Shanghai residents looking to get a visa to travel abroad for personal reasons no longer have to worry about being ripped off by fraudulent companies exchanging empty promises for very real money - a business practice that has grown rapidly over the past two decades.
Wednesday, city officials issued licenses to 33 local companies allowing them to offer legal consultation, help prepare documents and book hotel rooms abroad for those wishing to obtain long-term visas.
All other companies are banned from offering these services, although the ban doesn't include tourism, student or work visas.
The number of fraudulent companies in the market has grown along with the number of local residents seeking to settle abroad or visit friends and family members living overseas.
Last year, a record 2.64 million people in Shanghai applied for long-term visas to travel abroad for personal reasons. That number was up dramatically from 1990, when only 41,582 people applied for such visas.
The numbers didn't include those going abroad to study, travel or work.
"These agencies have done a lot to help local citizens. However, many fraudulent companies have entered the market, especially since the end of the 1980's," said Ma Zhengdong, director of the city's entry-exit administration.
Ma said the city has tried to crack down on unscrupulous firms, but so many of them have set up shop that the government doesn't even know how many such agencies are operating in the city.
"Our company is very glad to acquire a license, which is like a gold-lettered symbol of our good reputation to potential customers," said Sun Jiangling, of the Overseas Consulting Center run by Shanghai Foreign Service Co., Ltd.
While the move clears up some of the problems plaguing the market, authorities must continue to monitor licensed firms, particularly to make sure they aren't making false claims in their advertisements, said Wu Min, director of the city's Advertising Supervisory Division.
Shanghai has taken several steps over the past year to make it easier for local residents to get and renew a passport. Since last December, locals have been allowed to renew their passports at the post office, and in January, authorities stopped demanding a foreign invitation from those applying for a personal passport.
More changes are expected in the second half of this year, with police saying that Shanghai residents will be able to apply for a private passport using just their identification card, instead of filling out many documents and providing references.
(eastday.com April 4, 2002)
