In a further crackdown on foreigners working or residing illegally in China, the police in Beijing organized a ‘raid’ on the illegal modeling underworld.

Authorities in Beijing used the M2 modeling agency in Beijing as the front for a fake casting call. At the ‘casting’ nearly 60 models were arrested for trying to obtain pay from work on a tourist visa. The models go this route because a tourist visa is much easier, and more convenient, to get than an entertainment visa. All of the models arrested had their passports and phones taken away and are likely to be deported.

A simultaneous sting was held in Guangzhou as a number of models were arrested and foreigners who looked like they might be models were stopped and asked to show proof of a working visa. Several agencies have moved models to hotels or to Hong Kong for the time being.

The move is just another notch on the bedpost of immigration authorities who have spent the past two years cracking down on foreigners in China. Visa restrictions are becoming more stringent and working visas more difficult to obtain.

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Keywords: Models Arrested in China