It’s a very good question, but does it have any merit?
Further, it’s a statement that is often indirectly alluded to when people say that I’ve “settled” down since I haven’t left China in quite some time. COVID circumstances aside, could this country be my new home? If so, what would it take to keep me here?
There are two overarching issues that prevent me from ever really calling China home: the passport, and the visa / residence requirements.
I have a Canadian passport that (technically) needs to be carried with me at all times to prove not only my identity but to show proof that I have in fact been stamped into the country, ie, received an entry stamp at my point of entry. The fact that I have a Canadian passport won’t change until I either reject my citizenship or something happens in which I am unable to renew my current passport. If it’s the latter, I sure hope I’m in Canada because trying to prove that you’re who you say you are in the middle of nowhere without the only widely-recognized document in the world is a little tough.
The second big obstacle to staying in China “for life” or, simply and by all means could be a shorter duration, calling it “home”, is the residency requirements. It’s not impossible to achieve so-called “permanent residency”, but it does take time, it takes proof of intent, and it usually takes either money or marriage, neither of which can be cheap. To go the money route requires earning and paying tax on more than 500,000 RMB per year for four consecutive years. To go the marriage route requires marrying a Chinese national (with associated costs) and then applying for permanent residency.
I don’t have to go either of these routes provided I have no problem with doing visa runs every year to the PSB and the associated time required and mental space. With a good HR department behind you (my company has so far proven very capable), renewing visas isn’t very troublesome and merely a formality and a time requirement.
Do “permanent residents” gain anything by their own unique status?
The question is up for debate as there was at least one Twitter thread that pointed out the flaws and humour in having such residency. You do get your own special card that looks pretty much like any other Chinese National’s ID card. The problem with that card, however, is that it often isn’t recognized by the machines that accept them (banks, train stations, government offices) nor by the people who man the automated stations. If you are faced with having to talk with these guardians of the ‘bots, they often ask you for your passport and then wonder why you don’t have it since… you are a foreigner. Obviously.
There are no special discounts for permanent residence card holders, nor does anyone really know what it exactly entails, other than you, because now you are kinda almost free from doing two things:
One, doing the annual visa run / visa application that so many of us have to do, be them ESL teachers, specialists, or company management.
Two, caring if your employer lets you go as you do not need to leave the country as you would have to if your visa-sponsor terminates or doesn’t renew your contract. The permanent resident is allowed to stay in the country since they do not need a visa to be there anyway.
However, if you were to not need either, you still need get ahold of a piece of paper called “Proof of Employment” which companies are obligated to give you if you have actually worked for them. Second, there are no social benefits of you being out of work. And landlords never wonder if foreigners have money for rent. They just still expect it on time (or earlier) and if you don’t pay, then you get to see some hysteria and nagging.
But these are technicalities of a sort in that they can be addressed and worked with and around (legally). The other question of whether or not China could be “home” rests more upon the question of whether or not I “fit in” here or care to go somewhere else. It also hinges on the idea of whether or not life is better here than anywhere else, wherever that may be. Should I move again, no doubt people would not be surprised, but they would also simply assume once again that I was “on the move”.
There would be very little analogy between my move from China to another country with a Canadian who up and left either their neighbourhood or hometown. This might be due to time zones and ease of communication or transportation between the two, but would still not be as big of a jump as moving countries, though I say this would be an argument of relatively as the move from a hometown to a larger city such as Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver no doubt requires some consideration.
That domestic move, within the country itself, though interprovincial, would still cover you/me with the same health benefits, same tax obligations, transferrable drivers’ license, language, education opportunities and backgrounds, job opportunities yet alone food choices, brand names and clothing sizes!
But to stay in China “for life”? With no intention, no idea of going anywhere else? Really? What would it take?
To get one thing very clear: other than employment and choices of a partner, there is very little to gain from establishing China as home.
- I will always be an outsider.
- I am Caucasian, therefore this and that and the other thing all meaning “you’re not from here, you’re not Chinese.”
- My Chinese will always be “very good” but never fluent (though I’m not sure that really, but it is something that is pointed out all the time.)
- I will only draw social benefits (ie, pension) after being here and paying in for fifteen years.
- I will always need a Chinese partner for business or real estate transactions.
- If I were to not own my own place (co-signed with a Chinese partner, though not legally married) and not have the money to pay rent and not have permanent residence, then what would happen? I’d be picked up, moved out, and put on a plane back to Canada at my own expense (or it would be charged to me or my family). The extraction would be unceremonious.
