Foreigner imprisoned after running illegal visa business in Shanghai

A foreigner has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for conducting an illegal visa business in Shanghai, the Shanghai Morning post reports.

It is the first case of a foreigner imprisoned for running an illegal visa agent business in the city.

The man named Petro from South America started a trade consultant company in Shanghai in 2011. His company applied for foreigners' invitation letters for business visits and working visas.

He had arranged five working visas for his customers and earned over 50,000 yuan.

His main customers were foreign teachers working in language training schools, as working visas were harder to obtain for these teachers. It was later revealed that these teachers had no teaching experience in their home countries at all.

Petro's business caught the eyes of the Entry-Exit Administration of the municipal bureau of Public Security at the end of last year. They realized his illegal activity after 5 foreigners, each with different nationalities, had the same emergency contact.

The police launched an investigation into the case and his business was revealed.