Bring Chinese girlfriend to the UK for a visit. 50,000 RMB you say???

Hi All,

I am currently in the UK and my Chinese girlfriend is living in Chongqing, which is certainly less than ideal.  I have recently got back from visiting her again and I would like her to come and visit me in the UK before we decide whether to settle here or in China in the future.  I have done lots of reading on UK websites to check the regulations for her to be accepted as a visitor and that seems to be no problem.  However, she has spoken to some travel companies in China and they have told her that she would need to have 50,000 RMB saved in a bank account before she can apply.  They have also told her that the money would be frozen while she is out of the country, which I assume is some sort of insurance to ensure she returns to her home.  I am trying to find some information on this and thought some of the wise souls on RCS may already have been through something similar.  Is anyone able to shed any light on this and provide any websites in English that confirm this requirement? 

Many thanks

Sean

I'm American so my comments aren't 100% accurate.  To get a US visa, she would need to prove to the Consulate that she has sufficient ties to China to persuade her to return to China.  Proving sufficient ties is her job.

This can be $ in the bank, or a job, or family, or owning property.

I would think the UL rules are similar.  Maybe the 50K is a guideline that the travel companies know will be sufficient?  I cannot imagine why it would be frozen though ....

My Chinese wife and I want to travel to Paris for a week during the Spring Festival. I am American. As part of the arduous process for her visa application, her bank account of 100,000¥ has now been frozen until the time of our return in February. I am rather hoping her visa will be granted, since I bought the airline tickets several months ago and this morning booked the hotel (prices are falling).

This falls in line with what my g/f does. The money thing is two-fold, one- serves as a bond/bail thingy, two-if you can put aside a year's salary and not bat an eye ...

You are lucky, some places require 6 or 12 months banking history. This means you can't just borrow uncle Zhen's money and return it; you must prove its your cash

Yep this is their "bail money" to ensure that when release from their Chinese prison, they will return later. 

Thank you very much for the replies and confirmation all

As part of the arduous process for her visa application...

Would you be able to give me a quick overview of the process and what makes it particularly arduous please? We are just getting started with this, so it would be great to get some advice and tips from people who have already gone through it or who are going through it now

Thanks

Sean

Thank you very much for the replies and confirmation all

Would you be able to give me a quick overview of the process and what makes it particularly arduous please? We are just getting started with this, so it would be great to get some advice and tips from people who have already gone through it or who are going through it now

The process is arduous in terms of the documentation required. They only accept French and English, not anything in Chinese. Documents needed include the following:
1) Records of our property in Shanghai and Yangzhou,
2) Marriage certificate,
3) Her divorce certificate from previous marriage (they charged for translation),
4) Her daughter's hukou certificate (also charged for translation),
5) Her and my bank records of transactions going back six months,
6) Her hukou and permission to live in Shanghai (I had previously translated these),
7) A letter from me stating I would be responsible for all expenditures in Paris, and a chopped letter from my school stating I had a job on my return.

These are all in addition to the two applications forms.
 

It's arduous cause he has to deal with French bureaucrats. If you think Chinese civil servants love red tape... 

But he will not have to deal with French bureaucrats because he is not going to France - randyjac is going to Paris - so he had to deal with the French to get his visa.

Thanks for the advice so far all. So I am now familiar with the requirements of my Government and the paperwork that will be required for the UK. What about the paperwork that the Chinese Government will require?  Apart from proof of savings is there other evidence we will need to submit to them?

Thanks again

Sean

She already obtained a Chinese passport, right? Other than that, the Chinese government should not have a role, other than normal border formalities. The proof of savings and the freezing thereof are requirements of the visa-issuing countries, like the UK (France, in my case). Good luck. Patience, a pure heart, and an occasional s'il vous plait will overcome.

Hi SeanF

Firstly, as a Brit who is dating -and may also tie the knot with- a Chinese girl I went through the same minefield of redtape and beauracratic ambiguity in 2007 when I took my girl to the UK for a two week trip (even though the visa lasted a solid six months). The only difference is that I live in China.

Anyway, we also found tourgroups that did the visa thing and some agencies who could claim to send her to the UK, but we did it independently because, largely, I would be accompanying her personally on the flight. The letter of invitation that you, your parents (presumably) and your dog could write to welcome her (and state you're willing to put her up at yours and cover her costs) is vital. As is showing your passport copies and bank statements of the last six months. Sounds hefty but when I took her to Spain last summer for a fortnight the Spanish Gov required that my inviting relations (I have Spanish family in Barcelona) get a certificate from the police who required that my girlfriend get ALL her personal documents translated from Chinese to Spanish in China! A far scarier process than the UK system! You also need to take out personal insurance.

Aaaaaaanyway...  On her form she wrote she was single and travelling with me. We got a call from the consulate asking again if we were an item and this time she uttered we were. Shocking and annoyed that she'd basically lied on the form due to her admission of being in a relationship (she ticked the other box on paper) the consulate worker replied "well why didn't you say that then?!". We got the visa! She did also need at least 40,000RMB (a single check her Dad slipped into her bank) and just had several grand in cash with her during the trip. I made her re-write the visa application form several times (in which you can add 'more information') trying to confirm that it was legit and she would return to China after her trip. But I think the single biggest piece of paper was the contract of employment (which had to be legalised). That showed she needed to return to China.

Anyway, hope that might answer a question or two - but daughting it is! Don't buy the air fare until you get the visa too. Counts for nothing (again, unlike Spain).

Best of British!

 

Thanks again for the replies everyone

She already obtained a Chinese passport, right?

That's the first thing we are going to work on...

She did also need at least 40,000RMB...

Is this part of the UK visa requirements?  I'm still digesting what she will actually need

Anyway, hope that might answer a question or two...

Certainly does, thank you so much

Sean

The 40,000 RMB is what I have heard in the grapevine and seems to get most people, who have the right paperwork and dose of luck, over the goal-line.

The 40,000 RMB is what I have heard in the grapevine and seems to get most people, who have the right paperwork and dose of luck, over the goal-line.

That's good then.  She is working to save 50,000 so that will give her some spending money too

Sean