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u24tc
Joined: 14 May 2007
Posts: 125
Location: Dalian, China
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 Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:57 pm Post subject: How did you get Z-Visa? |
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I was told that I just needed my work permit, invitational letter and passport. Go to the embassy and apply for the visa.
Now I got told that I had to have the medical checkup document before they would issue one..gay >_<
I was told I could just do that in China to get my residency permit but wasn't told that it is required for the Z-vsa.
Has anyone not given the physical check up document to get their visa? |
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jwbhomer
Joined: 14 Dec 2003
Posts: 876
Location: CANADA
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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| The first time I went to China to work, I entered on an L visa, then my school organized (and paid for) the medical checkup and the Z visa. Have you tried getting your employer to do this? |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:29 pm Post subject: Re: How did you get Z-Visa? |
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| u24tc wrote: |
I was told that I just needed my work permit, invitational letter and passport. Go to the embassy and apply for the visa.
Now I got told that I had to have the medical checkup document before they would issue one..gay >_<
I was told I could just do that in China to get my residency permit but wasn't told that it is required for the Z-vsa.
Has anyone not given the physical check up document to get their visa? |
you got the first part right. usually you get your documents from the school for Z visa, go get the visa, arrive at the school, do the medical, then some time shortly after that you receive the residence permit in your passport (assuming there were no problems along the way). |
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Mister Al
Joined: 28 Jun 2004
Posts: 840
Location: In there
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:00 am Post subject: |
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OP
Who told you that you had to get a medical check first? The employer or The Chinese Embassy in UK?
As far as I can remember a Foreign Expert Certificate (applied for by the school to the local PSB), Invitation Letter and passport was enough to get the Z visa. After that you get the medical in China and then the Residence Permit is put into your passport at the local PSB. |
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u24tc
Joined: 14 May 2007
Posts: 125
Location: Dalian, China
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:12 am Post subject: |
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| Mister Al wrote: |
OP
Who told you that you had to get a medical check first? The employer or The Chinese Embassy in UK?
As far as I can remember a Foreign Expert Certificate (applied for by the school to the local PSB), Invitation Letter and passport was enough to get the Z visa. After that you get the medical in China and then the Residence Permit is put into your passport at the local PSB. |
I went to embassy, gave them my forms (invitation letter, work permit, passport, visa application) in Edinburgh (Scotland, UK) only to get told that I won't get one unless I give them the physical examination document also.
I was like 'what the hell?!?!'
So I am thinking perhaps if I go to another embassy say in London, see if they ask for it or not. I have asked many of the services in the UK that help you do Visa's if one is requied for this Z-visa, they said no, just letter, permit and passport plus form.
Physical checkup is only required for when applying for residency from the z-visa. This is why I think it is so weird. |
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tw
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
Posts: 3898
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:30 am Post subject: |
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At least a couple posters have mentioned in other threads that hey were told to show a medical exam report when they went to the embassy/consulate to apply for a Z visa. I am not sure if they were all Britons, but according to the Chinese embassy in UK's web site at www.chinese-embassy.org.uk/eng/lsyw/chivisa/t281953.htm
| Quote: |
A. All applicants are required to submit the following documents:
1. A valid original passport. There must be spare blank visa pages in the passport. Pages for endorsements or amendments can not be used as a visa page. The passport should be valid for at least 6 months.
2. One completed Chinese visa application form (click here to download the form)signed by the applicant. Children's application form can be signed by their parents or guardians.
3. One recent passport photograph affixed to the visa application form. Life photos, copied photos and digital photos printed on ordinary paper are not acceptable.
4. Work visa -------- Z: An employment permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security or the State Administration of Foreign Experts of China together with an invitation letter from a relevant Department of Chinese Government or a Government-authorized company and the documents mentioned in part A. |
Notice no where does it say anything about a medical exam. |
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caius celestius
Joined: 02 Jul 2007
Posts: 89
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:59 am Post subject: |
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If the Embassy says you need a medical exam before departure then for Mao's sake, get it and get that work visa.
