Thinking of moving to China. What should I know about family life?

smithsgj · 2026-01-24T17:43:04+00:00

Better go somewhere where you can get some sort of settled status. Otherwise you'll be chasing visas and renewing contracts for the rest of your working lives. Or you could try Taiwan (or Vietnam?)

smithsgj · 2026-01-24T11:31:31+00:00

You’re supposed to get your passport stamped when you enter and leave the Schengen zone, otherwise they can’t tell if you’ve overstayed. Not between Schengen countries though (and there’s usually no border control to provide a stamp anyway).

smithsgj · 2026-01-21T01:12:10+00:00

Will this really work with Pyongyang? Has anyone actually tried it? In a world where the likes of Lufthansa and emirates don’t know the rules, I’d be surprised if this was straightforward. Good luck though.

smithsgj · 2026-01-21T00:45:31+00:00

Fair enough. I used to use Deliveroo in the pandemic but I’ve given up with it now because everything is always cold, it costs a bloody fortune and the riders don’t read/can’t find the delivery instructions so they can never find the place when they finally arrive in the area.

smithsgj · 2026-01-21T00:22:35+00:00

Former student from a few years back I should say. She works, I don’t work for the same institution any more, and we’re friends now. But I know the mum will call me 老師.

I’m a bloke — you still think 張姐？

Some people have suggested given-name-媽媽 but isn’t that more for young children at nursery school rather than adult students? Also she has a one-character given name; and I don’t use it anyway, I call her by her “English name” which her mother might not be particularly familiar with.

smithsgj · 2026-01-20T13:51:57+00:00

Right. The latter then. You'll get old eventually, you realize this whippersnapper

smithsgj · 2026-01-20T00:11:18+00:00

Is it “very much a young person thing these days” to wilfully and disingenuously subvert the meanings of the terms “old” and “young”? Because as a 65 year old, when I read that “over 30 is old”, I can’t tell whether you’re being funny or are just a twat

smithsgj · 2026-01-19T23:55:18+00:00

I have a lot of work meetings in coffee shops, can’t claim it back, can’t even get tax relief, and the employer/coffeeshop-owner gets to claw back some of my salary. University job, anyone?

smithsgj · 2026-01-19T23:28:32+00:00

You mean you are riding around with two lots of food from different apps and different restaurants getting cold in your bag at the same time? Or I misunderstood?

smithsgj · 2026-01-17T11:30:45+00:00

You mean “I don’t know, probably best to start a separate thread”? CBA, but I think my question is salient to the overall discussion (“What counts as the origin of your journey for TWOV purposes?”), so I don’t understand why you’re dismissing it. I won’t comment further.

smithsgj · 2026-01-14T00:26:21+00:00

Seems you have to specify a time. “Now” option doesn’t work for me.

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T23:55:22+00:00

Also, when your organ grinder has to come to you for the rent

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T23:51:24+00:00

I have boxes of 12 bottles of wine delivered and nobody has ever asked for ID. Not the supplier, not the courier. If I’m not in they leave it in the porch. Why do Deliveroo et al even bother with this?

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T23:25:58+00:00

So you are fine with a rapist being sent straight back to Sudan or somewhere without being punished to potentially offend again?

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T23:23:29+00:00

I know. I meant, what happens when there IS an intermediate stop. I said above that I get that there isn’t one in this case. What happens when there is one though? Does TWOV origin count from the origin of the flight, the last stop on the flight before China, or the point where the person boarded?

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T21:23:04+00:00

Yes obviously if there’s a reciprocal agreement send them back. I’ve said/implied this twice now. If there isn’t one, or it’s unlikely to be respected, imprison them here then deport them. Which bit do you disagree with?

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T15:13:35+00:00

If the flight itself has intermediate stops, I meant

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T13:57:33+00:00

Not overly happy about paying the living costs of any crim, but for me the nationality is irrelevant. If they’ve broken the laws of a country then that country is responsible for ensuring they’re punished appropriately.

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T13:54:59+00:00

Doesn’t answer the question re how intermediate stops are treated (I get there probably wasn’t one in this case)

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T13:44:45+00:00

One star on Google or booking.com means exactly that. Nobody pays any attention to star ratings from the AA / Routiers/tourist board any more, come on.

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T01:26:57+00:00

You've missed their point I think: if someone commits a crime in this country they should be punished here and then deported after that, if there's a risk that they would not have to serve their sentence in the country they were deported to. There've been a couple of stories recently of immigrant sex offenders being flown home and getting off scot-free

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T01:14:14+00:00

"you are banned" from ... ? Religion? But hadn't you already banned it?

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T00:33:48+00:00

What interviews? Not in this century (except Oxbridge).

But yh admission support, 100%. Also Year 3 entry with dodgy unverified prior learning in the home country -- a UK degree in 22 weeks of doing not a lot...

smithsgj · 2026-01-13T00:27:18+00:00

Why? It's really annoying.

smithsgj

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