Foreigners get bigger fines in exit-entry law_美文

Foreigners get bigger fines in exit-entry law

Foreign visa holders with a maximum stay of 180 days have to apply for an extension seven days before their visa expires, and the extension should not exceed the originally permitted duration.

"If the regulation is fairly equal for every foreigner without further consideration of their position and social status in China, we are willing to accept the change, which seems to be quite high punishment for overstaying a visa," said June Seah, a producer from Malaysia who has worked in the advertising industry in Shanghai for six years on a work visa.

Seah said the new law may offer a lesson for those foreign residents who have not regularly paid attention to the date their visa expires.

Foreign residents have also obtained some benefits from the new law.

In the past month, Shanghai approved 60,000 temporary entry permits of less than 15 days for emergency purposes and processed 7,000 overseas tourists who could stay in Shanghai for up to 72 hours without a visa, according to statistics released by the local immigration inspection department.

"The upgraded exit-entry law is a sign China is trying to set up a more-regulated legal system to deal with the rapidly increasing amount of foreign immigrants who choose to live or work in the country in recent years," said Ren Yuan, a professor at Fudan University's School of Social Development and Public Policy.

Ren added that standardizing the punishments and offering more convenient visa policies are both useful methods for China to set up global standards in foreign immigration cases.