Expat Richie

All good trips should start with delicious food and a good glass of wine. This beauty is compliments of the American Express Centurion Lounge at SFO.

So today is the day! After months of preparation (interviewing, getting the work visa, selling most of my personal goods, saying goodbye), the day to say goodbye to the USA and say “你好，中国” is here. And while I’m excited — and understandably nervous — about this big change, I can’t really look forward to it without first looking back at the past six years living in San Francisco.

While my professional life was doing great, my personal life didn’t really get started until 2014 when I joined a softball team for the SFGSL. That first season, as I was getting over an ankle injury, I was scorekeeper and really enjoyed being part of a team again. Having grown up playing team sports it was something that was missing from my life. Over the next four seasons I’ve made most of my good friends through the softball league. Those friends and being able to play with my teammates is something I’m going to seriously miss. If anyone saw what an emotional wreck I was on Sunday during my team’s most recent fundraiser, you’ll know I’m telling the truth! LOVE YOU BOMBSHELLS!

While people will be the number one thing I miss most about SF — ok, maybe the clean air and water too — the list of things I won’t miss at all is a bit long. The homeless problem, the crazies, the drug epidemic, the traffic, having to share an apartment at age 40 because rent prices are crazy stupid… I don’t want to dwell on bad things, so I’m going to end that thought right there.

Though I am moving to the orient, I should be back in the USA a number of times a year. And if there is one thing in life that I know is true, the paths of good people will always cross; you never know where or when, but they do. As I hate saying goodbye, because it is never the end, I’m closing this post with a “so long for now, and thanks for all the fish!”

After months of collecting paperwork, medical exams, and endless email chains, the final stages of the relocation process are hopefully coming to an end! The Chinese Consulate in San Francisco is processing my application and I hope to pick it up — and my passport — on Tuesday May 23. If everything is in order and the Z visa is granted, the next steps are to schedule the movers, obtain the one-way plane ticket, and potentially book a hotel for a few nights as my lease terminates on May 31. Whoah. Getting close!

For anyone considering moving to mainland China, the process for obtaining the required Z visa can be daunting. Here’s a list of tips that might help:

• Work with a professional services company, like CIBTvisas, and an immigration attorney who has experience with this process.
• Have 4-6 passport photos taken of you as you will need them for the visa application, your medical report, and potentially other documents.
• Be prepared to submit not only your college/university transcripts but also your diploma. Yes, your physical diploma! (Currently my diploma is in China while the frame is hanging empty on my bedroom wall.)
• The required medical exam should include “all the normal things” — which apparently means a typical annual physical, an EKG readout, and a chest x-ray. The exam should be “stamped” with your physician’s “seal” and include a picture of you.
• Make copies of all the documents and applications before arriving at the Chinese Consulate. You will get to keep the originals, but they want copies. Bring the originals with you when submitting your application.
• Be prepared to wait in line for an hour or longer with each trip to the Consulate. You might also have the pleasure of listening to protesters outside the Consulate yelling at you and the people inside on megaphones. #annoying
• When picking up your visa, you will need to submit payment then. For the L travel visa (good for 10 years and multiple entries for Americans) the cost is $140. I think the Z visa is the same price and will learn for sure next week. I highly advise getting a money order from the US Postal Service as the credit card reader at the Consulate here in SF often goes down randomly. If you do not want potentially wait in line twice to get into the Consulate to pick up your visa, obtain that money order first.

— expatrichie