this isn't really a guide but more of an information regarding the visa. not your credit card but the visa for entry into a country. and by information, i mean personal experience.
i made the unfortunate mistake of applying for a 30-day visa when i could have applied for a 3-months or 6-months visa. i obviously did not know such a long validity visa was available because i was under the impression that i could apply for a student visa which was not an option for me because i was enrolled in a part-time course and not a full-time course. feedback from the admin person in the university advised me that i was able to apply for a business visa upon my arrival so hence my 30-day tourist visa.
ding dong bell later, a business visa was not advisable because it was really expensive and by expensive i mean it costs thousands of ringgit! so it was down to two viable options; leave the country and then re-enter again
or i extend my visa.
no brainer. leave the country and go to hong kong!
i
wish it were that easy. actually it would be that simple really but the cost just didn't justify the means. plane ticket, accommodation and general expenses would have amounted to a minimum of RMB2000 for a 3-day trip whilst a visa extension would only cost RMB650.
no brainer there!
just a little more information regarding visa extension (based on personal experience);
1. you can only extend up to a maximum of 2 times. 30-days for each extension.
2. it's a single entry visa so if you're planning to leave the country and return, make sure to get the relevant visa for your re-entry! i actually wanted to fly to hong kong to visit a friend but finding out that i had to apply for another visa? thanks but no thanks.
3. it only costs RMB160 to extend your visa. where does the RMB500 figure into the equation? chinese speaking agent. if your chinese language skills is zero to non-existent, you may want to hire an agent to help you with the visa extension process but honestly, it is really just bull because the second time i was there for my visa extension, i find out that the officers could actually speak english! at that point i was like
fuck this shit but i had some hiccups along the way so i suppose it was RMB500 well spent wtf.
4. i think your visa agent comes in handy when you're going to the local police station to get your pink slip which is your accommodation slip. you only need to go to the police station if you're staying in a house i.e. friends place, relatives place etc. most hotels have the pink slip available so make sure to ask for it when you're checking-in. i'm saying this because i tried to get the pink slip from the police station since i was living with a friend but the policewoman who was attending to me could only speak chinese so that was one situation where i wish i had someone who was able to translate for me. long story short, i got myself the slip from a hotel instead.
5. passport size photo with a white background needed. i read through forums and various sites and was under the impression that i needed to have a 2x2 photo. well it was wrong information. don't discount information you find on forums though because most of the time, what you need to know can be found in the forums. if only i remembered what forums i've read so that i could share my experience for future references to other people in a similar situation.
oh wells, that's was blogs are for, eh?
since this
happened a couple of months ago, i think it's safe for me to share my experiences for the two times i extended my visa.
as i've mentioned above, i didn't get my pink slip from the local police station but from a hotel. i was absolutely lucky in my first visa extension process. i did it on a sunday. the bureau was open on a sunday because they had a one-week break courtesy of the china national week. there was no crowd on that day and i had a male officer attending to me. now, when you get a visa extension, obviously you're gonna be spending at least a week in wherever it is you're living in but because i was using the slip from a hotel, i only had one night checked-in! now this would be ringing alarm bells in the officers mind already but because it was a male officer and i'm a girl (this was what my visa agent told me), i got the green light for my extension!
this will make more sense after you've read about my second time extending my visa.
once again, i didn't register at the local police station because i was fortunate enough to know someone who was checking-in into a hotel so i had this friend get the pink slip for me. this one had 3 nights checked-in. i'm thinking, if i could go through easily for my slip with only one night on it, three nights would be an even smoother ride!
totally jinxed myself.
i had a lady officer attend to me and all hell broke lose. i was questioned a lot and even my visa agent tried to help but the officer was adamant. i needed to stay in the hotel for at least 7 days or no extension for me. her solution to the problem? go see her boss at counter 7.
boss on duty that day? lady boss.
she was no help either. i had to get a slip with a minimum of seven nights stated on it in order to be able to extend my visa. by then i was absolutely shittin' my pants. together with my visa agent, sophie, we brainstormed on ways where i could extend my visa. we decided on going to another bureau office the next day where i was told the officers weren't as strict when suddenly i asked sophie if we should give it another go because perhaps this time, i would get another officer and hopefully a male one at that, even better if it was the same officer for my first extension.
and so we took another number and waited in the furthest corner of the room, making sure the first two officers we met wouldn't spot us. ninja mode on wtf. i can honestly say i was fuckin' nervous at that point. imagination went overload thinking of all sorts of bad outcomes scenarios for all the rules i was breaking but God was definitely on my side because it was close to closing time thus we didn't need to wait for our numbers. we could just queue at any available counters. i made a mad dash to the male officer, the one who processed my extension the first time round.
damn unlucky because i had this bunch of foreigners in front of me and they were taking up loads of time. fuck this shit. and while waiting for my turn, i tried to hide my face from the lady officer who rejected my extension. my heart was beating fast and my hands were sweaty! i had to face the officer alone this time because my agent, sophie didn't want to risk getting spotted by the officers and thus ruin my chances. she's done this before and i'm thankful she was there for me at this crucial period of my life *insert grateful emoticon here*
ding dong bell, the bunch in front of me still weren't done yet and i was pushed to the next counter with a, you guessed it, lady officer!
die lah this time! sure kena one.
i played it cool, calm and collected and handed in my documents. inside, i was all nerves and butterflies.
30-days visa?
yes.
and that was it. she accepted my documents and handed me my receipt. if there's ever a time i can truly say that i was saved by the bell, this would be it! therefore my advice to you if you are ever in a similar situation as i, go there before closing time because chances are the officers won't bother you as much seeing as they want to leave already!
sophie tells me that i was really, really lucky the first time i extended my visa because it shouldn't be that easy what with my one night checked in stated in the pink slip. in fact, it should be that my second time be no problem what with it being 3 nights checked-in.
God is good to me.
i left the building literally feeling as light as air and with this feeling of nothing is impossible because PRAISE THE LORD, nothing is impossible when i do all things through Him who gives me strength.
the whole experience has definitely made me stronger and wiser. it was definitely a
life experience because i was so afraid i would be sent to the lock-up!
do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