But, again, knowing all of that, understanding the risks, be it an annual visa or a ten-year validity for a permanent resident, could China be home?
- There’s beer, both good and bad. Local (Qingdao & Yanjing) and craft (JingA & Great Leap).
- There’s food, both good and bad, Chinese and foreign. Baozi, dumplings, youtiao (fried dough sticks), bacon and eggers, pasta and barbeque variations.
- There are women and people to converse with and go out with. There are educated and uneducated people that can be fun or a bore.
- There is employment, though switching careers can be difficult. There is no part-time hustle, at least, not much of one.
- There is culture, traditional and modern, of which I include the Mandarin language as it is a huge part of both.
- There are Western amenities and the ability to get away from those and into modern Chinese amenities (in which many places still look the same but with Chinese characteristics).
- There is the Great Firewall and other restrictions on saying whatever is on your mind and targeted at public figures, but I’ve experienced internet and power outages in others places and have yet to meet anyone (except in China) who absolutely ever thought that their chosen leaders were doing a good job.
But seeing so many people, so many foreigners, fellow expats, picking up and leaving after being here five years (rookies), ten years (you’ve got some cred), 20 years (WTF?! How old are you?!) leaving the country, I can’t help but ask myself and the others who have remained, is China home? Where else is there to go?
More importantly, what would make me stay?
COVID is a circumstance that, if I really wanted to leave the country, I could. It’s just that I wouldn’t be able to get back in very easily. If I left, I’d have to deal with my stuff and tell my landlord I’m gone, along with a lot of other exit procedures (such as making sure I take all of the cash from my bank account).
Health. This would be a big one. Ensuring that I would be taken care of should I face any sort of injury or disability either on the job or during leisure. This one looms large because it’s easy to take this for granted when you’re relatively young and able and healthy, but if I were to be diagnosed with something or who knows what, how do I address that?
Work. Not being beholden to only one type of work. Being able to have a part time job or something that could take the pressure of depending only on one income source within the country that, should I be unable to perform, I would lose my visa and privilege to stay. Further, to be able to take advantage of some of the opportunities that would help give a buffer to the above mentioned catastrophic situation.
Being able to come back or being able to deal with things without requiring a sticker in my non-water-proof, travelling sticker and stamp book otherwise known as a passport. My entry to and from the country and a lot of my work and life needs are tied very closely with not just the passport, but the visa sticker and entry stamp received at the point of entry. (Again, see above about the residence permit idea.)
The last thing that would contribute to making China “home” would be starting a family. Getting married, having children, probably having the in-laws move in. Is that something I could endure? Is that something I want to do here?
There is one thing that has become clear as I’ve gotten older and as I’ve stayed away from Canada: we are getting older which means my family, my Mom in particular, would not be able to provide the same cultural immersion and connection that my current nieces and nephews enjoy and that I enjoyed as a kid. In other words, as I stay away from Canada and my Ukrainian traditions, it becomes more likely that I would be integrating with another culture and its traditions. If that’s the case, would the Chinese culture be one that I would be willing to be a part of despite the aforementioned issues?
For all the media portrayals of this, that, and the other thing, the Chinese culture has endured and continues to thrive. Although the traditional clothing has gone by the wayside, the food, the superstitions, the sayings, the knowledge passed down from generation to generation (ie, those stories that grandparents say off the cuff about something), and the language continue to be prominent fixtures. Those aren’t going to change regardless of who’s in command.
Further, given the neighbours of China, most notably Russia, staying here and attempting any sort of Ukrainian-Canadian traditions would be difficult. Yes, I could take it upon myself to make more of an effort, but there is no Ukrainian Catholic church and religious ceremonies that made up so much of my own childhood.
In essence, staying in China would be tantamount to a renunciation of my cultural roots. And although that seems like a big decision to make, I have to see that I have been here in China for eight years and that I’ve travelled far and wide over the last fifteen years and only a portion of that was spent in the ancestral homelands and in my own native homeland.
I think of those expats / foreigners who are now uprooting their families to move across the world. Will they stay there? Will there be a regret leaving here? Will their families be able to adjust to the new setting? (To be sure, a lot of the families who are moving include Chinese women who often went overseas to study and then came back.)
There aren’t too many foreigners in China who’ve been here longer than 20 years.
And so the question hasn’t been completely answered but that’s the situation as it stands. It’s hard to see the situation (ie, COVID and dynamic zero in particular) changing very much any time soon so it might be another 2-3 years before a decision to commit in any one decision is made.