying the 30 days start on the day of entry!

I'm really worried, because it's now too late to apply for a visa extension, which apparently takes 7 business days. Can anyone confirm whether the CVASC page is correct?

Thank you!

moondog

1. I think the CVASC page is correct
2. If it isn't, the maximum possible downside is being fined Y500 (which typically gets reduced by 50%) upon exit
3. Visa extensions do not require 7 business days in general (1-2 is more typical)

But, I wouldn't even entertain bothering with #3 in your case.

jiejie

No, the visa countdown begins on the day you entered--CVASC is wrong. November 15 is Day 1. Day 30 is December 14 and you need to be out of China before midnight changeover to December 15 in order to avoid an overstay. Since you were going to leave on December 15 anyway, I would just go to Exit Immigration as planned, be prepared with RMB 500 for a potential fine, and if the officer brings up your overstay, be contrite, plead stupidity and inability to count, and be prepared to hand over the RMB 500 without argument--if it's asked for. Officers do have discretion to waive small infractions/amounts so perhaps you'll just get a minor scolding, maybe not even that. It's unlikely that this would lead to any longer-term repercussions or affect your ability to enter China in the future.

As far as visa extensions go, it does take 7 days particularly in big cities, which are the worst possible places to get extensions. There are a few places such as Lijiang in Yunnan and Leshan in Sichuan (near Chengdu) that are extremely traveler-friendly and can process in 1-2 days. However, since the change in Immigration Laws, nobody is doing same-day extensions anymore. Visa extensions normally cost the same as a standard tourist visa and in your case, I agree with moondog, don't bother.

anacapamalibu

3) "Duration of Each Stay" refers to the maximum number of days the visa bearer is permitted to stay in China each time, which is calculated from the date of entry into China.

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/zgqz/t943855.htm

889

But since it might take a bit longer for processing, get to immigration well before your flight.

mark14ox

Thanks everyone. By the way, I did not get a visa extension, and had no problems when I flew out of Beijing. At the check-in desk, the airline agent paused for a few extra seconds when she saw the date on my entry stamp, but said nothing. The exit immigration officer did not react in any way, and waved me through in about 10 seconds. I do not know if this is because I wasn't in fact breaking any rules, or because he just didn't notice (seems unlikely -- surely the computer would automatically flag overstayers?) but for now, at least, there doesn't seem to have been any problem.