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I am sure there is demand for authentic foreign food in China but I wonder how foreigners get in to open restaurants. I am not sure if you can just come in and

by fspeech 11y ago

I am sure there is demand for authentic foreign food in China but I wonder how foreigners get in to open restaurants. I am not sure if you can just come in and open a restaurant in the US if you are not a legal immigrant. Legal immigration into China is a lot harder. For non immigrants it is not clear that there is any Chinese visa that allows for this type of activity. For example the only Chinese visa that sounds related is the M visa for commerce and trade (http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/zyxx/t1071018.htm http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/zyxx/t1071018.htm), but the type of activities permitted under M visa does not seem to apply to restaurateurs: "What is required to obtain an M visa? ... An invitation letter from a trade fair such as Canton Fair or from a Chinese firm (in the event that you get your visa through a Chinese agency, it’s possible that they will be the ones to procure the letter for you)" http://www.saporedicina.com/english/business-visas-for-china/ http://www.saporedicina.com/english/business-visas-for-china... "Which situation does NOT count as a short term working (M)? Mechanical after sales team come to China to repair, install, maintain, remove, guidance, training (Apply M visa) Bid Winner come to China to do the project guidance, supervision, checking (Apply M visa) Foreigner from head office goes to shanghai branch, representative office to have some short term work (Apply M visa) Foreigner comes to China to attend the sports event, including coach, athlete, team doctor, assistant etc. (Apply M visa)" http://www.visainchina.com/fvisa.htm http://www.visainchina.com/fvisa.htm The above site also makes it clear that the Z visa is for short term work (under 90 days).

contingencies 11y ago
I wonder how foreigners get in to open restaurants. I am not sure if you can just come in and open a restaurant in the US if you are not a legal immigrant. Legal immigration into China is a lot harder. Legal immigration into China is a lot harder Actually unlike in the US, it's very easy here. You register a wholly foreign owned company, get a visa connected to that, and you're sorted. Total cost can be as low as ~USD$30,000. Total time expenditure, perhaps 3 months these days. Of course, that will also require paying rent on a property, and thus you would typically spend a little more time scouting for a suitable location.
- fspeech 11y ago
  Good to know. I was referring to "green card" when I said "legal immigration".
  - contingencies 11y ago
    China gives out green cards to foreigners who apply after they have stayed for something like 5-10 years paying taxes with a registered business. However, they are in practice also a lot more friendly about being in-country on random visas, happily provide extensions, and do not kick you out within 10 days under threat of imprisonment if a business-linked visa expires, like they do in the US.
    - KJP191 11y ago
      This is not actually true. Although the conditions for permanent residence are pretty lenient on paper, they are hardly ever given out. Less than 5000 were issued in the 10 years to 2014 (in total, ie less than 500 per year). In practice it's FAR harder to get a Chinese green card than an American one. Also, many of those 5000 "foreigners" are actually the children of senior Chinese officials who have taken foreign citizenship then returned to China. The number of "real" foreigners with permanent residence is even lower.
      - contingencies 11y ago
        Everything I said is true. Everything you said is a tangent regarding numbers.
- marincounty 11y ago
  How about the bribes? I heard it's difficult for an American to set up shop? Someting about local government officials? Personally, I won't doing business in China. I did look into buying property there a few years ago, and it seemed impossible. I don't know why we let rich foreigners buy our (U.S.) realestate with a phone call, and money. You don't even need to be a citizen of this country in order to buy an apartment building in San Francisco. All you need is money, and a few phone calls. I'm not picking on the Chinese, I would like to see the U.S. all foreign realestate ownership, unless we can buy reciprocally. Hell, if I were king, I would outlaw REIT's, and limit realestate holdings to maybe a handful per Social security number? I feel a home is more than an investment, and community ties matters. Got off topic, but rent is on my mind, and I don't like this kind of realestate spculation that's going around me. I'm seeing too many people being kicked out of their communities, while homes sit empty. There's a ton of links about corruption in China, here's the first one of many- http://www.businessinsider.com/china-corruption-in-business-study-2015-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/china-corruption-in-business-...

by fspeech 11y ago

contingencies 11y ago

I wonder how foreigners get in to open restaurants. I am not sure if you can just come in and open a restaurant in the US if you are not a legal immigrant. Legal immigration into China is a lot harder. Legal immigration into China is a lot harder Actually unlike in the US, it's very easy here. You register a wholly foreign owned company, get a visa connected to that, and you're sorted. Total cost can be as low as ~USD$30,000. Total time expenditure, perhaps 3 months these days. Of course, that will also require paying rent on a property, and thus you would typically spend a little more time scouting for a suitable location.

fspeech 11y ago
Good to know. I was referring to "green card" when I said "legal immigration".
- contingencies 11y ago
  China gives out green cards to foreigners who apply after they have stayed for something like 5-10 years paying taxes with a registered business. However, they are in practice also a lot more friendly about being in-country on random visas, happily provide extensions, and do not kick you out within 10 days under threat of imprisonment if a business-linked visa expires, like they do in the US.
  - KJP191 11y ago
    This is not actually true. Although the conditions for permanent residence are pretty lenient on paper, they are hardly ever given out. Less than 5000 were issued in the 10 years to 2014 (in total, ie less than 500 per year). In practice it's FAR harder to get a Chinese green card than an American one. Also, many of those 5000 "foreigners" are actually the children of senior Chinese officials who have taken foreign citizenship then returned to China. The number of "real" foreigners with permanent residence is even lower.
    - contingencies 11y ago
      Everything I said is true. Everything you said is a tangent regarding numbers.
marincounty 11y ago
How about the bribes? I heard it's difficult for an American to set up shop? Someting about local government officials? Personally, I won't doing business in China. I did look into buying property there a few years ago, and it seemed impossible. I don't know why we let rich foreigners buy our (U.S.) realestate with a phone call, and money. You don't even need to be a citizen of this country in order to buy an apartment building in San Francisco. All you need is money, and a few phone calls. I'm not picking on the Chinese, I would like to see the U.S. all foreign realestate ownership, unless we can buy reciprocally. Hell, if I were king, I would outlaw REIT's, and limit realestate holdings to maybe a handful per Social security number? I feel a home is more than an investment, and community ties matters. Got off topic, but rent is on my mind, and I don't like this kind of realestate spculation that's going around me. I'm seeing too many people being kicked out of their communities, while homes sit empty. There's a ton of links about corruption in China, here's the first one of many- http://www.businessinsider.com/china-corruption-in-business-study-2015-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/china-corruption-in-business-...