Job Discussion Forums

[endarkend]

Title says most -- I will have fulfilled my contract for my current employer on the 30th of this month, and will be heading to Beijing to find another job. Last week I gave my passport to the secretary here at my school who handles all the visa/RPF/PSB stuff in order to get it processed for my release from the school. From what I'd read here in the forums, I assumed I would have 30 days after being released from my current contract to find a new job in Beijing. However, when I got my passport back today, I was surprised to find that my RPF has a red "CANCELLED" stamp on it and on the next page is a 25 day L visa ("Issued Aug 18th; Valid until Sept. 12th"). Is this normal? Or should I be worried? I wasn't sure what form my "30 day grace period" would take, but I didn't expect an L visa that will give me all of 12 days after finishing up my contract. Is this something that can be extended easily at the PSB in Beijing?

One other thing, this new L visa doesn't look like the one I came in on when I traveled here last summer -- instead of being colorful, it's kinda silvery-gray, like my RPF.

~EnDarkEnd

[Malsol]

Bad news.

Should have located new job and had them extend for you.

Now you are a tourist and L visas are not that easy to change into Z.

[endarkend]

'Should haves' aside, can anyone offer some useful advice concerning my current situation?

[Malsol]

Find a job and see what your new employer can do. You may have to go to Hong Kong and come back on a proper work visa.

[cj750]

I have never been asked to give my passport up to any school official or staff member upon leaving employment at a school..my thoughts are the school didn't want you to utilize your current residency pass to gain new employment.

[chengdude]

There is no "grace period"; your Residence Permit is/was valid until a certain date, which is academic now that it has been cancelled. If it expired on the final day of your contract, the school had no obligation to extend it. Typically, when applying for the Permit, teachers will request some extra time beyond the last day of the contract depending on their projected need or plans. In other cases, without such a request, a school will give a teacher an extra 2 weeks to one month.

With your L Visa, you may or may not have to leave and re-enter China; it all depends on the pull of the school you end up at, the state of the regulations in the city/province you are looking, and/or the mood of the PSB officer to whom your school ends up submitting your paperwork.

[englishgibson]

CJ, you sound like my granma

OP, it is your employer's duty to provide you with that RPF for the period of time of your work there. It also is your employer's duty to appropriately end the contract between him/her and you. Cancelling foreign employees' RPFs, if the RPFs are for longer period of time than the RPFs holders' contracts is also the employer's duty or shall I say obligation. Having said that, the employer is obligated to provide that L visa to allow for travel. If you were allowed to keep your RPF after the end of your contract, you'd be able to work with it. And, that's what it all is about, in my opinion. It's a system that China's been trying to develop. We all know that it doesn't work the same way everywhere, but in some places .... yours, mine and maybe some other ....

If I were you OP, I'd relax and tried to find a job ASAP. If I couldn't find a suitable gig within that L visa time, I'd make a trip to HK and get yet another L there. Now, I know it's a hussle and it might cost a bit, but it's an option to consider, since you have not been able to find that job prior to your end of this contract.
Next time be smarter and anticipate

Peace to all
and
cheers and beers to us

[Malsol]

englishgibson 73 words to say what I said in 27? Do you charge by the word?