Q: I am an Italian student and I will undertake a four-month internship in Shanghai starting next March. The host studio has informed me that I can enter China through the visa-free channel in Shanghai and then apply for the appropriate visa at the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau, where my passport would be retained for approximately eight days during the processing period.

I would be grateful if you could kindly confirm whether this procedure is correct.

A: You may enter China visa-free with a regular passport and subsequently apply for an S2 (short-term private affairs) visa (marked "Internship").

The processing time is seven workdays.

Source: Exit-Entry Administration Corps of Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Public Security