Not the charge card thing.  In the ‘olden days’ you could travel much easier for extended stays.  Your passport would allow you a 90 day stay and it was as simple as crossing the border, going to Switzerland for a day, and come back for another 90 days!  Ta Da!   Simple.  Easy.  Well….not so much any more.  That ‘come and go’ loophole for long vacations is a thing of the past.  You can only travel anywhere in Europe  and across any border for 90 days.  Then you have to leave for 90 days before you can come back.  This is all a result of the Schengen Agreement.  This has nothing to do with anything Chinese.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement

It is now necessary to procure an ‘Elective Residence’ Visa for stay longer than 90 days.  OK this shouldn’t be too difficult.  Right?  Just try finding out exactly what is needed in order to apply.  It would be infinitely helpful if there were a concise list of requirements.  No.  Way to easy.  Laura has been frantic in her search and we believe we have everything needed for our appointment this Friday.  You need to have your airlines tickets purchased for a 6 month stay.  So there will be a change fee coming since we are only going for 4 months!  You have to have proof of where you are going to be staying for 6 months.  Booked reservations with proof of payment.  So much for being foot loose and playing it by ear.  Passport photos.  You have to present proof that you can afford to be there for 6 months and not be looking for a job while in Italy.  Bank statements and letters.  So much for my carpentry and table waiting skills.  We also went so far as to get fingerprinted and an FBI criminal search to prove we are good people.  (Please no rebuttals)   So, crossing our fingers we will apply and have been assured that the two weeks before we leave will be enough time to get the Visa even though the Italian Consulate website says it takes 4 weeks.  Wish us luck in this first hurdle.