Job Discussion Forums

princessofquitealot · Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Posts: 38 Location: Malaysia

Does anyone know if a Z visa can be "transferred" from one employer to another. I'm finishing my contract next month and would like toi stay in China with another employer. Is having an existing Z visa an advantage to the process? Or do I have to start from scratch and get a new one?

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

We have dealt with this situation many times in the past, lady; legally you cannot do what you wrote you want to do. Your visa is employer-specific, and for good reasons. You will need a new visa, which you can only obtain if you end your current term amicably, which the authorities want to verify by seeing a release letter stamped by the PSB in your jurisdiction!

Good luck!

princessofquitealot · Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Posts: 38 Location: Malaysia

Thanks for the information, Roger. I expect to complete my contract so I will ask my present employer for the letter you mentioned. Will I need to go out to HK or could the paperwork be done in my new location?

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

Roger's reply is a bit lisleading. For starters, let's get the terminologies straight. A Z visa allows one to enter China to work but after 30 days, the individual FT MUST have a RPF pasted in his/her passport to be residing in China legally. The FT must also have a FEC to be teaching legally. Other than the FEC, neither the Z visa nor the RPS actually states who the FT's employer is. When the FT leaves the current employer to seek employment with another employer, the former employer has the legal right to take back the FEC and may even go to the PSB to cancel the FT's RPF. Having a letter of release from the former employer allows the FT's new employer to go to the PSB to renew/extend the FT's RPF. The worst that can happen (if the FT's RPF is soon to expire) is having to get a new RPF.

C&N · Joined: 22 Nov 2005 Posts: 10 Location: China

Sorry to butt in, but while we're on this topic of residence permits renewal, etc. I'm seriously disappointed with my teaching experience here (the details of which I won't go into). I've thought long and hard about what I want get out of my 'China Experience', as I'm only here short-term, and have lots of opportunities awaiting me back home. I'd really like to take the money I've earnt and travel to various locations of interest.
Here's the problem. I have a residence permit and FEC. I understand that once I leave my employer and am 'stamped out' of the province I only have 30 days before I have to either leave China or seek new employment. As I would like longer than 30 days to travel around, what are my options? Can I feasably go to Hong Kong and re-apply for a 90 day Tourist Visa?

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

C&N, that's a whole different thread. From what I've read in the past, yes you can probably go to HK and get a tourist's visa to stay and travel for awhile.

As for the OP. I left my last job at the end of June. My new job said they couldn't replace my RP with a new one because my old one didn't expire until the end of August! I mean, the PSB wouldn't do it. So, I went off to summer camp in Guangzhou area, went home to the US and returned to China the day BEFORE it expired with no repercussions. I handed my school my passport and got my new one about a week later.