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Once you have applied for and received your X1 Student Visa and entered Mainland China to come to DKU, you still have one more set of steps to complete: applying for and receiving your Residence Permit. This guide will give you an overview of the steps involved, but don’t worry: DKU ISS will help all students complete this process, which is required within the first 30-days of entering China.
The good news is: a Residence Permit replaces your X1 student visa, and functions as a multiple entry visa for the duration of your study period – in other words, the entire time you are a student at DKU!
Whenever you arrive, all students must complete a residence address registration within 24 hours after you enter China. If you live in a hotel, the hotel will do it for you. If you go directly on campus, DKU Student Affairs staff will help complete this for your on-campus housing.
If you come to China before the check-in on August 9, 2024 and you do not live in a hotel (such as living in your friend’s apartment, etc.) you need to complete police registration on your own. The basic procedure is to bring your passport to the nearest police station; your guest should be familiar with this procedure. You will receive a one-page registration of residence form. You will need to get this form again at DKU once you have checked in.
A Residence Permit is equivalent to a multiple-entry visa and must be obtained within 30 days after entering China on an X1 Student Visa. Your Residence Permit will last for the entire duration of your studies at DKU (or until your passport expires – whichever comes first!).
International Student Services will help guide all first year students through the on-site requirements needed to obtain a Residence Permit. Once you have completed steps and are ready to apply, ISS will help take you (or direct you to) the Kunshan Entry/Exit Bureau. After your application has been accepted, you will be given a receipt (the EEB will keep your passport to put your Residence Permit in it, similar to your X1 visa). Be sure to keep this receipt in a safe location. Residence Permits typically will take 7-15 working days to process before your passport is returned to you. If you need to travel within China, the receipt issued to you may be used in lieu of your passport for hotel registration and similar purposes. You will be unable to travel outside China within these 15 days.
Remember: All international students with study visa (Category X1) must apply for a Residence Permit within 30 days after entering China. For this reason, we do not advise arriving in China any earlier than 2-3 days prior to DKU Check-In (August 9, 2024); doing so makes it far more challenging to complete steps needed for your Residence Permit within this 30-day period.
Late applicants will have to shoulder the responsibilities for delays and/or overdue fines. The following documents are required for the application of the residence permit:
1) Valid passport;
2) Admission Notice (same as the one used to apply for your X1 visa);
3) Visa Application Form (JW202, same as the one used to apply for your X1 visa);
4) Health Examination Record ( Issued by Jiangsu International Travel Healthcare Center Changshu/Suzhou Branch Center)
What is involved in the Health Exam? There will be six items, including Medicine, Surgery, Electronic Cardiogram, Ultrasonic, Chest X-ray, and Blood sample. For the Chest X-Ray, if you have already had a Chest X-Ray within 3 months of arriving in China, you need to bring the X-Ray images so that you do not need to do it again.
5) Residence Address Registration Form;
6) Application Letter for Foreign Students (issued by International Students Services Office);
7) One Passport-sized photograph with white background (2-inch);
8) Fee for Residence Permit application (Depends on the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau, usually 400~1000RMB).
Foreign students who intend to study in China must apply for a student visa (X1 or X2 visa) from the Chinese consulate/embassy. For the application, you will be required to submit the Admission Notice from the university and the JW201 or JW202 Form.
For students who will be studying in China for a period of over 180 days (starting from the date stated in the Admission Notice), you will be issued X1 visa. The validity of X1 visa is 30 days and students will be required to apply for a Residence Permit through the school within 30 days of arrival in the country (e.g. arriving date in China: Sep 1st, a student should apply for residence permit before Sep 31st ).
For students who will be studying in China for a period of less than 180 days, you will be issued X2 visa. The validity of the X2 visa is between 30-180 days, and is usually only for a single entry. Once you have exited the country, you will not be able to enter the country again with the same visa.
According to the regulations of Exit- entry bureau, overseas students who will study in China for more than 180 days can apply for residence permit. Students with X2 (study period less than 180 days) will not be allowed to change X2 visa to study Residence permit.
Only visiting students (students temporarily studying away at DKU for a semester) will apply for an X2 visa. Full-time DKU students or students studying away at DKU for more than 180 days must apply for an X1 visa and obtain a residence permit because their duration of study is more than 180 days.
As a longer period of time is required for the first-time application of Residence Permit, and the validity of the X1 visa is only 30 days, we strongly recommend that students do not enter China more than 2-3 days before the date of Check-In in order to avoid the hassle and extra cost of extending your visa.
No. Foreign citizens who are found to have engaged in activities that differ from the type/purpose of a visa may face penalties such as Letter of Warning, fine, detention or deportation. As a student, you are required to be on a student visa.
No. When you matriculate to DKU, you will be registered according to a single citizenship/passport; this cannot be changed during study. The university only recognizes the passport each student uses when applying to/matriculating to DKU; this passport must have a valid student visa and residence permit.
No. You are entering China for the purpose of study, and must receive an X1 visa and Residence Permit.
This is allowed for the students’ parents、spouse or minor children. Family members must present an official document proving the relationship with the student (usually issued by the consulate, in Chinese) and obtain the official Introduction Letter. The validity of the Residence Permit is the same as the validity of the student’s Residence Permit.
If the Resident Permit has expired within three months, the health check is not required.
The duration can be until the date of end of study (but no longer than 5 years).However, it is up to Entry & Exit Bureau to issue the validity of your residence permit. Usually duration is issued to match the length of your study (time needed to complete your degree) or for your passport’s validity. For more specific enquires, please consult with DKU ISS and the local Entry & Exit Bureau.
No. Although you can receive a new residence permit in a new passport if it expires before you graduate, it is easier if your passport is valid through the date of your graduation (because you will only need to complete this process once).
Because the Spring semester usually ends early to mid-May, the University has already considered the needs of students and have the Residence Permit expire at the end of the month. The University will not issue a new Letter, but students can apply directly to local Exit-Entry Administration Bureau for a one-month Residence permit using your Certificate of Graduation and relevant documents.
Immediately report the loss of your passport to DKU ISS, and we will help advise you on next steps. You will also need to report the loss of your passport to the Kunshan Exit-Entry Administration Bureau and contact your country’s consulate to apply for a new passport. Following receipt of your new passport, you will need to re-apply for a residence permit.
Consult with DKU ISS if you know your passport will expire or need to be changed. You will have to complete police registration again, and re-apply for a new residence permit in your new passport.
Students taking a voluntary leave of absence (LOA) are technically required to notify the EEB and cancel their residence permit – although there may be exceptions made. Students who have been placed on an involuntary LOA (such as academic or behavioral suspension) or who have been withdrawn/removed from the University are required to contact the Kunshan EEB to cancel their residence permit. DKU may also report this to the EEB; students bear responsibility for any violation of immigration law for failure to disclose a change in their immigration status due to an LOA for withdrawal/removal from the University.
Students are eligible for DKU campus positions without any additional steps. Off-Campus Internships require that students apply for internship authorization. Students can hand in their documents to the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau once they have all the documents ready. They would then have to wait approximately 7 working days before obtaining approval – which will be an ‘Internship’ amendment on their residence permit. Students should note that they are only allowed to begin their internship after obtaining this internship approval from the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau; engaging in an internship without this approval is a violation of immigration law.
Yes, application procedures are the same as applying for internships in Kunshan. Holders of residence permit for internship can intern in cities outside Kunshan.
International students should pay attention to the validity of their residence permits and entry visas and make proper arrangement for extensions if necessary. Overdue fines or other sanctions caused by expiration of validity of residence permits or entry visas are the responsibility of each student individually, and consequences are born by each student individually.
