Job Discussion Forums

[pest2]

I apologize if this question is redundant. I did do a search but couldn't find the exact answer I was to the question I was looking to ask.

I worked in China for a few months. I didn't like the job for a number of reasons: inadequate facilities, teaching more classes than agreed to at time of hire, lower pay than promised, bad management etc etc... Finally after completing the semester, I just decided to return here, where I am now, in the US, to do grad school. Of course I broke the "contract" and left early (although I did give them notice and time to find someone new and I did finish teaching the term's classes). Honestly, I dont really care about ever teaching in China again because I am thinking it kind of blohs in general (due in no small part to the visa process and the lack of objectivity/fairness for foreign workers that process does seem to impart), but that is neither here nor there.

However, to my surprise the employer actually paid me for the last month I worked there. Problem is that I dont have any way to get the money out. The bank card I've got for the bank they put the money in only works in China. I checked and there will be no way to get that money out unless I go back to China.

My residence permit stamped into my passport is valid until August 2017, but I am reading in some places that it may have been cancelled by my employer (?) as I left and they likely already cancelled my work permit, too. There seems to be conflicting info out there on this point; some sources state the actual passport is needed to cancel the residence permit while others seem to show this is not the case as cancelling the work permit automatically implies cancelling the residence permit.

I've got time during spring break (ie no classes that week for ppl who forgot what its like to be a student in university) to head back to China and get the money and then maybe go see some cool stuff for a few days before coming back to the US. The money left in the bank there in China would more than pay for the trip...

What would be the best way to proceed insofar as the visa/residence permit is concerned given my situation stated above? How can I get to China, get that money, and come back home? Or can I?

[Soundbite]

Couldn't you use your Chinese account to set up a paypal, then transfer it out via that method?

[danshengou]

First off, your bank should have given you a debit card that begins with the numbers '62' and bears the UnionPay logo.

Presuming you have such a card, you could siphon off your cash for purchases or just go to the ATM and withdraw it. The daily cash limit is 10k rmb ($1450) equivalent, and as of 2016 the annual limit is 100,000 rmb equivalent. Citibank and WellsFargo ATMs are the main ones to use. But if you aren't near one you can use any ATM on the Pulse network https://www.pulsenetwork.com/atmcal/search.do. Good luck!

[Volver]

I usually wire money out of the country with the help of a friend, but that is getting much harder to do. I will be back in the States in a couple of months. Are you saying I could just go to my bank and use my Union Pay card to take out my money that is in China? I assume I use my BOC PIN #, right? This sounds too good to be true. Has anyone actually done this in CA?

Thanks.

V

[danshengou]

[Volver]

Wow. I am both very glad for this info and feel like an idiot at the same time.

V

[pest2]

Thanks for responding. So, among the really annoying things about that school was the fact that they force you to open a bank account with "everbright" bank..and it is into this bank that they put you paycheck.... this bank really really scks.. they do indeed give you a union pay card but the only things you can do with it are buy stuff from stores or restaurants directly or use it at ATM machines in China to take out cash...I did on like my 3rd trip to the branch attempt to have it set it up to be used for other conveniences essential to life in China such as wechat pay and uber and authorizing it to buy stuff online on sites like taobao etc..however after I did request/authorize this with a ton of stupid Chinese red tape paperwork lo and behold the card does not work. I thought "to heck with it, I'm leaving anyway and I surely won't be paid again "...so I didn't try to waste another 4 hours waiting in cue at the bank again on it..Otherwise yeah I'd just go to Wells Fargo and withdraw it. I did try this already but I knew it was a lost cause...so yeah I need to get back to China..

[nomad soul]

How much money is in your Chinese bank account? It may not be worth the costs and hassle to return to China.

[pest2]

[pest2]

[danshengou]

pest2,
It sounds to me like you got a lousy bank. But still you should be able to use that ATM card on the Pulse network, or with Citibank. You could also try making purchases with it since a lot of places accept UnionPay and gradually get your money out that way.

[pest2]

No... really.. I promise... krap card does not work here. It's like what I wrote in my previous post.

[plumpy nut]

Your bank should be able to have that money wired into your account, if you know the account number to your Chinese bank, which you should of course.

[Volver]

p2.

That is a fair amount of money and it may be worth coming back here to get it. It just gets down to an analysis of whether or not the amount you get is worth the time, money and hassle.

I think I would get a tourist visa and not rely on your old residency permit. You could maybe fly into HK and see if the old permit is good. If not, then you can get an entry visa in the airport.

As for working in China, yeah, the country sucks in every possible way except for the money you can make. I have personally known people who have paid off their (huge) student loans in just a few years by working here. Your first job will probably be awful, but then you can figure out the system and move into better ones. It took me awhile to get a decent job. I still have nothing good to say about China, but at least my work situation is pretty good.

V

[danshengou]