Confirmed: student visas not prolonged during Olympics

Image via WikipediaThe Dutch website De Gele Draak has found a confirmation of the rumor that was already hoovering around for a while: when student visas expire, and most will at the end of the academic year, they can only get a new visa after the Olymnpics are over. They will have to leave the country for two months.
The source is pretty reliable: the website of the Dutch embassy in Beijing. The message is (translated from Dutch into English)

Also the Dutch Embassy has found out that visa of foreign students who are already in China for study and whose visa will expire shortly, are not being extended over the summer period. People involved will basically have to leave the country and have to applly abroad to get a visum for the next semester.

The Dutch embassy did not get a explanation for the policy change, it says. It will be for many students a nasty surprise and make their stay in China extra expensive