How do I turn my visa into a residence permit?

The sequence

1. Enter on an X1 study visa or a Z work visa. These are the ones that convert. An X2 or an M business visa cannot be converted, so you hold it until it expires.
2. Register with the police within 24 hours of arriving.
3. Do the medical check at a designated health centre. You have to fast beforehand, so go early. Results take several working days.
4. Hand in the application at the Exit-Entry Administration, with your school or employer.
5. Collect the passport about a week later, with the permit inside.

What to bring

• Passport and a photocopy of the photo page and the entry stamp
• Police registration slip
• Medical check results, sealed
• Passport photographs on a white background, printed in a bigger batch than you think you need
• Admission letter, or employment contract and work permit notice
• The application form, usually filled in by your school or employer

The part people get wrong

The thirty days run from the entry stamp. It makes no difference when your course starts, when you moved into the dormitory, or when your school got around to telling you about it. Photograph the stamp at the airport and put a reminder in your phone for day twenty.

Renewing

Start a month before it expires. You go back to the same office with the same documents, and the process is shorter the second time. If you change employer, university or address, the permit has to be updated, and this does get checked, so do not leave it sitting.