Job Discussion Forums

[mysterytrain]

The waters seem to be muddy on some things regarding visas to enter the country for work and residence permits, particularly in the contexts of 1) entry and 2) transferring from one school to another in-country.

I'm not an expert but some things seem clear to me (and to others, from what I can tell)

* A Z Visa is required to ENTER China for the purpose of lawful work

* The Z Visa is normally obtained in the foreigner's home country, or in a third country in which the foreigner has legal residence at the time (I have done this both ways, as have others)

* The Z Visa is obtained BEFORE entering China ** (a visa is, in fact, a permit to enter and temporarily stay in a country for a designated purpose, thus, the many different types of visa)

* Upon entry to China, the Z Visa must be changed to a Residence Permit within 30 days, upon the issuance of which the Z Visa is Cancelled / Voided. (There is no longer a need for a Visa after one has a Residence Permit)

* If a foreigner wants to later *transfer* the Residence Permit (NOT THE (nonexistent) VISA, although it is commonly misidentified as such) from one employer 'or sponsor to another, certain process must be followed (release letter, etc.) A Residence Permit, like a Z Visa, is tied to a specific employer or sponsor.

* ** Entering the country on a visa other than a "Z" and somehow winding up with a Residence Permit and FEC, in-country, HAS happened (I do know this from my own experience) however, in such a case that this occurred strictly inside Mainland China, there is No "Z" Visa involved (different than the case of Z Visas obtained in Hong Kong)

* It is my understanding that the possibility of the example above (completely within Mainland China) occurring has been eliminated, and it may not have been lawful in the first place

[Non Sequitur]

That's a short snappy summary.
I'll link to it in the Job Offer Checklist thread.

[geosmiley]

Do you have a Chinese government website you could post where this is all spelled out in Mandarin and then translated into English for the people who don't read and speak Chinese well?

[mysterytrain]

[Blistering Zanazilz]

[nimadecaomei]

I would agree with what you wrote.

Here is the "official" site http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/wgrlh/lhqz/sblhqz_660598/t1095034.shtml only Chinese though.

[geosmiley]

[quote="nimadecaomei"]I would agree with what you wrote.

Here is the "official" site http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/wgrlh/lhqz/sblhqz_660598/t1095034.shtml only Chinese though.[/quote]

Thanks for the interesting post. My Chinese fiance and I will go over this tonight and post any striking resmblance. However, this is China and all things are local and negotiable., i.e., there isn't just one way and there is no universal application of any rule or set of rules.

[mysterytrain]

[getbehindthemule]

Useful post for newbies, clear and concise, and seems pretty much spot on to me.
Back in 2014 I went to HK to get my Z-Visa processed (like many others at the time). But you are the first person that I've heard of that went from L-Visa to RP on the mainland. Your employer must have had serious guanxi
I wonder if the HK loophole is still open or have they cracked down on this now? （although it probably also depends on employer's guanxi)

[geosmiley]

With 34 province-level administrative units in China it might be just as fair to say that you shouldn't count on anything being a universal truth. However, I would agree that all the recent rule changes seem like an attempt to change this. Will it work, I think not, but opinions will vary. China is a very diverse country at the local level.

[mysterytrain]

[mysterytrain]

[geosmiley]

The URL posted on this thread as the factual basis for opinions expressed in 2018 dates from 2013-2014. For me, that calls its applicability into question.
None the less, I've scheduled an appointment with the Director of the International Office at my university to discuss my visa and, if she doesn't respond with "Why do you need to know that?" to every question I ask, I'll share.