With the “Olympic Period” now officially over, things in the capital are slowly starting to return to normal. Traffic is stalled on the second ring road, people are once again forgoing any semblance of a social life choosing instead to return to the warm embrace of badly dubbed bootleg DVDs and of sleepless nights in front of episode after episode of their favorite American TV series and more jianbing sellers, bike repairmen and slops collectors are starting to appear on the streets. Although the Olympics has left us with more bilingual signs, greater wheelchair access and some great new subway lines, doubts remain over whether the visa situation will return to it’s pre-games state. We contacted Nadine Ulrich, who maintains the super useful  FXZL site, earlier today and asked her what recent reports about a loosening of restrictions for getting L visas might mean for other categories of visa. We’ve included her response below:

Tourist ( visa:

- There seems to be no need to provide hotel and flight reservations any more at least for Canadians, Australians and Americans.

- Visas for first-time visitors generally seem to be issued for longer periods of time again (usually 45-60 days of stay, double entry being available, too), but there is no fixed number of days or definite pattern emerging yet.

- For Singaporeans, short trips of up to 15 days are again possible without a visa, a rule that had been suspended in July this year.

- The Hong Kong Inbound Travel Association believes that rules for visas to the mainland from HK will revert to those that prevailed before the games in October.
 

Business (F) visa:

- It seems you can extend F visas now for a certain period of time at the PSB if you can present a copy of the invitation letter you originally used to get the visa, and the business license of the inviting company.

- Agencies are able to issue F visa to people that are already in China (on L or F visas). Beijingleeo can provide up to 6 months multiple entry visas. Prices are rather stiff but might drop within the coming weeks.

Work (Z) visa:

-    No changes I'm aware of so far; even worse, while before you could get your Z visa without leaving China if you had some kind of upper management position, this possibility now only seems to exist for the legal representative of the company mentioned on the business license. However, Z visas have continuously been issued to applicants with the required level of qualifications.

Generally, I think China will slowly adjust its immigration procedures to international standards (bear in mind that some southern provinces already require no crime certificates from your home country) and relax the rules for tourists and short-term visitors. Also, my guess would be that the final post-Games situation will only be established mid-October, including more flexible F visa options.

Links and Sources
FXZL: Up-to-date visa Information for China (image of work permit)
Guardian: Hong Kong China visa curbs "to go next month
Bizchina: Chinese Visa Rules Back in The Spotlight
IHT: China to lift restrictions on visas from Hong Kong
Straits Times: China visa curbs lifted
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: "China’s visa policy will continue to serve national interest"
Embassy of PRC in USA: Updated instructions on getting an L Visa
Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum: Chinese Visa Sticky
The Beijinger Forum: Good news: extra requirements dropped 
Beijingleeo
Picasa: Beijing Customs image