You might NOT have to undergo a medical check-up in China.
The rules are constantly in flux; your Embassy probably wants to make sure no laowai enters China's labour market without having been thoroughly examined and found to be physically and mentally fit.
In country, medical exams are ever less often required. That was a thing unconceivable just a few years back as the Chinese were paranoid about foreigners carrying HIV or whatnot! |
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HunanForeignGuy
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 989
Location: Shanghai, PRC
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:08 am Post subject: See Below |
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| caius celestius wrote: |
If the Embassy says you need a medical exam before departure then for Mao's sake, get it and get that work visa.
You might NOT have to undergo a medical check-up in China.
The rules are constantly in flux; your Embassy probably wants to make sure no laowai enters China's labour market without having been thoroughly examined and found to be physically and mentally fit.
In country, medical exams are ever less often required. That was a thing unconceivable just a few years back as the Chinese were paranoid about foreigners carrying HIV or whatnot! |
Dear Kind UTC4,
I agree with most of the other posters here...it is truly strange that you have been asked for a medical before you enter China...it used to happen in the old days, circa 2000, but then the rules were changed, and they have been more-or-less the same since, at least in this regard.
Yes, indeed, do try the Embassy in London, and also try using a visa service, which usually sends over 100's of applications at the same time.
Please remember that even if the Consulate forces you to do a medical examination, the chances of your being asked to take the medical examinatin a second time in China are probably 99.9999%.
HFG
PS If you have all of the paperwork, ask your school if they would or might or could consent and present you with the documents to get the Z visa in Hong Kong... |
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u24tc
Joined: 14 May 2007
Posts: 125
Location: Dalian, China
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 9:09 am Post subject: |
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| Thank for the advice... will keep you posted. |
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Moon Over Parma
Joined: 20 May 2007
Posts: 819
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:56 am Post subject: |
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| The "health check" before getting the visa (in your home country) has become a norm. More and more schools are demanding this and some are at least mentioning this on their university's website so you have time to prepare before going to the embassy for the vis a work. From all accounts, you'll end up having to get the same medical check (and cheaper) once you land in China just to get the FEC and residency permit. It sucks, but this is starting to be come a norm from what I can see. |
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tw
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
Posts: 3898
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Moon Over Parma wrote: |
| The "health check" before getting the visa (in your home country) has become a norm. More and more schools are demanding this and some are at least mentioning this on their university's website so you have time to prepare before going to the embassy for the vis a work. From all accounts, you'll end up having to get the same medical check (and cheaper) once you land in China just to get the FEC and residency permit. It sucks, but this is starting to be come a norm from what I can see. |
It is certainly becoming more and more common for employers to ask for a medical exam report prior to applying for the visa notice, work permit, invitation, and at times, the Foreign Expert Certificate. However, we should keep in mind that the OP has already gotten all the necessary documents needed for the Z visa. The local consulate is asking for a medical exam report even though it is clearly not stated on the embassy's web site. |
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upchuckles
Joined: 11 Jan 2007
Posts: 111
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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You only need the original invitation letters from the PSB and SAFEA.
I included a link to the visa company I used, it details what you need and shows samples of the docs.
Just choose the doc from the left vertical tabs, and scroll down to see what it looks like..
China Z Visa Service for ESL teachers
Last edited by upchuckles on Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:40 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 3:16 pm Post subject: |
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| upchuckles wrote: |
You only need the original invitation letters from the PSB and SAFEA.
I included a link to the visa company I used, it details what you need and shows samples of the docs.
Just choose the doc from the left vertical tabs, and scroll down to see what it looks like.. |
According to your link, they require a physical exam. Maybe it depends on the consulate where you get your visa from and the province that you will be working in
http://z-visa.com/work/safea.asp
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR SAFEA TO APPROVE INVITATION:
University Diploma and/or Copy of Professional Certificate (TEFL, Teaching License, etc.)
