Job Discussion Forums

[toteach]

I had an interesting conversation with the FAO from another school in Jiangsu last week who informed me that is illegal under provincial law to offer contracts to foreigners longer than one year. He said this is why RPs and FECs are issued for only one year at a time.

I looked at both my FEC and RP, and they both expire after one year, though I signed a two-year contract.

Any Jiangsu experts out there?

Does the process to renew an RP require another physical? Is the cost to renew the same as the initial RP? Can the renewal be done BEFORE the expiration? If so, how early? Must renewals be done in person? (I ask these questions because I pay for the costs associated with obtaining RPs of my family. It just never registered that we'd have to pay everything twice during the length of my contract. The family is leaving in May for summer, our RPs expire in August, and they'll return in September. I'd prefer to not have to pay for tourist visas again!).

[Bud Powell]

This could be a recent development, but I've been offered five-year contracts in Jiangsu. I didn't accept them, so I never actually saw such a written contract. I've known other FTs who were offered similar contracts who also turned them down. AFAIK they saw nothing in writing either.

The "contracts" may have been illegal. The five-year "contracts" might have been a verbal expression of a willingness to assure the teacher that he won't be turned out after a year. Older FTs I've known get tired of the traveling around and looking for newer employers because they know that at some point, they'll be sorry that they ever left the previous job.

The older I become and the more i see and hear, the more likely I am to answer, "I don't know" or "It might be legal/illegal. Try it and see if you go to jail" to anything regarding Chinese law and ordinance.

[asiannationmc]

Provincial law maybe but long term contracts are not illegal.