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myesl

My school told me that in Jiangxi even the school is not issued the original documents. I told them I had called the New York Consulate twice and was told no originals, no visa. Then they switched and said apply to the embassy in DC. They told me they had other teachers who had just come over from America (my own homeland) and they had no problem applying with faxes.

Today the visa company emailed me and said no dice. They went back twice more today and finally it SEEMS like I will get a Z visa. I'll believe it when I see it.

This is a public university and I have spoken to one of their FTs. Other than the visa situation, everything else seems fine. Their FT likes them and the school agreed to a higher airfare reimbursement for me since I am coming from the east coast of the US. I did not go through a recruiter and have dealt only with the school from the ad they themselves placed.

On the advice of canadabear (I think that's his handle), I have come up with a new plan for next year. For what it's worth, I share it here with you.
1) I'll pick my preferred location(s)
2) I'll find what public universities are in that area
3) I'll apply to them directly in March (cold calling, bypassing recruiters), politely stating that I need to talk to their other foreign teachers and get a Z visa ahead of time with original documents
4) Probably end up about the same as this is China?

I just post this as a word of warning (no need for snide comments from persons whose name starts with 'r' and ends with 'r' or others).

Volodiya · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:49 am Post subject:

Myesl wrote:

Spiderman Too · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:43 am Post subject:

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

I tried giving the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver a photocopy of the Work Permit mailed to me by my employer and I was told that I had to give them the original.

Brian Caulfield · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Posts: 1247 Location: China

It's called beuraucratic featherbeding . The Chinese are the best at it followed by the folks in government in Canada . If they made things simple people would lose their jobs .

SimonM · Joined: 17 Apr 2005 Posts: 1835 Location: Toronto, Ontario

On the other hand I managed to get the Toronto Consulate to issue me a visa with a colour EMail copy no problem.

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

SimonM · Joined: 17 Apr 2005 Posts: 1835 Location: Toronto, Ontario

You were sent the blue one? Do you mean the blue book with the red cover? I didn't get that 'till I arrived in China. But, yeah, that could definately change things.

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

Volodiya · Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 12:24 am Post subject:

tw, we don't know that there wasn't some difference in the handling of your permission to work, in China, owing to your lack of a degree.

It is not unheard of, for a school to hire a "teacher" in some other capacity (on their books) than that of teacher, bringing them in as "foreign workers", rather than foreign experts (subject to the requirements of SAFEA); or, if as foreign experts (subject to SAFEA), then not as teachers, resulting in a different set of requirements.

Do you have anything you could tell us that would shed light on this question? Have you been given an FEC? If you have one, does your FEC specify that you are employed as a teacher, and not in some other category of foreign expert ("consultant" would be an example)?

Not trying to pry into your affairs, just trying to avoid possible "over-generalizing" from your situation, if turns out not to be typical, in some way.

myesl · Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 10:09 am Post subject:

The embassy in DC did give me a Z visa. The visa company I used had to talk to them three separate times and they said that the embassy was none too happy. Still, I will not do it that way again.

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

Volodiya · Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:45 am Post subject:

Thanks, tw, for the clarification. Very interesting. This would reconfirm our impression that, when the supply of available FTs is low, the degree requirement can be waived by the local SAFEA bureau.

By the way, good luck with your marriage plans!

A couple of other points. You have told us about your receiving a "blue colored" document as part of the Z visa application process. You've said you called it the "foreign experts work permit". Did the document have a name (at the top, or elsewhere?); or, when you said "you" called it so, did you mean to say that that was its official name? (I'm asking because, insofar as I know, you're the only one who has reported this change in procedure, and I'd like to get more details, if possible.)

Thanks, guy!

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

DistantRelative · Joined: 19 Oct 2004 Posts: 367 Location: Shaanxi/Xian

Hmmmm, Been awhile all. Hope everyone is well. I don't know about all the crap you guys have had to go through, but it all seemed pretty simple for me in-country. I passed copies of my TEFL Diploma, Letter of recommendation from last school I worked at, and brief resume, along with my Medical Examination and Passport to the person that handles that kind of thing here at my school in Xi'an, and two weeks later had my Passport returned to me with a Residence Permit good for one year firmly attached to one of the pages. It's the only thing I have and seems to be enough. I don't know if that makes me a foreign expert or what, but I'm feeling fully legal and comfortable working here now.
Also my last job I had was done using the "F" Visa. From what I understand from what I have read here, legal because the contract I did at the time was only for 6 months. Didn't get any BS from anyone about it, nor did I need any kind of letter from my last school releasing me.
I still believe a lot of what happens in country has to do with who your employer knows, how prestigious your school is considered to be in the city you work in, or probably most importantly how much your employer is willing to shell out to "get it done". All just one mans experience and opinion.

Best Wishes,

Shawn