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criminal record check when applying for visa
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chromium



Joined: 06 Jun 2007
Posts: 69
Location: Dalian, China

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 3:33 am    Post subject: criminal record check when applying for visa Reply with quote

does anyone know if the consulate offices check for criminal records? There is a question on application form A, yes or no.

I have some driving related offenses.

Anyone know if they'll do a criminal background check when processing the application?

Also, can the Physical Exam for Foreigner be hand-written by the physician?

Thanks for the input!
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GeminiTiger



Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 999
Location: China, 2005--Present

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 4:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

are driving offenses criminal?
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Miles Smiles



Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No criminal offenses checks are initiated by anyone except the applicant. The consulate wouldn't know where to start with a criminal check, anyway.

Unless you bring the health check form to your doctor on a thumb drive, the doctor CAN'T fill it in any other way except by hand. The doctor's office MAY have an old-fashioned typewriter, but I doubt it.

Depending upon the severity of the offense, moving vehicle offenses are misdemeanors. If you flee the scene of an accident in which someone was killed and/or drive under the influence and hurt someone, or you flee the scene of an accident with the police in pursuit, you might have committed a felony offense.


Last edited by Miles Smiles on Fri Aug 10, 2012 6:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
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AnneSansTete



Joined: 26 Jun 2012
Posts: 47

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 4:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a misdemeanor DUI from over 4 years ago. No accidents, injuries, deaths, etc. Would this prevent me from working in China? TIA
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Miles Smiles



Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 6:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AnneSansTete wrote:
I have a misdemeanor DUI from over 4 years ago. No accidents, injuries, deaths, etc. Would this prevent me from working in China? TIA


No. Just don't mention it on any form. The consulate is more worried about murder, drug distribution, sex trade workers, etc..
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cfaulkner



Joined: 01 Jun 2012
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 6:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You shouldn't have a problem if the offense is "older". After 10 years, nobody cares. Or at least they shouldn't.

Last edited by cfaulkner on Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:43 am; edited 2 times in total
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Miles Smiles



Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 10:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
You should know that at some places, eager-beaver colleagues of yours will check you secretly to make sure you have no skeletons after you arrive. This increases in probability if you have ever worked in Korea and tell folks you have.


Yeah, I've seen that in China too, though not to the extent that you describe. I've been subject to internet searches by a wacked-out failed actress drama queen FT who could have worked for STASI. I have a very common name, and she created a composite ID for me that was laughable. She reported it to the FAO.

I don't think that automobile moving violations hold much weight with employers in China. If they were interested in knowing that much about a prospective FT, they'd check to see if his degree was bonafide. They don't even though there's a company called Verify.

I do agree, however, that it is easy to get information on people through Intelius, though many times, that information is wrong, even though it is gathered from public records.

Best advice: If you have a felony conviction for anything violent or for drugs, don't come to China.
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cfaulkner



Joined: 01 Jun 2012
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'll have to ask some friends on the latest.

Last edited by cfaulkner on Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:44 am; edited 2 times in total
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Miles Smiles



Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
From what I've heard from teachers in China, one needs a clean record to get the proper work visa. These were at the best schools and unis, however. Perhaps in the institutes one can get a job with a skeleton. But if he has any colleagues who are eager-beavers, he may not keep the job long. If China is like Korea and the Middle East, your colleagues WILL check you through the background-check sites. The smart thing to do is make sure you have NO colleagues from the west at your particular workplace, you lay low, and never, ever give your social security number to anybody. This goes for China and for the Middle East. Korea is out, though, as they demand nation-wide checks from the get-go.


How long have you been in China? How many western FTs have you spoken to? I'm sure that some of the FTs you've spoken to HAVE gone to great lengths to convince you that they all have sterling past records, and they are, verifiably, the cream of the crop.

To my knowledge, only Inner Mongolia professes to require a criminal check.

Elsewhere in China, neither recruiters, FAO's, nor school managers have the wherewithal to even REQUEST any sort of check outside of China. The first daunting factor is payment. Unless the Chinese fact-checker has a method of quick payment that is acceptable to western information service-providers, he won't be able to get information from the west.

