Job Discussion Forums

[sistercream]

Have you considered Macau for the medical check? I don't know that results can be given any faster than in HK, but the check-up itself will possibly be cheaper(sorry, don't know current rates, haven't had one done there for 8 years), but it's a lot cheaper for general living expenses (except for accommodation at the weekend - you might want to get a "shopping visa" and head to Zhuhai for Friday/ Saturday nights).

Options for medical check include Kiang Wu hospital (webite is a clunker, but there a a few English options down the left hand side) - http://www.kwh.org.mo/

and

Hope Clinic - www.hopemacau.com/‎

[GeminiTiger]

For the costs of going to HK it will still be cheaper to fly to Fuzhou with an additional e-ticket booked to fly to hong kong.

Consider the costs of my suggestion:
Room = Should be free right?
Medical = 400 rmb
Flight = 1500 round trip?

Going to HK:
Room = 600 rmb a day x 5 days? 3000 rmb
Medical 2000 rmb?
Still need transport = 1500.
Meals and transport in HK = 2000?

Ok a lot of guess work on HK since I've only been in HK once and it was only for 2 hours But it looks like 2000 rmb vs 8000 rmb?

This is the only situation that I could ever think of where coming on a tourist visa makes more sense than anything else.

Good luck whatever you do, I work in FZ, hope you make it.

[Garphilius]

I have a question...

What if you already did the medical check in let's say, Vietnam. Can I bring that paperwork into HK embassy or will I need a HK hospital check? If so, can I just provide the paperwork to the hospital and they can transfer the information over to another paper?

Thanks

[Toast]

[Toast]

How about fly to Hongkers, dump your crap, get a tourist / transit / SEZ visa for Shenzhen, cross over there and do the medical at the authorized hospital - where the results will likely be issued faster - stay at a hotel there (vastly cheaper) if you need to wait a couple of days and then cross back to Hong Kong with medical check in hand to apply for the Z visa? Then continue on yer merry way to Fuzhou.

[Voyeur]

Thanks for all the tips in this thread--ultimately, I made it through. Had to stay in HK, as there was a chance that China would want proof of a return ticket, even for a tourist Visa.

Flew in from Ukraine, arriving late Saturday August 10th.

Took advice from the board, and went to Mirador over Chungking. I had not booked a place, and the Saturday stay was a problem. It was the end of Holidays for mainlanders, and there were no small rooms in Mirador (I went to 10+ guesthouses). After 2+ hours of searching and lugging my luggage around, I had to take a better room for 700 HKD. Luckily, for the rest of my stay I found somewhere for 300HKD a night.

On Monday the 12th, I went to Tsuen Wan Adventist Hospital at the far end of one of the MTR lines. I begged everyone I knew to expedite the process, and while no one could make promises of less than a week, I ended up getting a call Tuesday at 3pm to pick it up. I showed up for the tests at 9 am Mon, and they took only an hour. The price was around 1,600 HKD, which is a lot less than the price at the more centrally-located Adventist Hospital.

Quick tip on health checks. The Commissioner's office says they want a health check from a "Public Hospital". But this is a mistranslation--they want a check from a large, established hospital that is open to the public. But in fact, ONLY private hospitals in HK will do the assessment. The publicly owned hospitals will not. I confirmed with the commissioner's office that large, private hospitals are acceptable. And the hospital gives you quite a nice package that may well be acceptable to the Chinese in your city of employment on the other end.

On Tuesday, I also received my letter of invitation and work permit, sent by courier from my school in China. I had gotten a phone expressly so the courier could call me at my hotel, and I would come and sign for the documents. Naturally, the courier did not, left it at the front desk, and the front desk shift changed. Confusion reigned for 3-4 hours until my docs were found. Courier company's had also said there was no "pick up at the courier office" option. So be careful receiving visa docs in HK. Seems to be no perfectly safe way to do it.

On Wednesday, I went to the commissioner's office with my documents. It was closed until 2pm due to a Typhoon warning, but they processed everything quickly once I got in (even being half staffed). Despite express warnings that foreigners must get their visas in their home countries, I was one of several foreigners I met there getting their visas done in HK.

They do not have same day service anymore, or so the signs read. And they seemed to be enforcing it. But I got my visa 24 hours later, and flew into Fuzhou on Friday the 16th.

[dean_a_jones]

Thanks for the detailed follow up, always useful. Glad it all fell into place eventually.

[Voyeur]

Thing to know for newbies: starting up from scratch in China, when you choose a school that does not provide accommodation, is not cheap.

You'll get a lot of the money back eventually (Rent deposits, school repayment of visa expenses, travel allowances, monthly rental stipend, etc...) but the up front costs are high. Hong Kong in particular, sucks the cash out of you.

I'm looking at around $4,000 to $5,000 US in terms of money just to get me off the ground (as I was essentially slumming in Eastern Europe for t2o years).

Initial Outlays:

-Ticket To Hong Kong ($1000)
-1 Week Accommodation in HK ($350)
-Ticket to China from HK ($330 -- HK airport tax was huge)
-2-mo. deposit on Chinese apartment ($600)
- Agent Fee for apartment ($150-half of a month's rent)
- 2 months rent before actually getting paid ($600)
- Decent Mattress, desk, chair ($250)
- 1 Year Internet Paid up Front ($100)
- 1 year VPN fee paid up front ($90)
- Hong Kong Medical Check ($200)
- Hong Kong Express Visa ($75)
- Hotel in China while finding apartment ($140 for 4-5 nights)
- Pots, Pans, Dishes etc. for apartment ($100 you have to buy your own stove top)
- Towels, blankets, lines for Apartment ($100)

And if you don't have many clothes, and are big like me (190+cm, size 13 shoes, and a 40 inch waist) then you probably need to have a tailor make work clothes for you. Shoes will have to be purchased over the internet at great expense and trouble. Also, you will probably want to find a Chinese speaking "fixer" who you will pay by the hour.

Luckily, this is a longterm investment for me. I'm here for the duration, and I'm very happy with my school, manager, and program so far. But ten years ago I went to Korea as a newbie. I flew right from my home country, I went to a school in Seoul where they provided everything and all the foreign teachers lived in the same building. We all helped each other, and the school held our hand. And even then, you could do a lot more with no Korean than I can do with no Chinese here in Fuzhou. This experience is a lot more like just diving in to the deep end than Korea was in the beginning.

[Zhejiang_Man]

[Voyeur]

Sure. So that is online shop in China?

Problem is making sure they fit. Never ordered shoes online before. What are the chances of getting real brands, not fakes? Even in HK all the plastic wrapped Nikes and Addidas seemed fake.

Thanks for the tip. I will look into it.