Chinese-Venezuelans desperate to extend China stay as authorities tighten rules on visa extensions

Time is running out for Liang Lintao and tens of thousands of other naturalised Venezuelans who returned to China in recent years but could be forced to return to the troubled South American country when their visas expire, under new Chinese restrictions.

In early 2017, after living in Venezuela for 24 years, Liang returned to his Chinese hometown of Enping, a county-level city in Guangdong province across the mainland border from Hong Kong. He is now among roughly 30,000 Chinese-Venezuelans living in Enping – most having returned in the last few years as social upheaval and hyperinflation took an increasingly heavy toll on Venezuelans’ livelihoods.

Liang had thought it would be a short trip – a brief respite until the situation improved. But nearly four years later, he remains stuck, afraid of returning to a country that he considers his home, but also a very dangerous place to be.

The Chinese government had been accommodating, even after Venezuela stopped issuing new passport booklets to its citizens in late 2017, citing a lack of materials needed to create them. Venezuelan passport holders, including those who had returned to China, were instead given the option of extending their existing passports.

But everything changed on the afternoon of November 30, when Chinese authorities suddenly stopped accepting the extension documents, instead demanding that Venezuelans present new passports to receive a China visa.

With Liang’s visa due to expire next month, and as he is unable to obtain a new Venezuelan passport, the move could prevent him from legally staying in China. Beijing does not recognise dual nationality, and any individual who obtains a second passport is required to renounce their Chinese citizenship.