Living in Shenzhen, working in Hong Kong

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Hi all,

Just a couple of quick questions - hopefully one or two of you have some experience which might give me some answers.

I work in Hong Kong, and have a Hong Kong ID. Trouble is, I would actually prefer to live in Shenzhen. The main reason is I want to be immersed in a Mandarin-speaking environment so that my Mandarin accelerates. It's not too bad now, but I want it to be better. So I was thinking of a 6-month stint in Shenzhen to help it along.

Anyway, I found a decent apartment right by Luo Hu station, and the owner is prepared to rent it on a 6-month lease. I'm prepared to make the daily commute back and forth.

There are just a few logistical questions I should try to get answers for before I sign anything. Hope you can help:

1) Are there any issues with renting an apartment to non-Shenzhen residents. I have a HKID, but no China ID. I'd be living in SZ on a tourist or work visa. The visa office told me it's OK, and the real estate agent told me no problem, but I thought I should check that. Seems too easy.

2) What about utilities like electricity, Internet, gas? Could I get those hooked up without a residence permit?

3) A very important one - TAX. I understand there's a 183-day rule. Does anyone know whether that applies to people who do no work in China? On a 6-month lease, I would go past 183 days, since I already make regular visits to China. But I will not be doing any work there at all. As I mentioned, I'll travel to HK for work every day, then back to SZ to stay. What about if I applied for a residence permit? Does that automatically make me liable to pay tax?

4)

Final question is about personal effects. I read on a HK forum that it's hard to bring personal effects into China without a residence permit. Does anyone know more about this? If I can't bring my stuff, I don't think it would be worth it. For 6 months, there's no point buying new stuff and selling my existing stuff.

OK; I realise that's a lot of information I am asking for. Thanks in advance for any advice you might be able to provide.

Cheers.

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