Job Discussion Forums

[charmed]

I came to China with a tourist visa with the blessing of my school promising that they could give me the proper documents. When i got here, i signed a six-month contract. My visa was only initially extended for three months (Visa F). As my three-month stay is winding up, i asked my boss for visa Z for the remaining months but he said it has to be another extension tourist visa and he would only work out a Visa Z if i decided to stay for another term or year. Bummer... I'm beginning to realize that the chinese are really sly businessmen.

Can anyone enlighten me with the implications of this thing? does this mean i'm working illegally here? anyway, this could also mean that my boss is employing me illegally, right? cuts both ways. i do have my foreign expert certificate and he is working out my residence certificate (or so he says!)

[mike w]

Your green card and red book are more important than your visa. The visa only gets you into the country - the others allow you to stay and work.

The rules for obtaining F and Z visas change from city to city. There is a new rule, which Beijing PSB are starting to enforce, inasmuch that Z visas will only be given to new teachers coming to China who have an EFL teaching qualification before they get here.

[Roger]

Yes, you have been hired illegally. YOu got a permit in an unorthodox way. A PSB is not supposed to hand out such documents unless they have approved you as an alien resident, and that entails you having a work visa.
If your boss has so much clout over the PSB, then beware! He may very well shortchange you at the end of your stint, for example, refuse to pay your airfare. Good luck!

It's not exactly true that visa rules vary from place to place; rather, local PSB's apply them according to their own interpretation. There is some work afoot that will do away with visas in exchange for green cards. This has been experimented in Shanghai.

The legal implications for you are dire: in theory, you could be booted out of the mainland at a moment's notice. Your salary could be confiscated. You could also be made to pay a
Perhaps you should sign that contract and go along with your boss NOW - whether you intend sticking it out for a whole one year is another matter. I don't suggest you do a runner, but sometimes youhave little choice.
Anyway, signing a contract means you can sit back comfortably and dream on. Perhaps you will thus secure your airfare payment.

This is theory; don't worry too much about the law. You have much more to worry about your boss. I hope it's going to work out fine for you!