Is it still worth learning Chinese with the current visa policy?

Recently I heard this this dialog:

- Hey man, I want to invest in China, I want to settle here, can I do that? I mean because of visa and stuf…

- Sure You can. The law states You can. But we don’t know if this law still exists tomorrow.

Two weeks later, at April 1st, worst case happened. China’s visa policy changed dramatically without any previous notice.

The recent changes in the Chinese visa policy made me think. Not only me, since April 1st a lot has changed. Some even thought it was a April Fools Day joke, however it turned out true. On April 1st the Chinese government made severe changes to their visa policy, one of the hardest being that not issuing any more F visas that are valid longer than 1 month, except in case You do some serious paperwork.

First I will ramble a bit on the visa policy, in the later paragraphs I will outline the implications of this new visa policy.

With that being said visa are a topic almost every evening You go out with with your laowai friends who are here for working.

怎么办？

Alternatives include a tourist visa, which is valid longer than a business (F) visa by default. This sounds like a bad joke.

Next up is a working visa (Z). However to get one You must be working in a big company with lots of money. Small companies normally cannot give You the paperwork needed for a Z visa.

Then there is the student visa. I’m not aware about what’s really up with the student visa, however according to some media I read the student visa also were slightly hit. Apart from that, You can’t earn money with a student visa, so this one is out, too.

You might consider marriage, however giving up Your homecountries passport is not a real solution for a person like me, who still wants to travel all over the world. The German passport I hold is one of the best when it comes to traveling.

As mentioned before, the business visa is no longer making it, because of it”s severe restrictions.

After the Olympics everything returns to its original state

Honestly, I have my doubts. For several years in a row the visas have been restricted more and more. The state of visa policy at the beginning of 2008 was already pretty damaged. The last change is more like the last semi polite way to ask foreigners to leave the country, except if they bring large sums of money.

If China returns to the beginning of 2008 state after the Olympics, this is not a real solution, especially if You are making an investment here. China really should put some modern visa policy in place to encourage Westeners to dedicate to this place. However at the moment the future is insecurer than ever. Even if there rules are relaxed after the Olympics, noone knows what happens next year. Trust has been misused here.

Speaking about investment, I’d like to point out the implications on my investment here in China.

Is it still worth to learn Chinese?

This is a really tough question. Let’s see why I am here:

• The beautiful woman
• The good food
• Work
• Learning Chinese is fun
• Nice people to party with

I have quite some reasons to be here.And therefore I learn Chinese. Yes, I’d like to spend a good part of my life here in China. However if the big guys don’t allow me to be here any longer, should I still learn this language? My friends who hang out in Japan have often told me: Start learning Japanese and come to Japan. In Japan there is no risk that the visa policy might change any day. The rules are clear and if You just work a little You can stay as long as You want.

When I return to Germany in autumn this year, I have already invested 2 years into Chinese. Someone might tell me, hey just get a contract with a big company, then You have Your Z visa. However I want to move around in the country. I’d like to stay 1 year in Beijing, 1 year in Shanghai, 1 year in Guangzhou. Which company would like to hire someone and do all the paperwork for a Z visa, if the guy moves on after 1 year anyways? These companies should be rare. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not indecided. In maybe 10 years I want to settle down.Then I can easily sign that 10 year contract. But now I want to have fun. So it might be, that China won’t let me in anymore. Then I’ve invested in Chinese for nothing. Learned a language of a country, which doesn’t really want me. Maybe I’m talking to fast. We will see what happens after the Olympics…

Yet I have to see what Taiwan has to offer for me. Maybe Taiwan is an alternative. If it isn’t I really have to consider the Japanese option.

There are too many thoughts on this topic in my head. The above shows just the most important part. At the moment there is so much insecurity about this in me, the conclusions I draw here might be too fast, yet I’m not a gambler. And at the moment I feel learning Chinese is like a big gamble.

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