I need some help. My wife's siter (from the Philippines) came to visit us and got offered work as a singer at a hotel, however the employment doesn't begin until May. Also, they do not help with the visa processing. I know previously it was possible to get a 3, 6 month or 1 year visa from agencies in Shanghai and Beijing, however this doesn't seem to be the case anymore as the agencies are now saying they only do 1 year residence permits (which require the assistance of the employer). Does anyone know where I can get a visa for her? Anyone know of any contacts? Her L (tourist visa) will expire in 2 weeks.I greatly appreciate anyone's time. Thanks!

Your wifes sister needs first a working permit. With the working permit the hotel should help her. ... the next step then is the residence visa also here the hotel should be responsible. If they do not want to help you could offer her first an invitation letter from the company you work for and then she can get a business visa, so she do not need to leave. Then she has a little bit more time to do all the formalities with the residence permit.

Ines

I doubt many hotels will help with a residence permit for a lounge musician...they're usually treated as transient contractors and not direct hotel employees.

Getting a visa in Jiangsu Province has always been a pain, and it's getting a lot worse everywhere as the Olympics loom ever nearer. Sometimes it's also harder in general for Filipinos to get visas than it is for other nationalities.

It might be worth looking to see if the hotel will sponsor an F (business) visa, which is a lot easier and cheaper than providing a residence permit, but for now your only choice may be to get shorter-term Tourist visas and renew them as needed. Unfortunately it may be hard to get anything longer than 30 days...

I would suggest not even trying to get a tourist visa in Suzhou. The rules and requirements here are just madness. Get/renew it in Shanghai if you can, but your wife's sister will probably have to be ready to go to HK or Macao periodically.

Be very careful using an agent to get a visa. I have friends here in Suzhou who have been given fake visas by Shanghai visa agents...with serious ramifications when their visas finally got checked by the police. These were well-known, long-standing visa agencies with impressive websites, too...
Your best bet is to simply go to the friendly folks at the Shanghai Bureau for the Inspection of Livestock and Foreigners and get the visa yourself if you can.

Raoul
Raoul's China Saloon http://www.raoulschinasaloon.com

Ines and Raoul,

Thank you both very much for replying, I really appreciate it. Well, I will look into the situation further. I will pursue seeing if the company I work for will help and also if the hotel is willing to sponser an F visa atleast. I was told by a visa service in Shanghai that they couldn't help me now, but that they could again after the Olympics. Interesting... Also, I am living and working in Changzhou (my wife is in Suzhou) and i went to the visa office here and it seems pretty straightforward to get a tourist visa extension (assuming my employer provides a little assistance). The big problem comes after her time is up with the tourist visas. Well, I'll see what I can do. I greatly appreciate both of your help and if you or anyone else has any more tips I'd love to hear them.

Richard