What should I do if the visas of various countries expire during the epidemic and how to extend them?

The COVID-19 epidemic has spread in many countries in the world. In order to control the spread of the epidemic, many countries have implemented control measures at entry and exit, and many tourists stranded abroad are about to face problems related to visa expiration. What should they do if their visas expire during the epidemic?

China

Liu Haitao, director of the frontier inspection and management department of the National Immigration Bureau, introduced at the press conference held by the joint prevention and control mechanism in the State Council on March 1 that special flexible policies have been introduced. During the period of epidemic prevention and control, foreigners can automatically extend their stay in China for two months after the expiration.

During the extension period, you can still legally stop staying in China or leave the country normally without going through the extension formalities. At the same time, for Chinese and foreign personnel involved in medical assistance, drug research and development, academic exchanges and other epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic work, local public security exit-entry management departments provide 24-hour expedited certification services.

Foreigners who come to China to participate in epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic exchanges and cooperation or engage in important business and scientific research activities may apply for a port visa at the port of entry if they are too late to complete the visa in advance due to urgent matters.

United States of America

Visa category: B-2 tourist visa;

Nature of visa: generally, it is a round trip for more than ten years;

Maximum single stay: generally half a year (specifically in i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home;) The stay time can be found in CBP official website.

When do you need to apply for an extension? It is recommended that the visa expire 45 -60 days before the visa expiration date, and no later than the visa expiration date.

How long can I stay once after the extension: half a year;

Others:

1. According to American law, it is not allowed to submit an extension within three months before entry, otherwise it is suspected that the intention to come to the United States is false;

2. After submitting the extension application, the applicant can wait for the result in the United States even if he has not received the approval notice. If approved, you can leave the country before the new record expires; If the application is rejected, you need to leave the country as soon as possible after receiving the rejection notice;

3. Because the B-2 visa is a short-term visa, if it is extended for one year, you may only get a very short legal stay and even be refused entry at the customs. So it is recommended to leave the country as soon as possible;

4. Is it possible that the current epidemic will lead to the extension of visa refusal? We tend to think that it won't, because during the Ebola outbreak in Africa in 20 14, the US Immigration website issued an announcement. As the Ebola virus was raging in Africa at that time, the Immigration Bureau implemented rescue measures for citizens from three West African countries-Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. One of them is to extend the visas of non-immigrant applicants from these three countries.

Australia

Visa category: 600 tourist visas;

Visa nature: multiple round trips for one year or three years;

Maximum single stay: generally three months;

When do you need to apply for an extension: it is recommended to advance one month;

You can stay at most once after the extension: generally three months.

Others:

1. If there is clause 8503 on the 600 visa, you must apply for visa exemption first. At present, it can be said that there is a major epidemic in China, and it is unreasonable to ask the applicant to leave immediately. This situation is beyond my control. I have convincing and sympathetic reasons to explain why Article 8503 should be exempted.

2. If there is no clause 8503 on the 600 visa, you can apply for extension directly in Australia, but the cumulative stay in Australia within 18 months shall not exceed 12 months.

Canada

Visa category: V- 1 tourist visa;

Nature of visa: generally, it is a round trip for more than ten years;

Maximum single stay time: generally 6 months;

When do you need to apply for an extension: it is recommended to advance one month;

The longest single stay after the extension: generally half a year;

Others:

1, the ordinary visa is valid for ten years, provided that the passport is valid for more than ten years; If the passport is valid for less than ten years, the tourist visa is valid until the day before the passport expires. In case your passport is about to expire, you must change it first and then submit an application for extension.

2. When entering the customs, if the entry deadline is filled in the passport, the stay time cannot exceed the deadline filled in the passport, so the application for extension one month in advance should also follow the deadline;

3. The application for extension is valid for 3-6 months, that is, 3-6 months from the date of submission, and the application period can be in Canada. According to official website of the Immigration Bureau, the processing time of extension application is 1 19 days, that is, about 4 months.

New Zealand

Visa category: generalvisitorvisa tourist visa;

Nature of visa: generally, it is 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and multiple trips.

Maximum single stay: generally three months;

When do you need to apply for an extension: it is recommended to advance one month;

After the extension, the maximum single stay time is 3 months;

Others:

1. If there is clause 8503 on the visa, you must apply for visa exemption first. At present, it can be said that there is a major epidemic in China, and it is unreasonable to ask the applicant to leave immediately. This situation is beyond my control, and there are convincing and sympathetic reasons why Article 8503 should be exempted.

