Originally Posted by
Vulcan
Thanks for the info that Visa by exemption does not apply to cruise ship entry. I did not know that. Anyhow, it appears that the Visa was vaild on entry but expired before they tried to return to the ship. So technically, they overstayed their Visa.
Most PRC visas have an "enter before [date]" clause rather than a fixed expiration date.
In either case, if you overstay your visa, you can be fined Y500/day upon exit, but this is typically reduced to Y250/day or waived entirely in cases of minor oversights.