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[Stil]

Even if you visit a friend and stay at their place for a few days instead of a hotel you must register with the local police within 24 hours.

A family member visits you, they must also register.

If you leave the country and then return, you should again register.

Now hotels must do this but FAO are often incompetent. When you come back from a holiday overseas, you should remind the FAO that you need to register.

[NATO]

All very useful advice (as per usual of course  ) - I am going with my Chinese 'helper' on Thursday to register. Thank you once again patron's of Raoul's Saloon - here's one on me 

[Day Dreamer]

- here's one on me 

Off topic but -

I love a man who knows how to show respect   

[ting]

i have not registerd with police for two years, in two cities. hotels, if checking in alone, no choice. if with chinese friend at hotel, he/she can check in and you fly under the radar. no one bothers me and i can say fluently 我听不懂。the consequences? who knows? as usually the case in china. if at univ housing, the univ will check you in and out,   compliant rascals that they are.

[Raoul F. Duke]

Ah, yes, Living Dangerously. Brave, and convenient...and not recommended.

[A-Train]

It's a pain in the ass sometimes but if you don't do it and the police find out, (even for something completely innocent), you will be significantly inconvenienced and/or lightened in your wallet.

I just tried to do this because I recently moved but my new landlord had never registered his apartment with the government for approval to rent to a foreinger so now he must first register and I will have to do the whole process over again.

[fullricebowl]

Related to this thread- I was wondering if anyone had difficulties registering on a tourist visa after doing an in-country extension? I am having a bear of a time- after the extension, the police started coming to my apartment during the day (when I wasn't there- I don't know why it is assumed if you are on a tourist visa you must be sitting in an apartment all day, I mean why else would you come to China..) and seeing as I wasn't there they revoked my registration.

As I mentioned on a previous thread, I am planning on converting the visa in a few weeks anyway- but I would at least like the option of doing another extension so possibly I could stay in China over spring festival instead of being alone in HK, but that of course requires a current copy of this registration form. Has anyone else had problems like this?

[Escaped Lunatic]

I think I can guess the problem.  You registered and your original visa expiration date was recorded.  If you didn't re-register with the new date, they'll come hunting for you.

If you did re-register with the new date, then someone down at the station is looking in the wrong filing cabinet again.  You may want to go back and register yet again - bring along a Chinese friend to explain the situation very carefully.

[Con ate dog]

Sage advice. 

[fullricebowl]

EL, I think you were right on. The entry/exit bureau needed my passport for several days to put the visa extension in and the police of course started calling the day my original had expired. Tomorrow I am leaving the country, so it is kind of a moot point now, but I don't foresee it being a problem when I come back and register on a much longer visa.

[Paul]

What they all said.

And sometimes you have to register even when you stay in a hotel!  When I first stayed in a hotel in my wife's home town we had a visit from a combined police/military team who filled the room (5 or 6 people, plus us).  They were quite clear that I should have registered at the PSB.  About 30 minutes later, chatting about this and that, all very friendly sitting on our bed, it was explained to me that the hotel staff should do it really, but didn't know how to.
Now I do it myself whenever I go there.

[Escaped Lunatic]

FullRiceBowl,

When you get back and are fully re-registered, ask for a copy of the forms you fill out at the local cop shop.  That will make life a little less exciting.  Do note that there are multiple levels of police, so you may still get visited.  My res permit involved visits to 4 different police stations.

Paul,

Yes, the hotel is generally supposed to do it. It's a simple form you fill out when you register.  They should take that and a copy of the passport to the police for you.  I try to be a law abiding resident, but have forgotten about this a couple times when the hotel didn't shove a form in my face.  So far, I haven't been locked up for it (yet).

One of the hotels in Yunnan my fiancee tried to book reservations at rejected the reservation since they weren't permitted to have foreigners (or weren't competent enough to do the paperwork).


The real fun is going somewhere during any of the big holiday periods.  The police are still in business, but the desks where silly things like foreigner registrations are handled are often closed.


Just to make my life more entertaining, I need to renew a whole bunch of papers and permits in March, including my residence permit.  If there is any delay, I'll be out of the country for my wedding.