Fly To China From Thailand On One Way Ticket?

[jangmai]

Greetings all, simple question I hope... I am Canadian, living in Thailand on a valid, problem free 1 year ED (education) visa with many months left to go before expiry; in other words, no visa or passport problems or anything like that. I would like to go to China (probably Chengdu) for 6 months or a year or so to work. Would Chinese immigration not like it if I flew from Thailand to Chengdu on a one way ticket, saying I'm just a tourist?

[theoldgit]

Without a valid visa you wouldn't be allowed to board the aircraft, so no you cannot just pitch up with a one way ticket and say you're a tourist.

To get a tourist visa for China in Thailand, you have to submit return flight details as well as details of where you are going to stay for the duration of your trip.

I suspect that what you want to do, pitch up and look for work, would be very difficult.

[fvw53]

Pls read also

http://www.chinaembassy.or.th/eng/lsfw/qzxk/t959329.htm

[impulse]

This entire thread has a lot of good info about the recent tightening of visas. Partly cracking down on illegal workers, partly due to the leadership change this month.

http://www.thaivisa....nd/page__st__50

Post #71 probably has your best info.

There are also forums from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing worth searching out for even more info.

What you're planning is done all the time by a lot of people. Some get away with it, some get a one way trip to the airport, a stiff fine, a red stamp in passport and a trip to the destination of Immigration's choice (not a free trip, BTW). Many find it's not worth it because you're vulnerable to all kinds of shenanigans by any employer who will hire an illegal. Google "teaching in China" for a bazillion horror stories, even from legal teachers...

Edited November 8, 2012 by impulse

[jangmai]

Thanks for info gents

Yes that's exactly what I want to do, pitch up and look for work, like I've done several times in Korea. There, you arrive as a tourist, get a job, then the employer and recruiters arrange for you to do a visa run to another country (typically Japan) -- it's a standard routine there for those who get a job while in the country on a tourist visa. So I'm trying to learn how people do this where China is concerned.

[impulse]

A big difference is that you're a visa waiver away from being a tourist in Korea. Not so in China where you will need a visa valid for a defined period, and those defined periods have been pretty short for visas issued in BKK recently.

In the past, it was necessary to travel back to the home country to get a valid visa to apply for the work permit. They generally only issue short duration, single entry tourist visas in third countries. You may be okay if you are a legal resident in Thailand and not on a tourist visa here. Those rules are pretty fluid, but none seem to be getting any looser. It also depends on where you arrive and where you apply for your visa, with some cities being easier than others.

Also, two rules to learn early in your China experience:

1) Just because your buddy (or a poster in a forum) was able to do it, doesn't mean you will.

2) Just because you did it that way last time doesn't mean it will work this time.

[jangmai]

So far a relatively good strategy seems to be:

1) Get the longest-duration Chinese tourist visa that I can

2) Use my qualifications and resources to secure employment with most legitimate Chinese employer possible while in-country.

Obviously an even safer strategy would be to get hired by a reputable company before I actually enter China, so that they could issue the Invitation and do the required leg-work. But I'd really prefer to look around and select an employer (I'm already getting offers) while on the ground, so I'll continue researching this possible route for some time. The information I'm getting from this board will lower my chances of trouble.

Questions: I'm in Thailand. Does it make sense to fly to HKK as a tourist, then get my Chinese tourist visa there instead of from Thailand? Will my being a Canadian citizen make any difference in all of this -- that is, do Canadians tend to have any less trouble with getting Chinese visas and that sort of thing?