Job Discussion Forums

winterlynx1 · Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 11:02 pm Post subject: Two Year Limit on Z-Viza???

I've just been informed that a particular school can re-new a teacher's z-visa only one time, limiting the stay at a particular school to 2 years. Has anyone else run into this new regulation?

I'm in Shaanxi province.

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

Most schools won't renew a Z-VISA anyway. They will convert the Z visa to a Residence permit that acts like a visa and that is generally good for one year and/or the length of your contract (say, 10 months). I'm getting ready soon to have my RP renewed for a 3rd year at my school.

ymmv · Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 387

My very talkative, young FAO told me just before the break that at the most recent meeting of local FAOs, they had been told that they were "very strongly discouraged" from having the same foreign teacher for more than 2 years.

When I asked if they were given a reason why, she said that they were told, "No why. This is a new national regulation that has just come down from Beijing."

This sounds like what the OP was recently told.

I'm only in the third month of my third yearly contract at this college, so she was giving me a heads up for next year.

dave_merk · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 208

Why in the world would they do that? Schools in this country have enough of a problem with high turnover rates when it comes to FTs as it is. In the four years I've been here my schools has had (besides me) somewhere around 8 or 9 other FTs who have all left for one reason or another (didn't get a raise, hated the job, were discovered to not be native English speakers, etc etc). Most schools can barely keep a teacher on their roster for more than a year, anyway. It also behooves the school and the students to have the same teacher for a longer period of time.

I don't believe that this regulation, if it's even true, will catch on. Veterans of this board should know by now that "new regulations" are just a code word for "hearsay."

I'm not going to sweat it.

bendan · Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 739 Location: North China

It doesn't really fit very well with the other advice supposedly being passed down from Beijing that FTs must have teaching experience.

Steppenwolf · Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 1769

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

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

just get that chinese passport.... then you can stay here forever.... even if you dont want to LOL

james s · Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 676 Location: Raincity

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

in 90% of the cases, it comes down to what the local authorities want to do. Beijing's directives are mainly guidelines to go by most of the time as shown by the 2 years it took to go from the Z-visa system to the resident permit system...

You'll find that the final say basically comes down to your head of the psb.. plain and simple.

Joe C. · Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 3:54 am Post subject: Re: Two Year Limit on Z-Viza???

patsy · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 179 Location: china

I think if you ask for a raise after your second year , the new 2 year only regulation kicks in.

winterlynx1 · Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 11:06 am Post subject:

The latest info I have is that I have to leave China and then re-apply for a Z visa, because I've been in the country for 3 years. So, the story has changed.