Living in China With Expired Visas
Having an expired visa in China is a no-no. If you live in China, you are probably already pretty aware of this. Let’s take a look at what you need a visa to do in China:
What You Need a Visa to do in China
- Stay in a guest house / motel / hotel (the more expensive the place, the more likely they will check for a valid visa - mid range hotels and up always check, guest houses in tourist cities rarely if ever check)
- Enter or leave China (kind of obvious one, no?)
- Rent an apartment
- Survive random spot inspections at your place of abode or (sometimes) on the street
So basically, unless you are adept at running from China’s police and living on the streets / in the wild, it’s a pretty good idea to keep your visa status up to date in China.
If you want to try and live without one, let me know how it turns out for you.
What the Chinese Government Can do to You if Your Visa is Expired
Legally, the Chinese government can fine you 500 RMB a day up to a maximum 5000 RMB, and can throw you in jail for up to 30 days if you get caught with an expired visa.
But you should be more worried about what could happen - like locking you up and throwing away the keys. Not that it’s likely, but it’s hard to trust the cops anywhere in the world, especially when you are a foreigner. So…
Be safe and keep your China visa up to date
This warning inspired by an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, which says that police are cracking down on undocumented / expired visa carrying foreigners in Beijing in preparation for the Olympics.
China’s regulations are very spasmodic. So there are always ways of getting away with breaking the laws in China. A lot of foreigner in Shanghai work and live illegal, bunch of unregistered companies start business and hire people without pay taxes and insurance.
i am in china, with my visa expired and living the wild life, now i am trying to back to my country but… i dont know how. i’ve been here 8 months and my visa expired 7 months ago…
so also i got a lot of troubles with the psb and police local but maybe i am a lucky guy because i always ran away without show my passport to they.
any suggestion.. of course i dont have the money for pay the fine (5000rmb i think so).. wish me luck.. see you. Jay.
Hi Jay,
I don’t know what to tell you. If you have enough money to buy a plane ticket home, you might be able to get through customs with just a warning. But that’s a big maybe.
You probably need to save up or get access to enough money to both pay the fine and fly back home. Fortunately, it seems like the maximum fine is capped. So if you can keep avoiding the police and save up some money, you could get home okay.
Good luck.
now i am in the border line, i tryed to across by the mountains but there are a lot of security. after that i tryed to go out the country but first i need to paid the fine 5000 rmb and i can go…. but i dont have the money so, the police told me that i go back when i get the money, they dont care nothing and leave me go, so easy, so… maybe i need to find a job. crazy laws… i am sorry for my write but i speak spanish not english. i hope you can understand. thanks for the suggestion.. chao
i submitted my passport for visa renewal before it expired. the agent confirm that he can renew the visa without problem and ask for huge amount of money. but 3 months later i still don’t have my passport back with the new visa. i don’t want to stay without visa so i want to go back to my home country but cannot leave without my passport. what do you think should i do?
Hi Jo - That’s a hard situation to be in. Sounds like you got ripped off. You need to file a police report for a lost passport with your local police office, take that along with proof of identity (birth certificate and any other IDs you can get sent from home) to your local consulate to apply for a new passport.
Anyone who takes money upfront for visa services is doubly likely to rip you off, unless you are turning it in at a large visa services office that’s an obvious company.
HI ,
My multiple entry china visa for 6 months , expired yesterday 12nd march , and today is 13 already
how can i proceed ? just past 1 day ,
but i need to stay in china for more couple of days maximum more 2 or 3 days ,
it was my mistake accidentaly … i just forgot …
i have been applied before for one multiple entry and i dont have any restriction in china
can u help me ?
i got my passport back but without the new visa. i want to go back to my home country with an expired visa. what do you suggest should i do? can i go straight to the airport with ticket and expired visa and pay the penalty at customs at the airport?
Jo and Kim - That seems like it would be the best option - pay the penalty at customs. It doesn’t seem like you can renew an f visa from within China if your visa is already expired. Good luck.
hi there!
is it possible to renew my L visa even if I renewd it already for 3 times? can i change it to F visa? by the way, i’m holding a philippine passport.
i want to stay longer here but just worried about the visa systema nd the freaking fees.
i hope you can help me.
Hi Janz,
How did you renew your L visa 3 times? Do you mean you renewed it 3 times without leaving China? That’s quite an accomplishment. Of course, I don’t know the regulations for philippine passports.
Changing it to an F visa may be possible in Hong Kong - changing it in China usually requires your last visa to have been obtained outside of the country, and with the Olympics coming up it looks like the situation has taken a huge turn for the worse.
Visa processors everywhere have been telling me they can’t help me. Come June I’ll find out better, but the situation doesn’t look good.
hello,
i lost my passport and had to report to the police .a police report was issued to me and now i have to thinks of going back to my country.i intend buying an airticket then summit my id,police report ,and plane ticket to the police burea.your advice is highly needed.
Hi Tony,
You need to go to your consulate within China and apply for a new passport - in order to do so you’ll need sufficient proof of your identity - probably a birth certificate and any other forms of id you can get your hand on. Your consulate can let you know what you will need, they generally require a police report for your stolen passport if it was stolen. That’s all I can tell you, good luck.
hi everyone! just to update and it might be of help. i bought a ticket and went straight to airport but was not allowed to exit customs at the airport. i was advised that only expired visa of less than 2 months can pay penalty at the airport customs office and leave. so i had to go to immigration office and arrange for an exit visa. so if your visa is expired for more than 2 months, don’t go straight to the airport.
Jo - thanks for the update. Please let us know what kind of procedure and fee you had to pay at the immigration office if you get a chance (and what nationality you are)
my visa has been expired now since september 2006 as my passport was taken by a chinese visa agent promising to get me an F visa. this happened after i was given a 10 days visa to leave the country ..he assured me he could do it and then disappeared with my money and passport..i got a police report and then later had a new passport. I~m a holder of a cameroonian passport. since then i have never been able to have a visa. 2 expired 10 days visa in a roll….please if you have ever seen such a situation, help me out..how can i go about this . i really want to leave this country , they can`t allow me go, even with the 500 penalty i took to the psb … they sent my passport back to me. this was done through my Guanxi.
I have a resident permit visa that I received through my former employer(it expires in July). I no longer work for that employer and I never gave them my passport to cancel it. Im aware that my employer could still have cancelled it even without having it in its posession. So right now I have no ideal whether or not my visa is valid. Id like to return to the U.S in May and I dont want to have any problems. Any suggestions on what I should do?
AJ - I’m sorry I don’t know how to help you. Maybe someone else could give some advice. Good luck.
Hi Neffy - You could contact your employer before you head out to check if they canceled it, just to make sure you don’t get stuck in immigration and unable to get on your flight.
The other option is to make sure you have 5000 RMB on hand just in case…