Back in Beijing
We have returned to Beijing. After a week and a half, we are finally and legally allowed to be in China.
But we still have more work to do.
For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, we were given single-entry Z visas, a type of visa that in previous years granted us multi-entry privileges in and out of China for one yeat . We still have to complete residency permits within a month so that we can remain in China. This is a new step for us, so we aren't exactly sure how it will work. I'm not sure, too, if these then will allow us multi-entry privileges.
In Shenzhen, our Z visas were multi-entry, valid for a year, and easily renewed. Shenzhen, though, is still a Special Economic Zone, and Beijing is not. For instance, when Randy came to Beijing originally, he had to apply for a new bank account. He could not deposit money into our Shenzhen-based Bank of China account, nor could his Beijing-based employer deposit directly into our BoC account. He had to apply for a new account at a new bank. It wouldn't be so weird to us if we weren't already banking with BANK OF CHINA, a large national bank, with branches all over China, including our forgotten corner of Beijing.
So, now with Z viasa in hand, we still need to fill our more applications, supply more photographs, wait in more lines.
Ah yes; the fabulous life of an expat.
But we still have more work to do.
For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, we were given single-entry Z visas, a type of visa that in previous years granted us multi-entry privileges in and out of China for one yeat . We still have to complete residency permits within a month so that we can remain in China. This is a new step for us, so we aren't exactly sure how it will work. I'm not sure, too, if these then will allow us multi-entry privileges.
In Shenzhen, our Z visas were multi-entry, valid for a year, and easily renewed. Shenzhen, though, is still a Special Economic Zone, and Beijing is not. For instance, when Randy came to Beijing originally, he had to apply for a new bank account. He could not deposit money into our Shenzhen-based Bank of China account, nor could his Beijing-based employer deposit directly into our BoC account. He had to apply for a new account at a new bank. It wouldn't be so weird to us if we weren't already banking with BANK OF CHINA, a large national bank, with branches all over China, including our forgotten corner of Beijing.
So, now with Z viasa in hand, we still need to fill our more applications, supply more photographs, wait in more lines.
Ah yes; the fabulous life of an expat.
Comments
:-)
E&C's mama
Though Myles is much more interested in going back to Sandcastle.