Yet another hurdle in obtaining my Z visa from the US. I've been combing the web looking for info on this "Non-Criminal Certificate" (CNCC). Seems to be different specifications for each province/city. Anyone know the details for Kunming on:

1. Is a state background check okay, or do I need to do the FBI one? (please say state, FBI looks like it can take several months)

2. Certifications: does it need to be authenticated by the China Embassy?

3. There's also something on the VisaRite website that talks about needing another authentication by my state's "Secretary of State".

Any help greatly appreciated!!

Last time I needed this, I got a friend back in the US to contact the local police in the town I had previously lived in and ask for a background check in their records. Supposedly my friend was thinking of hiring me for some odd jobs.

The local police do this sort of thing routinely, and sent my friend a form with "no criminal record" checked. My friend sent it to me, I gave it to my waiban office and they passed it on to the local visa bureau, and I got my Z visa.

I have not had to get a new "No criminal history document" since then.

I did my residence permit last year. Went through my state's central government (the office responsible for statewide criminal record information, forget the exact name). Was able to use this in Kunming directly without further authentication, though I did pay extra to have the report notarized.

I just completed the first half of the work visa process, using a State Level Criminal Background Check. No further authentications were required - but your mileage may vary. My office was unsure of whether I should have that document further authenticated by the US State Department. When they checked - they said it was not necessary - but again, your mileage may vary.

As noted earlier (I think) on gokm, Yunnan is one of several pilot provinces harmonizing the newly implemented visa processes (and foreign expert processes), so expect frustration. My office did not have any documented information on the process, so we walked through the documentation and authentication processes one obstacle at a time. Took us 6 months to step through each obstacle 2-4 weeks at a time.

As soon as we completed one set of allegedly "final" documents, the next document was then requested. For example CBC and health checks could have been completed concurrently as opposed to sequentially.

FYI

This is my case; I'm in the process of applying for FEC; both of my BA and Criminal Background Check need to be verified the authenticity by my government and then Chinese Consulate in my home country. All of this happened after the whole month of waiting, the government told us that they need the verification. So begin again...

Maybe it depends on your nationality, just my assumption but make sure you get the right info. from the right source before submitting the paperworks.

If you have a bit of money to spare, there are agencies that will take care of the entire process for you.

I didnt have any family living where I last lived in the states so I hired someone to do all the legwork and obtain the required signatures and then they sent the paperwork to me no problem.

@Goldie122 How much money are we talking about?

Hard to say as I got 3 birth certificates and a marriage license with apostille and 2 criminal background checks, one for me and spouse.

For all of that it cost about 500 US dollars.

That's not too bad considering the alternate headaches.

@mustardstain may I ask what your nationality is? I'm applying as a US citizen; hoping I won't have to jump through too many hoops for this.

Thanks for all the input, everyone! I applied for the state background check and got it notarized like @dantheman so fingers crossed...

Also, just as a side note to others reading this and applying, I heard that China doesn't recognize Apostille, so you'll have to get it authenticated instead...