Chengdu: Chinese visa extension reports

[radellos]

Hello,
it seems that it is NOT possible anymore to get more than one Visa extension in China. We have reports from friends, they have a 30day Visa. The did not get more than one extension. They tried to extend a second time in Shangrila with no success.

We travel with a 60day Visa. we extended the first time in Xining, we got 30 days. We tried to extend a second time in Chengdu. We have a friend that knows the head of the responsible office. After we got refused, he called the guy and confirmed that it is not possible to get more than one extension.

So we are pretty sure that even with a 60day visa, only one extension seems possible.

Best Regards.

[bwv812]

Yep, this was confirmed a few months ago:

Under the "new" immigration law, your total extensions on any one entry to China cannot exceed the length of your original permitted stay. Since your original permitted stay on each entry was 30 days, you could not extend for more than an additional 30 days on each entry.

It's possible some PSB offices overlook this technicality sometimes and grant a second extension. But the law is pretty clear it's not permitted.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2915&p=19127#p19127

I guess you may have technically been eligible for a 60 day extension, though.

[BakuBound]

Actually, under the law they could have had an additional 30 days, since their original permitted stay was 60 days. But they're not entitled to those additional 30 days, that's simply the maximum possible. What you get is ultimately down to local policy of the day. Of course they could suspend all extensions tomorrow, if they so chose.

[radellos]

The point I was trying to make is that also with a 60day visa, only one 30day extension seems possible. We can confirm that for Chengdu, Leshan and Shangrila.
They say the Extension Sticker can NOT be extended, and the old Visa is not valid anymore.

[BakuBound]

And my point is simply that those are current policy decisions of those offices. They aren't rules locked in by law. So in future they could become less, or more, strict.

[ough]

Chengdu Visa Extension report, 31 May 2019:

Visa Category: L
Duration: 30 Days, added to previous expiry date
Documents required: photograph, passport, hotel registration, application form and itinerary form (both provided at PSB)
Processing time: 4 working days
Fee: 160RMB
Payment: Chinese bank card only (if not bring exact cash and they will help you out)

A reasonable and stress-free process. I didn't have to produce proof of onward travel or future accommodation, a simple list of dates and hotel names was enough. They provide the itinerary form themselves, I could have saved myself the trouble of preparing a cover letter and detailed itinerary as this was promptly returned to me on reception. Officer was cordial and spoke good English, my visa was submitted 1pm on a Monday and I was told I could come back on the Friday as the application was likely to be ready before the official 7 days noted on my receipt. No questions were asked when I arrived for collection ahead of the official date. Payment is via Chinese bank card only, which sounds problematic but they seem ready to accommodate. In my case the officer just asked me to hand the cash to a lady nearby and she paid with her card for me.

Previously I had one visa extension in Dali where they gave me 30 days from the issue date, voiding the remaining days I still had on my current visa at the time of issue. In Chengdu I was given an extra 30 days after the original expiry date, which is much better (previous visa would expire on the 6th of June, new visa expires 6th of July giving me more than 30 days stay from here onwards).

[Timlemaitre]

Hi,

I have a general question about chinese visa extension, I hope it's ok if I post it here.

What is exactly hotel registration ? I mean, are we supposed to give the registration of the first hotel in China, or I can ask any hotel where I stay to give me this paper ?
Thanks

[BakuBound]

You must be registered at a hotel in the city where your are seeking the extension.

[Timlemaitre]

Great, thanks !