Job Discussion Forums

Volodiya · Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2005 2:16 am Post subject:

Sorry to bother you again, ekirving, and thanks for taking the time to reply the first time. I still have some questions that may help (or may not, as the case may be) clarify the difference in result between your case and phillipl's case, if you'll indulge me a little further.

If you don't mind, could you tell us when your L visa was first issued; when it was extended, and at whose request; and, when you started work for your current employer?

ekirving · Joined: 29 Mar 2005 Posts: 57 Location: Back Home :-(

Talkdoc · Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 696

ivytony · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 11:38 pm Post subject:

a candian guy I know got a Foreign Expert Certificate and he doesn't need to get Z visa or visa extension.

Volodiya · Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:30 am Post subject:

Talkdoc wrote,

no_exit · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 565 Location: Kunming

I'll confirm about Yunnan. The PSB won't convert grant in-country conversion to Z visas here anymore, starting Jan. 1st of this year. This is coming from the waiban of the Yunnan Science and Technology University, as well as a private English school which employs a friend of mine and is making him go to Chiang Mai to process his Z visa.

ekirving · Joined: 29 Mar 2005 Posts: 57 Location: Back Home :-(

Volodiya · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 5:36 am Post subject: Residency permit

I've been in China over a year, and when my Z visa neared its expiration, recently, a residence permit stamp was placed in my passport, as I'd expected. But, when I hear of others' experiences, like ekirving, who got a residence permit on the strength of an L visa, I find myself at risk of growing more perplexed. Somehow, the old system, with Z visas, brown books and green books seemed somehow less ambiguous than this is proving to be.

As for the potential usefulness of sharing our collective experiences, as they say, "Forewarned is forearmed." If a prospective employer assures you he'll have no trouble getting your visa converted, perhaps you can ask for a term in your contract requiring him to pay your travel expenses if it turns out you have to leave the country to get the proper documentation.

Nauczyciel · Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 1:24 am Post subject:

This new regulation seems strictly enforced in HUNAN. I arrived on L visa becasue I had ben told by the school that converting L into Z is "no problem". After a month of medical tests, taking photos, copying passport pages etc. it turned out that the local PSB cannot handle this issue any longer, so I was sent to Hong Kong earlier this week to apply for a Z visa there. It took three hours and was free of charge.

Volodiya · Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 2:33 am Post subject:

Nauczyciel,

Was it a Z visa, or a "residence permit for foreigners" that they put in your passport? (I know you said "Z visa": I'm just trying to clarify, for myself and others, some of these reports, so that we end up with a coherent body of information, if we can.)

If it was Z visa they put in your passport, has your school said anything about any additional processing with the local PSB that you'll have to do?

Nauczyciel · Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 6:36 am Post subject:

This is Z-visa, yes. Now my school has 30 days to get residence permit for me from the local PSB. Z-visa in itself says nothing about the duration of my stay - this is where the residence permit is key. But to get one you need to get a foreign expert certificate first. So, my Z-visa is just a beginning of the whole process of validating my staying here.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

News from the Guangdong PSB:\
Teachers already in the country and under contract can have it renewed;

- they will be issued a residence permit stuck into their passport; no more residence permit and separate work visa. The residence permit will be multiple entry and cost around 400 for one year.

This does not answer the question: do newly arriving job seekers get their work visa in the country...

Another change that has come into effect: the employers are no longer entitled to make the decision whether you are suitably qualified; this decision has had to be deferred to a new bureau that supposedly deals with applications from the whole of Guangzhou or even Guangdong.

Volodiya · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 9:37 am Post subject:

Thanks, Nauczyciel, for the clarification of what occured when you went abroad.
______________

"Small dog" had also provided this site in one of his posts, some months back-

http://www.speedbusiness.com.cn/residence-permit.htm

It feels odd to me, not to have a visa anymore. I now have only a residence permit for foreigners (a stamp in my passport). I have no visa for China, but I'm told I can come and go, as I please, within the period of validity of the residence permit (one year).

dyslexic_dcuk · Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 7 Location: state of flux

Zhejiang Province. L to Z (well residence permit). Post Jan 1 2005. Short and factual and my experience only so make of it what you will.

Please note that past performance is no guarantee of future returns as the value of investments may go down as well as up..blah, blah, blah.

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

Hebei province is a NO GO at the moment! If you've been in the country for a while, then it's not a problem. If you've just arrived on an L visa, then you will spend the next 6 months teaching on an F visa. Most officials are aware of this situation and they're ok with.

Your best bet is to get either a "Foreign Expert Certificate" or an "Alien Employement Permit" from the Foreign Affairs office of the city you're working in to complement your F visa and give you a higher degree of legitimacy.

There has been some reports that the problem is only limited to the bigger cities (Shijiazhuang, tangshan, handan, Chengde...) and that the smaller cities have yet to follow up.