z-visasl-types

Question

I will be returning to China from Canada in August 2016 to teach at an international school in Guiyang Province. ( I have been doing this over the last 4 years). Usually I get a 1-month L-type which allows entry, and then the L-type is converted into a Z-type within the 30 days by the school which is valid for the one year duration of the teaching contract. Can I still apply for a 10 year L-type and will that allow me entry as did the 1-month L-type I have used previously through my employer? Once my employment contract expires, I may wish to stay in PRC to search for more work, or simply spend time with my fiancee ( who is a Chinese national ). Do I need to leave the country at the end of my Z-type and return again if I have a 10 year one? A second but related question: If I should terminate my employment while in PRC, my Z-type would be cancilled by my employer. Would I be able to stay in PRC on my 10 year L-type should I have one ? If I did not have a 10 year one, in the same case with the termination of my Z-type, can I apply for a L-type from within PRC? Thank you kindly for your time and consideration.

Frank · Answer

Doug, you can still enter with a tourist L type and then convert it to a work Z type. But if possible, just to play safe, you’d better apply for a work Z type in the first place. After your work Z type expires, you need to exit and then you can apply for a 10-year tourist L type to enter again. Even though your work Z type is cancelled, if you have 10-year tourist L type, you are able to stay in PRC. But you cannot hold both work Z type and 10-year L type at the same time. Thus, you should change your work Z type to a tourist L type before it expires and you can do it within PRC.

Doug · Answer

Z-and L-type types-staying and leaving China.Thank you Frank for your helpful response. Much appreciated. As I understand, I cannot hold a 10 year L-type and a Z-type simultaneously. I will be on a Z-type from September 2016 until June 2017 at an international school. If I do not choose to renew my contract at that particular school, my Z-type would be cancilled ( I believe in two weeks ? ) after the end on my contract. If I understand Frank correctly, I will be able to apply for a 10 year L-type while working in China BEFORE my Z-type expires. Should I be granted a 10 year L-type before my Z-type expires ( or I suppose, on the day my Z-type expires since I cannot hold both simultaneously ) I would then be allowed to stay in China without leaving for another 3 months on the 10-year L-type before having to leave. Is this correct ? Further, if I hold a 10-year L-type, and I return to China to teach, then what happens to the 10-year L-type once I am issued the Z-type ? Is is void while I am under the Z-type but in effect once my -type expires ? To be clear, my desire is to be able to stay in China between teaching contracts if I decide to change schools so I do not have to make the trip back and forth to Canada each summer. I was hoping that if I held a 10 year L-type, then when my Z-type expirse I would be stay in China on my L-type for the time permitted ( 3 months per stay I believe ) without having to leave. Thanks again for your advice!

frank · Answer

Doug, you are right. You cannot hold both of them simultaneously. Usually, when your Z type expires and you end the contract, you will be given a 30-day tourist L type to handle the relevant things. Of course, you can try to apply for a 10-year tourist L type at the exit and entry administration of the local PSB 7 days earlier before Z type expires. In this case, it will be okay. As far as I know, the stay duration of 10-year tourist L type is 60 days at most. If you want to stay longer after 60 days, you can apply for an extension.If you want to teach again in PRC, once you get the work Z type, the 10-year tourist L type will be voided. When your contract ends and you don’t want to work anymore, you can re-apply for a tourist L type for your stay in PRC.

Z-visas and L-types