Job Discussion Forums

kellyb · Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 19

We have contract with a school in Sanya. This states they will provide our z visa. Our tourist visa expires on the 15th oct and there is still no sign of the z visa. They have had 2 weeks already and have not asked us to have a medical check yet. There is a clause in the contract that states if they do not provide this then they must pay us between 500 and 2000 $. When should we approach them about breaking the contract? We need our wages and compensation in cash before we leave in 9 days time we can not wait until the last moment. They are saying that because it is the holidays there is no way of checking on the progress of the visa but that is cutting things a little short.
Any help would be great.
Thanks

cj750 · Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 3081 Location: Beijing

if there has been no medical ..then there is no application unless they put your paperwork in (PSB) and are waiting for the med...but then you would not have your passport..as the residence sticker would have to affixed...

How much wages are you talkin bout...if your waiting for the contract clause to give you a payout..Chinese hell may have to freeze over before that takes place...

no_exit · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 565 Location: Kunming

Don't worry. As long as your visa is already in processing at the PSB then it won't be counted as having expired. It is probably true that they can't check the status of the PSB during the holiday as the whole country practically shuts down during this time. They aren't BSing you about that part at least. Give them until Monday at the latest, when everyone should be back to work, and if they still aren't giving you any definitive answers then you can start to worry about them breaking the contract.

They wouldn't have put a clause in the contract about paying you 500-2000$ for not getting you a visa if they didn't actually have the power to get that visa for you. If, for whatever reason, your visa does expire and you get fined, tell the school that the fines will be their responsibility to pay. This happened with my visa last time and I was never even approached about paying those fines. I wouldn't sweat it too much as long as you know the visa is being processed (do they have your passport? If they don't then there's no way they're processing your visa).

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

adamsmith · Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Posts: 259 Location: wuhan

The way I read the initial post is that you are still on an L visa and are waiting for the paperwork to come through for the trip to hong kong to transfer/change over your L to a Z visa - is this assumption correct?? If it is then you would have a hard time getting them for breach of contract as you have been working for the past month illegally - therefore there technically would be no contract as a contract cannot involve illegalites.
Do not try to threaten them with breach of contract or you may just fin yourself with nothing. Instead - politely and firmly tell them that your curent visa is about to expire and you are hoping to have all the paperwork in hand next week for your trip to hong kong to change over your visa, and if you cannot have that at least have them extend your L visa for you. Also tell them you would like to have your medical done ASAP so that when you return from your trip you will be able to have all the other paperwork processed quickly.

Gregor · Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 842 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

I say that no_exit is right.
They are not going to lose a teacher over this. The only thing I dispute about no_exit's post was this:

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

Gregor,

You are completely wrong and your information, if followed by the OP, could cause her problems at the least.

1. She has a tourist visa. She does not have a Z visa, which nowadays in China is then replaced by a resident permit with work authorization. Sorry, Gregor, but my information is NOT out of date.

2. In order to begin the process in situs of changing a tourist visa into an Z visa and then a resident permit, the OP needs:

a. a medical examination done in country at one of the hospitals administered by the Entry and Exit Control Medical Branch of the Public Security Bureau. It usually takes one-to-two days to schedule the medical and then three days for the results. The results can be had in one day but most schools shy away from paying the extra fees.

Once the medical test is in, she or he will be be given the little Ministry of Health orange booklet. The results are good for one year.

b. With this little booklet, the school then puts all of its papers together and applies for a Foreign Expert Certificate from the local Foreign Experts Bureau (in some places they are distinct from the PSB; in smaller locales they are often directly related to it). The process of obtaining a FEC can take anywhere from three days to two weeks, depending on locale, school, etc.

c. Once the Foreign Expert Certificate is issued, it is then taken with the Medical Report, and a host of papers from the school (labor authorization, tax authorization, etc., etc.) to the Entry and Exit Division of the Public Security Bureau where the changeover from tourist visa to resident permit with work authorization is done. This process takes at least five days.

But there are many provinces now where a changeover from tourist visa to resident permit can NO longer be done in country. In those cases, a trip to Hong Kong, or Korea, or Mongolia, Russia, is required.

d. Thus from the above, the minimum processing time is more than the window time available to the current applicant.

e. She or he should immediately obtain on Monday, October 8, 2006 a one month's extension of the tourist visa. This can be done easily and readily.

Under the current rules, it is the day that the resident permit is issued that counts, so that is the tourist visa lapses on the 15 and the resident permit is issued on the 17th, fines will be imposed.

As for another poster's comment about "loosing a good teacher", please be wary.

It strikes me that either your school does not know what they are doing OR they do not have the authorization to hire foreign teachers.

BECAUSE

As I wrote the first time, and contrary to Gregor and the others, the PSB will not process a residence permit with work authorization in country WITHOUT an in-country medical report and without a foreign expert certificate.

These are the rules for first-time applicants. The rules are different for those renewing or extending residence permits with work authorization.

And they are current and applicable and valid as of the date of this posting.

HFG

adamsmith · Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Posts: 259 Location: wuhan

While I have to agree with HFG on most of his post, I also must state that the medical is not necessary to get the Z visa, and as this is the first priority of the OP that is what he needs to concentrate on. The medical is necessary for getting the FEC and the Residence permit. Neither of these two items can be obtained without first getting his visa changed over to a Z. He/she must proceed one step at a time, although he can arrange to have the medical done while waiting for the paperwork to come through for the Z.
This paperwork can take as long as 2 weeks depending on the province and with the holiday you can add on another week before you even get the invitation letter which is necessary to change over to a Z visa.

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

I second what HFG says. Without a FEC the OP would not get the RPF and without a medical, the FEC would not be issued. This has become standard in more and more provinces and regions (Inner Mongolia and Liaoning), and especially to FT's currently living abroad.

adamsmith · Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Posts: 259 Location: wuhan

TW, if you read my previous post to the one you quoted you would notice that I said he would need to go to HK (or wherever ((implied))) . My information is good. I have not contradicted anyone - just stated what everyone seems to be missing - The OP needs to get a Z visa to get anything else done.
I also stated that he could extend his current L visa as did you and HFG if the paperwork for his Z does not come through.
Please clarify where my information that I have given in my previous two posts is misleading or in anyway wrong.
(I have just undergone all of this myself over the course of the summer so I am pretty sure that what I have said is accurate.)

Thanks

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

My apologies. Post edited.

adamsmith · Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Posts: 259 Location: wuhan

no problem. Thanks.

cj750 · Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 3081 Location: Beijing

Hendahu · Joined: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 69

Contact your embassy as soon as possible. They can give you better insight than any of us can. I know there are severe penalties for staying in country without the proper papers. You embassy can give you the Chinese officials you need to contact.

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong