As I'm writing this, I am sitting on the floor of a guesthouse in Seoul, Korea. I have left China for the time being and will be spending the next several days in Korea.
This is because of the recent changes in Chinese visa regulations, which make it much more difficult for foreigners to apply for visas. I came to China on a tourist visa, as the paperwork required to apply for a student visa was not yet available from my work. The plan was then to apply for a new visa from Hong Kong a little later in the year, which has been what previous Luce Scholars have been doing for quite some time. However, because of the new regulations that went into place over the summer, the Chinese government has been denying most visa requests made by people that are not in their home country, meaning that I would most likely be required to return to the US.
As a last ditch effort before having to return, Ben and I have been sent to Seoul to try and apply from there, because apparently they have still been processing some student visas by Americans. So, we get a free trip in Seoul for the next couple days and will hopefully be returning to China with our fancy new student visas on Thursday before heading down to our placement cities, Shanghai and Guangzhou, respectively, on Friday. Here's hoping everything works out!
This is because of the recent changes in Chinese visa regulations, which make it much more difficult for foreigners to apply for visas. I came to China on a tourist visa, as the paperwork required to apply for a student visa was not yet available from my work. The plan was then to apply for a new visa from Hong Kong a little later in the year, which has been what previous Luce Scholars have been doing for quite some time. However, because of the new regulations that went into place over the summer, the Chinese government has been denying most visa requests made by people that are not in their home country, meaning that I would most likely be required to return to the US.
As a last ditch effort before having to return, Ben and I have been sent to Seoul to try and apply from there, because apparently they have still been processing some student visas by Americans. So, we get a free trip in Seoul for the next couple days and will hopefully be returning to China with our fancy new student visas on Thursday before heading down to our placement cities, Shanghai and Guangzhou, respectively, on Friday. Here's hoping everything works out!
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