Chinese Embassy hires more Pakistanis to overcome language barrier

Islamabad: China embassy, Islamabad has hired more Pakistani staff to overcome the language barrier and to facilitate visa applicants.

According to statistics, the visa issuance volume from April 1 to June 15 rose 11% over the same period of the previous year, among which the business visa volume reaches around 15,000, a growth of 19%. Yang Lianchun, Director of the Consular Section has said that more Pakistani staff has been hired in his section and taken responsibilities of facilitating the applicants, such as frequently helping to bridge the gap in language barriers for Urdu-speaking applicants.

He said all of our consular officers speak English only. “When we have interviews with Urdu-speaking applicants who visit China for the first time, we will sometimes reject them as we can’t make sure of their visit purposes due to language barriers. However, Pakistani employees can not only help lessen the applicants’ emotional anxiety but solve the problem easily,” he added.

He further said that hiring more Pakistani staff in the Consular Section is actually under the instructions of Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing. Since his arrival the ambassador has specially taken steps to facilitate Chinese visa application. His constant meetings with the chambers of commerce and industries won huge support from the local business community. “He always says promoting mutual understanding, exchanges and cooperation between the two peoples is the key point for developing the all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Pakistan,” he added.

Yang Lianchun stressed that all consular officers of the embassy must enhance their awareness of service to make visa applicants feel our warmth and friendliness, and make it easier for Pakistani friends to get Chinese visas.

Since April 1 this year, the Chinese Embassy has implemented new policy for F and M visas. According to the new rules, those applicants who have visited China more than 3 times since January 1, 2016, who work for the companies registered in local Chambers, or who hold passports with marks of Government Officer or Government Employee are exempted from submitting barcode invitation letters. These invitation letters are usually issued by Chinese local governments or big enterprises and difficult to obtain.

Yang Lianchun said has said that Chinese Embassy is fully ready for the coming seasonal visa peak. “We’re planning to arrange more Pakistani employees to receive visa applicants. Multiple visas with a longer period of validity are available to those businessmen who have good entry and exit records. We can also provide urgent visa service when required.”