1 year multi-entry? I haven't met anyone who got one of those.
As far as I know this is mostly for full-time teachers at Universities, business people who have established (trade / financial) relations here, business people who work for companies who have offices here, economists / lawyers who work for major companies or governments and there's politicians / heads of state of course.
Just get married and you'll be fine ^_^ hahaha
Ok, from what I'm reading it looks like you can get a z visa in HK.... sometimes. Depending on the employer and their willingness. In other words, don't bank on it, but it's probably not impossible. I'm still undecided on that, but I may just hope for the best and see if I can do it without returning to Canada. If I can't, I'll figure something out.
As for a 1 year tourist visa, anyone know anything about that? One year OR 6 month multiple entry wouldn't be bad, but I don't know if I could get one without a special reason. Also, I take it I need a return flight as well? Right now I've only purchased a 1 way ticket to KM. I might buy another one and make sure it's a refundable fare, and then return it once I'm in the country since I don't know when I'll come back.
Another option I'm looking at in order to get a decent visa is a student visa, but I'm trying not to spend much $, so I don't want to blow a lot on tuition just to get a visa. I'm sure I'd benefit and like the opportunity to improve my Mandarin, but I want the cheapest option. I found a school that helps get you an x visa and the cost is 4500 RMB for 20 weeks. Any other suggestions?
In any case, I'm going to speak with a visa service person in Chinatown here in Montreal on Saturday. Maybe they'll have a solid understanding of all this... I'll let you know what they say.
@silvio - crap... I've seen it as an option on a lot of different sites that there's a 1 year or 6 month multiple entry L visa... I'm guessing it's rare though, since not many people talk about having one from personal experience, except one american person I saw on a forum from something like 2010... so god knows whether that's possible. I'll even take 6 months if I can... this is shaping up to be quite a challenge.
Hahah yeah, but even if I got married in the next 2 months, we'd still be short of the 5 year requirement... I'm sure that would make her mom happy though!
I had a L visa, 1 year, multi-entry, 90 day stay in 2010. It was the spousal counterpart to my husband's F visa issued for doctoral research. I don't know if they are offered up just for the asking. The 90-day stay was a bit of a pain though. We visited friends in Korea, then went to a wedding in Taiwan, then got a bowl of noodles in Laos for the last one. The border folks gave us some funny looks :) I was volunteering as an English teacher, and they weren't too happy with all my wanderings.
Good luck, though you may just have to commit to exploring Asia every few months. It won't help with saving money, but it will be fun!
Not sure if anyone else can confirm this, but from several American relatives and friends, the 1-year multiple-entry tourist visa (90 day stay) seems to have been issued to Americans -not sure about Canadians. My brother just applied for it for his family but did not get the one-year due to some of his childrens' passports expiring too soon. If you get this, the Laos/Vietnam border run is quite doable.
In 2010 and 2011 from the Chicago Chinese Embassy i had no trouble getting a 1 year L tourist visa with a 90 day stay and unlimited entries. Did not have airline reservations either time. Used a visa service out of USA called TRAVISA very easy as they did all the leg work for a reasonable fee. Interesting side note first visa i did not know what i was doing and requested a 90 day 1 entry. Glad they upgraded for me as i came back to china and stayed 2 times first year for more than 6 months.
hmmm interesting... I'm thinking I might have to get a new US passport quickly then. Annnnd unfortunately file a lot of back taxes.
@jopasny, remember that was 2 years ago and new rules are now in effect. I now have a chinese wife and live in Kunming so able to get resident permit here. I would call Travisa Chicago office is 312-332-1161. In past have gave me good helpful information.
I have been reading and commenting on the various visa and permit threads and discussions for years. The rules and regulations keep changing, are interpreted and implemented differently by various officials all the time. There is no set answer. Each persons circumstances are different. I have done my visas and permits in Yunnan for over 11 years. There are always challenges each year. I have done this for others and employees. There are several persons who are listed on GOKM whom you can PAY to help you with permits and visas. My suggest is why not use a professional to help you. It can be far cheaper and much less stressful.
@ tallamerican + Long-dragon - thanks for tips. Based on the liquidity of these laws I think it's best to have a professional make sense of it. After all, that's what they're for! Either way it turns out, I supposed there are options.
