Job Discussion Forums

sonnytron · Joined: 03 Sep 2015 Posts: 18

From the time you turned in everything to the day they say "Here are your documents, go get your visa", how long did it take you? I would also appreciate mostly recent related inquiries or at least, a comparison to "then" and "now".

I turned in my documents at the end of August. August 30th to be exact and she (my recruiter) turned them in promptly after that to the University. They sent them almost immediately so I'd gauge that the exact date was the 1st at the latest that the documents were given to the FAO.

On September 8th, they sent me a revised contract with an October 1st start date (which is strange because I found out that's a holiday).

My recruiter told me that she expected to have heard back from the FAO by the 20th and that "best case scenario" was two weeks.

However, other people have told me "LOL two weeks? No way, more like 4~6 weeks". Honestly, if it's 4~6 weeks then I'm less nervous because that means anyone who turned in their documents so late is also waiting for their FAO approval.

Thoughts?

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

If you are going to a public school then you are certainly missing the official 1 Sept start date.
I'm picking that the school is 'staggering' the arrival of late starting teachers and are not in too great a hurry.
Of course you have to add the days it will take to get your visa and organise your ticket to give a realistic on-site arrival date.
Chinese have only hazy ideas of the logistics of international travel - ditto time zones and seasons.

sonnytron · Joined: 03 Sep 2015 Posts: 18

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Of course the boss and recruiter agree with you. It's called 'face', but then you know that.

roadwalker · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 1750 Location: Ch

The October 1 start date means you get paid for that holiday, which is a week long. First year -freshmen- students haven't started classes in most universities and won't start until after the holiday. They have military training (marching around campus). So if you are to teach freshmen, you probably won't be arriving too late.

On the other hand, if the school doesn't send your invitation letter by September 30, don't expect them to send it until at least October 8 or 9, since no one does anything over the holiday. Definitely don't buy a ticket until you have a visa in your passport, and if that adds a few days for your arrival date (to get a reasonable price) so be it.

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

I'm picking that the school is 'staggering' the arrival of late starting teachers and are not in too great a hurry.

If they have you scheduled for freshers only, then they save a month of salary, which they would otherwise pay you for doing nothing, while students march..
On balance it suits both, but heed the warning about not booking anything that has a cancellation attached before you have the visa.
If you can't travel before end Oct I'd be interested to know if they rejig the contract start date.
Once they've mailed/couriered you the offer letter they'll be pressuring you to be there yesterday.

OhBudPowellWhereArtThou · Joined: 02 Jun 2015 Posts: 1168 Location: Since 2003

From the time you turned in everything to the day they say "Here are your documents, go get your visa", how long did it take you?

I've gotten my letter of invitation in nine days after I've been told that it was mailed via postal express. I've also received it from Jiangsu province to east coast, USA in five days. Generally, if you're told that it has been mailed, you'll receive it in 5-9 days.

After you receive it, there's another minimum processing time of seven to nine days in the U.S. If you send it to the Chinese consulate via FedEx to a courier service such as Travel Document Systems that will take about another week or so if you send it overnight service and back and pay for next day service to and from the consulate if it is offered.

Caveat: when I went through the rigamarole of getting my last visa two years ago, I discovered that the Chinese consulate that had jurisdiction over the area where I lived in the U.S. had changed from Washington, DC to Houston, TX. It may not matter where you send your letter of invitation and passport, etc. now, but if you call a courier service, you'll find out where you have to send your paperwork.

Don't buy your plane ticket until you get the visa. Once, I discovered that the Chinese consulate didn't type my last name onto the visa, and Travel Document Systems didn't catch the mistake. Luckily, I was still able to get a discounted plane ticket through the airline when I told the ticket agent my tale of woe. The mistake cost me another four days (overnight is available when they screw up) and I'd have been REALLY late if I had to wait another two weeks in order to get a discounted ticket.

Good luck!

sonnytron · Joined: 03 Sep 2015 Posts: 18

No one has answered my question...

From the time the school has all your documents, how long does it take them to get the FAO to approve me so they can send me the invitation letter?

From what I know, the process works like this:
1) You submit all your documents
2) The school receives the documents, checks them and sends them to the Foreign Affairs Office to approve you to come to the country for the job.
3) Once the FAO approves you, the school gives you the documents, along with a hiring letter.
4) You take those documents either to the embassy or through an agency like mychinavisa, they send the documents to the embassy.
5) The visa, along with all your paperwork and passport, is sent back to you and you can book your flight.

What I'm asking is, how long does it take from step 2 to step 3. Not the delivery of the documents but for the FAO to actually approve me. Because right now it's week 3 and they haven't said anything yet and I'm nervous.

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Not sure that you are going to find China that easy.
There are no answers like that here.

Brunouno · Joined: 18 Apr 2013 Posts: 129

doogsville · Joined: 17 Nov 2011 Posts: 924 Location: China

OhBudPowellWhereArtThou · Joined: 02 Jun 2015 Posts: 1168 Location: Since 2003

This was your question:..."From the time you turned in everything to the day they say "Here are your documents, go get your visa", how long did it take you?"

I answered it.

When the FAO mails your letter of invitation to you, it'll take about nine days (to the U.S.) if it is sent express mail. Then it may takeup to ten working days for the visa to arrive after you apply, depending upon how you handle the submission of the letter and the other paperwork.

If you want to know how long it'll take to receive your letter of invitation after you agree to work at the school and send in your documents, don't count on receiving the LoI sooner than about three weeks before you are expected to arrive at the school to teach.