How to extend a visa in Shenzhen, Kunming or elsewhere.

Hello,

I want to visit Kunming. Today I am in Shenzhen. I have some questions about extending a visa here.

I have a double entry tourist visa in my passport (it is a Western European passport).

I have already used the first entry of my visa. (I crossed the border to Hong Kong and came back to Shenzhen to activate the second entry of the visa).

Now, I want to extend the second entry of the visa if possible.

1. Should I do it in Shenzhen or would it be better in a smaller city?

2. Can I just go to a hostel and ask them to sign me in and hand me a registration form of temporary residence (the pink form)?

3. I should be staying at the hostel/hotel the same night as I apply for the extension, right? (Not the day before).

4. How many days will the PSB likely extend the visa? 14, 30 or another number of days?

5. How many times can I extend the visa?

6. When is the best time to apply for an extension at the Public Security Bureau (PSB)? 10 days before expiry of the old visa? 5 days before? Or some other number of days?

7. Will they give me back the extended visa the same day? Someone said that the extension voids the old visa. So then it would make sense to wait for as long as possible before applying for an extension. But if it takes a couple of days to get the extension I would need to know that in advance. E. g. if it takes 7 days to receive the extension (or if it's issued on the same day).

Tera

Instead of getting a double entry - please consider applying for the multiple re-entry (with no apparent limits on re-entries until the expiration of the visa (but you should NOT try to re-enter if the visa will expire within a week or two).

I believe the cost is the same for single or multiple - so travellers opt for the multiple re-entry visa - just in case.

You should probably try to apply for the visa extension at a larger city, as they're more experienced. Smaller offices may occasionally make up rules, simply because they don't know the process, in which case you'll need to POLITELY escalate to the supervisor.

Best wishes and hope you enjoy your experience.