Copy of Passport
Visa Size Photo (2x2)
Two Letters of Reference (Academic or Professional)
Physical Examination Form
HIV Test Results (residing in China for one-year or more)
Copy of Contract with host institution |
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Shan-Shan
Joined: 28 Aug 2003
Posts: 1074
Location: electric pastures
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR SAFEA TO APPROVE INVITATION:
University Diploma and/or Copy of Professional Certificate (TEFL, Teaching License, etc.)
Copy of Passport
Visa Size Photo (2x2)
Two Letters of Reference (Academic or Professional)
Physical Examination Form
HIV Test Results (residing in China for one-year or more)
Copy of Contract with host institution |
These are the items required before an invitation is issued. From what I've read, the OP already has the papers issued by SAFEA (even without having first submitted the physical examination form), necessary for a Z visa, making the demand by the consulate for a physical to be something after the fact.
Perhaps, though, the consulate, through its complex network of Watchers, is already aware of SAFEA's gaff, and is only doing what the people at SAFEA should have already done: have the OP submit the results of a physical.
Maybe the consulate even already knows who will want to teach in China before the foreigners themselves know. Maybe those of us here, and those who will come, were manipulated in mommy's womb to want to come/go to China to teach. If so, how frightening. |
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HunanForeignGuy
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 989
Location: Shanghai, PRC
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 4:28 pm Post subject: The Consulate in Edinburgh |
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| Shan-Shan wrote: |
| Quote: |
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR SAFEA TO APPROVE INVITATION:
University Diploma and/or Copy of Professional Certificate (TEFL, Teaching License, etc.)
Copy of Passport
Visa Size Photo (2x2)
Two Letters of Reference (Academic or Professional)
Physical Examination Form
HIV Test Results (residing in China for one-year or more)
Copy of Contract with host institution |
These are the items required before an invitation is issued. From what I've read, the OP already has the papers issued by SAFEA (even without having first submitted the physical examination form), necessary for a Z visa, making the demand by the consulate for a physical to be something after the fact.
Perhaps, though, the consulate, through its complex network of Watchers, is already aware of SAFEA's gaff, and is only doing what the people at SAFEA should have already done: have the OP submit the results of a physical.
Maybe the consulate even already knows who will want to teach in China before the foreigners themselves know. Maybe those of us here, and those who will come, were manipulated in mommy's womb to want to come/go to China to teach. If so, how frightening. |
Shan-Shan,
SAFEA has been largely disbanded over the years and in all reality does not exist any more to any serious degree, if it ever did. Its powers now are merely consultatory and a SAFEA contract with a SAFEA contract number is meaningless. Arbitration, mediation, and all those myriad problems are now handled by the provincial, and in some cases, city, Foreign Experts' Bureaus, and in most cases, these bureaus are more tootheless than SAFEA. The one in Guangzhou is particularly absent from reality; on the other hand, the one in ChangSha was particularly proactive.
For all extents and purposes, the medicals are conducted on-site here, irregardless of whether or not they have been done before.
Let's also face another fact -- with all due respect to the Scots, Edinburgh, as nice as a city as it is, is not a major diplomatic posting for Chinese foreign ministry personnel and it strikes me that the clerk may simply not be in the know.
Another example : here in Guangzhou, and in Guangdong, the Guangdong rules regarding medicals were seriously amended last year. If you once had a medical in Guangdong, say, in your first year, and then you continue at the same job in your second year, or for that matter anywhere else in Guangdong for the second year, provided you have a letter of release and a letter of recommendation, you do not need a second medical.
Nonetheless, a friend of mine who is going to work out in the boonies at a relatively good school unfortunately has to deal with a charming but unknowning FAO. He was subjected at her dictates to another medical, the new rules notwithstanding.
It reminds me a bit of Pirandello and his commedia della arte...
HFG |
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