2. The probation period for the official exemption application is 28 days, and a valid visa is still required during the probation period; If there is no result in visa exemption before the visa expires, you still need to leave the country;

In view of the current epidemic situation, according to RNZ, the New Zealand Immigration Bureau recently indicated that if someone is in this situation, they can contact the Immigration Bureau to discuss the available options. "Individuals from China who currently hold a visitorvisa can apply for visa extension. These applications will be handled by immigration officials on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the epidemic situation. "

Britain, England

Visa category: Standardvisitorvisa tourist visa;

Nature of visa: generally, it is 2 years, 5 years and 10 years for multiple trips;

Maximum single stay: half a year;

When do you need to apply for extension: before the visa expires at the latest;

Maximum single stay after extension: generally up to six months, depending on the approval result;

Others:

1. After the application for extension is submitted, it may be given a "cold treatment" by the Immigration Bureau, that is, the Immigration Bureau will shelve the application and refuse to handle it. In this case, before the Immigration Bureau refused, the identity of the parties in the UK was legal, that is, the visa was automatically extended;

2. Generally speaking, the visa extension period is relatively short, about 3-6 months.

Visa regulations during the British epidemic:

1. Holders of T2, T4 and T5 in the UK: If you can't return to the UK on time because the city of China is closed, your employer or school generally doesn't need to report to homeoffice. The Home Office has admitted that this situation is an exception, so if you can't return to the UK on time because of the novel coronavirus incident, the Home Office will not take any disciplinary action. However, your employer and school have the right to decide whether to revoke your guarantee. Generally, special things are handled in a special way. It is best to suggest contacting the British side to explain the particularity of the situation;

2. China passport is kept in the UK Visa Center: In other words, you are on your way to apply for a UK visa. So far, the results of your passport and return visa have not come out. Because all the British visa centers in China are closed at present. In its current form, the British visa center cannot return any materials until it resumes business. If you continue to go abroad with your travel documents before resuming business, you need to contact the relevant departments in China to obtain your travel documents and other alternative documents.

3. You are currently staying in the UK but can't return to China on time, but your UK visa is about to expire: If you are a China citizen living in the UK, your existing UK visa will expire between 24 October 2008 and 30 March 2008, so you don't need to do anything, and your UK visa will be automatically extended until 30 March 2008. If there are other special circumstances, you can consult the local immigration bureau or the embassy in China for verification;

European Schengen countries

Visa category: Schengen visa;

Visa nature: single or multiple round trips;

Maximum single stay time: 90 days;

When do you need to apply for extension: apply before the visa expires at the latest;

Maximum stay after extension: depending on the approval of visa extension in different countries;

Others:

1. Take the Schengen visa in the Netherlands as an example. With a Schengen visa that allows you to stay for less than 90 days, you can apply for an extension to 90 days; After holding a Schengen visa that allows a 90-day stay and applying for an extension of stay for more than 90 days, the parties concerned obtained a Benelux visa with strict geographical restrictions.

2. Take the Schengen visa in Germany as an example. It can be extended for 90 days at a time. The extended visa is no longer a Schengen visa, but a German national visa. This is only an exception in an extraordinary period.

Singapore

Visa category: tourist visa;

Visa nature: generally 35 days, multiple round trips in one year or two years;

Maximum single stay: 30 days;

When do I need to apply for an extension? Before the visa expires at the latest.

After the extension, the maximum single stay time is 30 days;

Others:

1. Those who have obtained an extended visa can apply for a second extension, and the Singapore authorities will decide whether to approve the application according to the situation of individual applicants;

2. If it is PR or a citizen's family member, the visa extension can reach 59 days, with a total stay of ***89 days.

Thailand

Visa category: tourist visa;

Nature of visa: single validity;

When to apply for extension: apply for extension before the visa expires at the latest;

After the extension, the maximum single stay time is 90 days;

Others:

1. The sticker tourist visa prepared in advance is valid for one time and can stay for 60 days after entering Thailand. After entering Thailand, it can be extended once for 30 days each time.

2. This visa can stay in landing visa for 14 days after Thailand airport enters the country. If you want to extend it, you can extend it for 7 days 1 time.

It is recommended not to apply for renewal too early, because the renewal date is calculated from the day you get the renewal visa.

China stays in Thailand tourist visa:

1. People from all provinces and cities in China who are stranded in Thailand due to the epidemic need to apply to the Embassy of China in Thailand for a letter of proof of reasons, and then go through the visa extension formalities at the Immigration Bureau;

2. China people whose visas have been extended for 7 days cannot directly apply to the Immigration Bureau for another extension. Instead, you should apply to the China Embassy in Thailand for a letter of proof of the reasons for the further extension 3-4 days before the visa expires, and then apply to the Immigration Bureau for a further extension;

3. Although the Immigration Bureau exempted the detention penalty, it does not mean that China people can stay for a long time at will. If they don't have a confirmation letter from the embassy and apply for visa extension correctly, they will be recorded by the immigration bureau, and those who reach a certain number of days will be blacklisted. Attention, compatriots!

relevant issues

1. Will applying for extension affect future visas or re-entry?

A: Generally speaking, as long as you apply for an extension of your identity with reasonable explanation and have not overstayed, it will not have an adverse effect on your future visa or entry, as long as you can explain your non-immigrant tendency to visa officers and customs officials. In addition, it is best to keep a copy of the application materials for identity extension and the notice of the trial result, or a letter to cancel the application, as well as the boarding pass for the final departure to China, so as to prove that you have not overstayed in the country when necessary in the future.

2. For countries with multiple entry visas, can I choose to leave the country and return to it for a second stay?

A: Theoretically, it is possible, but it is difficult to predict whether the transit countries will further tighten the entry restrictions under the current epidemic situation. The customs staff may think that you have left the country for a short time and refuse to re-enter, so it is recommended to choose carefully.

3. If you are not careful, what impact will it have?

A: From the fine to the refusal to re-enter, it will affect future immigration applications and even face jail time, so remember to pay attention to the validity period and stay period of your visa.