The art of getting a X Visa in China
Your fellow friend the flying pig has been having a lot of problems getting the X Visa. The issues started in Sweden when applying for the visa at the Chinese Embassy and now it continues in China. Let’s start the story from the beginning…
Two months before departure, your dear friend went to Stockholm and the Chinese Embassy to get the Visa. He had the Admission Notice, The JW202 paper and also a physical examination report that he did earlier last year in Shanghai. But after two hours of waiting and at his turn at the front desk a kind staff member at the embassy explained that the physical examination can be no older than 6 months. So she suggested that your friend contacted his doctor to get the examination. The pig was disappointed and returned to Uppsala without a visa. He then called the Vårdcentral since he didn’t have a doctor and asked to book a time. The nurse answering the phone thought it was strange that the pig wanted to do an examination, since there was nothing wrong with him, but after explaining the male nurse understood, but said that there was no time until early March (two weeks before your friend’s departure). The pig accepted and went for the physical examination at the given time. After paying 500 kr the doctor checked the stuff in the form and laughed at some of the stuff. He said that syphilies almost didn’t exist in Sweden and said that if I got it I would probably have gotten it in China. The pig explained he had not been sexually active for a while and the doctor decided to skip that test. The next problem was that the form required a chest x-ray. The Vårdcentralen didn’t have a x-ray and the doctor suggested that the pig should go to the private hospital downtown galled Elizabethssjukhuset to do it, since the waiting times at Akademiska sjukhuset was to long, and that I wasn’t sick. But that would cost another 600 kr. Since your dear friend didn’t have a better option he tried to call the hospital. He was in a hurry, but there was no time slots to do it, so the female nurse suggested him to just come and do a drop in. After giving some blood and finishing the ECG he left the vårdcentral and the following day he went downtown to get the chest x-ray done. One week later, the results where finished. And your friend went to the vårdcentral to pick the results. The doctor had forgotten to print the aids report (it had to be attached and since he wasn’t there, the pig returned home to return later in the afternoon when the doctor was there so he could sign the attachment). The next day the pig went to Stockholm once again to get his Visa. After two hours of waiting the nice lady at the front desk explained that the syphilis report had to be done and attached to the form. Your dear friend became a bit upset since he had to leave in one week, but the lady at the front desk explained that there had been many other people that had done the physical examination in just one day. The pig returned home to Uppsala once again and called his doctor. The doctor said that the pig had to come down as fast as possible to give new blood for the test, so they could send it to the lab and get it back three days later. The pig went to the Vårdcentral once again and gave the blood required. Three days later he went there to pick the report, but they said that they had changed the procedure and that the pig had to call for a reservation first. So the pig returned home, called and then returned once again in the afternoon and finally got the report.
With just two days to take off he went to Stockholm and the Chinese Embassy for the third time. Strangely there where hundreds of people there and he had to wait for almost three hours before he could hand in the papers. Everything was in order and an express fee of an additional 250 kr was added to the 220 kr fee for the visa. The pig got his beloved X-visa one hour later, but the lady at the front desk said that it was only valid for 30 days and then he had to get a residence permit while in China that would last 1 year. The pig didn’t mind since he was so happy to finally get the visa. On the way back to Uppsala he snatched a ride from a Chinese/Swedish professor from Uppsala University that he met at the embassy. He was also there to get a visa.
So far so good. Then the pig arrived to Shanghai to sort out the residence permit. In order to do that, he first needs a pink slip which proves that he is living and studying at Tongji University. Then he needs an approval from Tongji that he is actually studying here. To get that he first need to get the physical examination approved by a doctor. This apparently can only be done in one place in Shanghai. The Shanghai International Healthcare Center which is in Jinbang Road no. 15. To do this he needs an appointment with a doctor, which he managed to schedule today. After getting it approved (or in the worst case doing a new physical examination), he needs to take all the papers to Tongji’s main campus and get the paper that proves that he is studying at Tongji. Then he needs to go to the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of Shanghai Public Security Bureau and queue for approximately six hours and hopefully all the papers will be in order and he will finally turn his x-visa into a residence permit.
Days left until your friend gets kicked out of China in case of failure to meet the requirements: 11 days.
Fast forward guide:
While in Sweden: Bring the admission notice, the JW202, a visa filled out application form and a physical examination to the embassy. Make sure that the physical examination is properly filled out with stamps everywhere (including on the photo), also have the doctor sign all the boxes with ok or his name. Make sure to have the syphilis, aids and chest x-ray results as attachments and signed. They just raised the visa fees, so go there on time to avoid the extra express fee. But don’t do anything earlier than 3 months, otherwise your visa will be invalid. Also take copies of everything, since they will charge you 10 kr for each copy.
In China: Always bring all the papers you’ve got, some (at least 6) 2 inch passport photos of yourself, yours passport and plenty of copies of everything. Get your physical examination validated by a doctor at the Shanghai International Travel Healthcare Center. Get the pink slip (Registration for temporary residence) from the place at the campus where you pay and sign the contract or (if you live off campus at the nearest police station). Make sure to get it within 48 hours from when you moved in to avoid penalties. Bring all the papers and copies of them to the International Office at Tongji to get a paper proving that you are studying there. Then bring all the stuff to the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of Shanghai Public Security Bureau to get your residence permit.
Places of interest:
Shanghai International Travel Healthcare Center Jin bang lu no 15. (Take the green subway line to the terminal station Songhang, then take a taxi from there. The taxi will cost 11 yuan).
Tongji University Siping Campus. The international office is close to the Mao gate on the 7th floor in the tall building.
Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of Shanghai Public Security Bureau. Minsheng road no 1500. Take green line to Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, take exit 3 and walk straight for around 10 min.
Sincerly Yours
Fei Zhu, battling the Chinese authorities so he can stay in the wonderful Pig’s republic of China!
