An American living in Shenzhen had to send his partner and their daughter home yesterday under a new visa application arrangement.

Chinese visa authorities said their applications were rejected because they couldn't provide the documents required by authorities.

"My fiancee and our daughter are going back to the Philippines tonight, because their visas expire now and their visa extension applications were rejected by the visa authorities this month," the American, who gave his name only as Kenny, said yesterday.

"We submitted an L visa application (for tourism or visiting relatives) for my fiancee and an X visa (for studying in China) for my daughter last month, and we also tried the Guangzhou consulate, but both failed. We were not given any explanation for the rejections," he said.

He knew the Chinese Government had tightened visa policies and many expatriate visas had been rejected. But he had lived in Shenzhen for six years, he said, and had recently set up a trading company so he could not understand why the authorities still did not allow his family to stay.

"Our daughter is turning 3 and I have paid a lot of taxes here. I would like to participate in China's economy and I want my daughter to receive her education here, because the education system in Shenzhen is very good. I just cannot understand why the authorities turned them down."

Kenny said his whole life had been changed by the visa problems and he could not imagine life without his partner and daughter.

However, the information provided yesterday by the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, to which expatriates in Shenzhen are required to file visa applications, confirmed that there were reasons for the rejection of the visas.

An F visa (for business and visit), X visa, Z visa (for employment in China), G visa (for transit), J1 and J2 visa (for journalists), diplomatic and service visa and C visa (for crew members) did not apply.

The other visas include the L visa (LI for tourism or LII for visiting relatives) and D visa (for residence in China).

Kenny's partner does not have proof of marriage that is required when applying for an LII visa or a D visa.

In addition, she did not have proof of a Chinese hotel booking or proof of kinship to visit relatives as well as a return flight ticket that is required when applying for an LI visa.

"Without proof of a Chinese hotel booking and a return flight ticket, no L or F visa would be issued," an official with the Commissioner's Office in Hong Kong, who refused to give her name, said yesterday.

Kenny had also failed to file any enrollment notice from the school his daughter was to attend.

"No X visa would be issued to those who do not have an enrollment notice from the receiving school," the official said.

(Shenzhen Daily June 4, 2008)