To my knowledge, "Top Universities" don't request transcripts. (I've worked for upper-tier universities).They may request letters of recommendation from past employers and professors. People who provide transcripts are those who have no college degree, and those people aren't hired by "top universities".

The Chinese consulates don't do background checks. It's too much of a hassle, and again, there's not only the issue of method of payment, there's the issue of spending money and time that probably won't produce anything.

If consulates, FAO's and school managers actually did any kind of background checks on incoming FTs, I wouldn't have met some of the yo-yo's I've encountered through the years.
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roadwalker



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 1750
Location: Ch

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've worked at four unis in China (albeit only one was in the range of top tier - maybe top second tier). I've never been asked for a criminal background check or my university transcripts. I have been asked for the original copy of my degree. I suppose they thought they could tell it from a good Khaosan Road fake. On the other hand, I try to provide current contact information for past jobs; not always possible for ESL work.

I can certainly imagine fellow fts with too much time doing exhaustive internet sleuthing on my past, but the Chinese teachers I know generally have too many "other duties as assigned" to have the energy to try. Particularly the ones with decent English who get assigned to help the foreigners. You could have weirdos stalking your past in any job or endeavor: I wouldn't think that ESL is any different.

Chromium- as far as the medical form goes, try to get something with the clinic's letterhead and as many rubber stamp marks as possible to be attached to the form or at least rubber stamp the form with the clinic's stamp. That makes it more official in China...
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Miles Smiles



Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"... I can certainly imagine fellow fts with too much time doing exhaustive internet sleuthing on my past..."

The whack job I mentioned took biographical info from about six different people in six separate parts of the U.S., and one from the U.K.. Each were in distinct, non-overlapping professions ranging from ichthyologist, rock and roll musician, hypnologist, and a couple of other things. She stitched them all into a post on a website, mentioned a Chinese teacher's name, copied it, then deleted it.
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cfaulkner



Joined: 01 Jun 2012
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Been in China now for 14 months. I myself have a clean CRC, but I know others here don't. But this is no problem for me.

Last edited by cfaulkner on Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:46 am; edited 1 time in total
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rogerwilco



Joined: 10 Jun 2010
Posts: 1549

PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, other foreigners in China have tried to screw me over more than any Chinese person ever has.

In my case the Chinese bosses saw through the B.S., and I was signed to a new contract and the malicious foreigner was asked to leave.
But, I have heard of many cases that did not work out so well.
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wangdaning



Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 3154

PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 7:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cfaulkner wrote:
I've been told that if you have any kind of skeleton in your closet, you will not be able to get a visa to work in China. But perhaps that applies if you are in the west and are getting the Z while there.

If one of your colleagues is a beaver and gets hold of just your full name, he will snoop. If he has your history of where you've lived that will help him dig more. If he has your social security number, the game is up. He will find your dirt and tell your boss. If that doesn't get you fired, he will tell your students and they will complain about you and demand a new teacher. If you have skeleton, keep your information to yourself. It's nobody's business what you did years ago, maybe even decades ago.


Most employers would be more angry at the person digging up your info, if you are otherwise a satisfactory employee. It will be made even worse if they tell the students. In most cases digging these things up will be construed as questioning the bosses decision to hire you. If your boss already doesn't like you then, yeah, it might lead to you getting fired.

As far as criminal checks, they are not required for the Z visa itself. I have heard that some locations are requiring one, but that is to get the invitation documents. The local (in China) office that issues the documents requires it.
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Miles Smiles



Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee

PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I've been told that if you have any kind of skeleton in your closet, you will not be able to get a visa to work in China. But perhaps that applies if you are in the west and are getting the Z while there.


Who is telling you this?

Do you think there are Chinese spies who go to your neighbors and ask questions about you? Is there some sort of skeleton-in-the-closet registry they can check? The people at the consulates are rotated out so often that they don't have enough time to get settled in their apartments, much less go digging for dirt on Z visa applicants. If it were possible for anyone in any consulate to learn anything about a z visa applicant, there wouldn't be next-day or three-day service for processing.

Get real.

NEXT?
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