Jumping through visa hoops(2)

Unexpected trouble

Rieu complained to the Global Times that nobody from his former or current employers told him he should provide additional materials until he went to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. "They have no idea how difficult it is for a foreigner to get such documents together in a short time."

But the worst thing is he was told that, even if his application materials were complete, it would take another month to get his visa approval and passport back.

"By that time, my current visa would have expired," Rieu said.

In order to successfully obtain a new work permit, Rieu, accompanied by his Chinese colleagues from the new company, went to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau early one morning.

They explained the situation to a visa officer and asked him to grant a visa extension to ensure Rieu could have enough time to apply for a new working visa.

With the implementation of the new law, foreigners need to start preparing for the visa application earlier because of stricter requirements and wait longer due to longer processing times.

However, responses from schools and the tourism industry remain calm. Among the universities that enroll foreign students and international travel agencies that the Global Times interviewed, most said there was no obvious impact for them as of yet.

Some foreign media expressed their concerns about a potential negative effect on international trade.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement that in their survey showed that about one-third of their members saw the new interpretation of the law as a major obstacle to developing their business in China, according to German media Deutsche Welle.

According to the report, Hong Kong, once a short-cut for foreigners looking for a visa for the Chinese mainland, is becoming more and more difficult to pass through.

Zhong Hong, an HR manager at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Beijing, said that the influence of the new policy on their work involving foreign employees is emerging.

"We have seen a lot more uncertainty during the transition period due to the new policy being implemented. We received a lot of messages from the authorities telling us to prepare many extra materials, which is difficult for us to get done in a short time," Zhang told the Global Times.

"For example, we were required to provide the birth certificates of one of our foreign employee's children, which have to be confirmed by the local Chinese embassy back in their own country, when they apply for a residence visa for their kids here," Zhang said.

A counselor for Shanghai-based Meshing Consultancy Services Co, Ltd., one of the largest Chinese visa application agencies in Shanghai, also confirmed to the Global Times that these stricter requirements would have an impact on their clients in terms of costing more time and energy for visa application.

Another senior HR manager from Beijing Foreign Enterprise Human Resources Service Co., Ltd., the largest State-owned company providing visa and residency services for foreigners in China, told the Global Times he was ordered not to comment on the new policy to the press.