Permanant Residence in Visa Hell?

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Små Grodorna

"Why your visa not right?" - was a phone call I received during the final stages of the Dragon Boat Festival we celebrated mid June. A few weeks previous I had finally submitted all required documents to my agency for them to apply and obtain a "Z" (working) visa for me, at this point in the game any phone call I was expecting was one to inform me that my nightmare was over and I could finally pick up my working permit. Alas, it should have been expected that my personal ill-fate was not through sending stumbling blocks to trip me up! I gradually came to understand that the visa run I had taken in April was a miserable failure as the agency I hired to obtain the Hong Kong visa did not in fact issue it in HK, but rather sent it out of state, issued in Shenzhen, and then returned to me in HK. As most information on the visas in written out in characters, I didn't even think to check (or know) if the "issuing country" was correct. The policy here is that if you have been on a business visa for a year you must "return to your country" and return to then be transferred into a business or working status. (Of course you can get around this a little by getting any out of country visa and re-entering the PRC). Unluckily for moi, I re-entered China on a Chinese visa and thus many eyebrows were raised at my submission for status transfer, though luckily it was caught at a minor official level, before being passed onto a party where I could have been mired in a muck of serious trouble. (Yipes!)

Once all this information was conveyed and understood I was quite dismayed at the prospect of scurrying back to HK and having to go through (and finance) yet another frustration-filled visa run. I was locked into a maddening battle with my agents here to attempt obtaining some financial relief for this second run. I was first informed that this all rested on my shoulders and they would assume zero responsibility, but after many outlandish threats and teeth gnashing on my part, they finally relented and grudgingly agreed to cover half the travel costs and not deduct work time missed. This was a small concession, and was still going to greatly gouge me financially. The fights and battles waged here are a soul bruising kind, that leave you defeated (even in victory) and thus packed an emotionally frayed individual onto a plane... clinging to the simple hope that perhaps some scraps of joy could be obtained through fine weather and sights of the beach.

But no...

Of course during my entire stay it dumped hideous amounts of rain - to the point where you are closing your eyes while sloshing through mid-calf deep deluge and desperately attempting to block out what sort of filth you are wading through from your mind. The humidity was crippling and my dorm room's AC was broken until my final night. An Austrian friend was made during my stay, and we were each others' sanity savers during the downpours and despair. Our relationship began with a conversation struck over discussing accidental cannibalism (would you be upset/not finding out) and so it went. The highlights we shared were me introducing him to my pals at the Indian food stall in ChungKing Mansions (who remembered and were delighted to see me again!) and taking the Star Ferry over to HK Island to eat at Pret A Manger (UK chain) where we indulged in handmade and oh-so-tasty natural foods. Yummy sandwiches, desserts and coffee that reminded me a bit of the taste of Vancouver. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face and while eating we launched onto discussions over what constitutes a good life... which I believe was inspired by the joy that simple good food provides. Later to escape the heat we went and hid in a cinema, where I amazingly chilled and froze my very bones. It took me an incredible two hours to finally defrost in the HK humidity.

I managed to sort out my own visa at the Consulate and pick it up on rush status with relatively no trouble. I met a lady on the bus who was incredibly helpful in directing and even accompanying me on a good portion of my way. It's always such a shock and readjustment to be in HK and have the freedom and easy ability to speak English nearly wherever you wander. It's interesting how deeply a life in communication lack reprograms you to never think of speaking first to convey your intentions. I remember feeling the same during my short visit back in B.C.

Finally I was able to leave the drizzle of HK behind and make my way back home to Beijing. After a short weather delay I landed and rushed home, only to drop my bags, freshen up quickly, and then rush off to the SAS Radisson to celebrate Midsummer! Flower crowns, winning snapps, and dancing små grodorna were the perfect medicine to cheer me.

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Photos

Flower Crown
Walking barefoot in grass with flowers in my hair was an incredible transition back from HK.

Midsommarstång
This is where we dance.