Job Discussion Forums

[KateCee]

Hi,

My visa is due to expire on 26 June, 2008. My contract is valid until 31 Aug, 2008. I don't have to teach after the end of June, but the school has given me permission to occupy the premises until 5 Aug, which is when I'd like to leave China. My questions, therefore, are:

1. Is it possible to get a 40-day extension? Or are they issued on a per month basis, i.e. 1- or 2-month extensions?

2. Would I have to go through a med check again for a 40-day/ 1-month extension?

I work off Guangzhou & my papers are sent there. I've asked the school to find out this info, but they've not been too reliable in the past with long-winded solutions, so I would like to know what my options are.

Thanks.
Kate

[lf_aristotle69]

If your school did things properly at the beginning of the semester/year they should have (at the beginning of your time working there) organised changing your Z-Visa (for entry into China) into a Residence Permit (for iving and working in China). The latter will supercede/cancel the former.

Usually RPs are valid at least 30 days past the end of contract, but it's strange that your contract runs to the end of the Summer Holiday (do you have to do a Summer Camp job for them?).

So, perhaps, hopefully, you're just confused about your RP vs. Z-visa situation. Or, else your school's Foreign Affairs Officer was incompetent and didn't organise the dates well. What's the expiry date of your Foreign Expert's Certificate?

It's good and fair that they'll let you stay in the apartment until you want to leave China in early August though. But, you might need to get a hold of a Tourist Visa, as I suspect the school won't (can't???) help you extend the date on your current residency docs. Tourist visas are not as easy to get from say, Hong Kong, as they used to be anymore.

Good luck.

LFA

[North China Laowei]

[KateCee]

If_aristotle69 & North China Laowei, thanks for your replies. To answer some of your questions:

1. My FEC expires on 31 Aug. My visa expires on 26 June 'cos that's when my visa was sent for renewal last year.

2. No, I'm not teaching at all after 30 June. I requested the end date of my contract be 31 Aug as I intend travelling before I leave. I have now preponed my departure to early Aug. I had hoped that last year itself they (GZ) would issue a 14-month visa in my passport. They didn't, but assured me that I could get an extension "easily" this year.

3. My school is willing to get the visa for me. It's just that they are not very familiar with exceptions & I like to have some info on the subject from the foreigners instead of relying on whatever they tell me. It's not the school that I'm concerned about, but those in GZ. From last year's experience in trying to obtain the 14-month visa, I remember, my school office staff got varying answers 'cos each time they spoke to different people in GZ.

4. My med check was done on 19 June 2007 & those are typically valid for a year, aren't they?

So given that my FEC expires on 31 Aug, would I be able to get a 1-month/preferably 40-day work visa extension? And since my health cert is valid until 19 June, would I have to go through a med check again?

Kate

[North China Laowei]

Dear Kate,

Good questions and hope that I can provide some good answers.

Under the Guangzhou rules, and this applies to the Greater Guangzhou area, if one renews or seeks to renew a resident permit (aka Z visa or whatever) before the end of its term, a new medical check is not required and that includes even if you change universities in Guangdong Province. The university where you are now will need to submit a Letter of Recommendation, the usual amount of paperwork (authority of hire foreigners, etc., etc.), your passport, RMB 400 (the minimum charge) and a copy of your contract. Additionally, they will need to submit a copy of your FEC but since that it still valid, it will not have to be renewed. The end date of the visa should be tailored to match the end date of the FEC; otherwise, you will end up renewing an FEC in GZ and that Department is currently on overload. All of the paperwork should be submitted NOT later than one week before the end of term of your visa.

I would personally go this route instead of the Hong Kong because currently it is almost near chaos down there. I am aware of one school in GZ that has shipped FT's to Hong Kong for what was supposed to be an overnight run and they are still there down there a week later.

The visa situation is exceptionally fluid at the moment and whatever you can do and achieve in-country with the rollover, you should be prepared to choose that route.

And the maximum on a teaching visa is 12-months, one calendar year, etc., etc.. or thereabouts, at least in Guangzhou.

[North China Laowei]

[eslstudies]

Q: I know where North China is, but what is a laowei? Laowai, perchance?

Now that HFG seems to have disappeared from the forum, it's good to have someone knowledgeable, and with seemingly many connections, dear friends, acquaintances and colleagues to fill his shoes.
Welcome on board NCL!

[KateCee]

Hi again North China Laowei,

I agree with you about getting an "extension" being fairly easy since my contract & FEC expire on 31 Aug. The powers that be in GZ may not call it an "extension", but a "new visa", which, technically, it is/will be.

From past experience, I think the following scenario will unfold when I request a visa that expires before 31 Aug:

Due to a slower-than-normal shift in the tectonic plates, we cannot use the current carbon sequestration methods. Besides Microsoft will not be providing XP related support beyond 2015 and caribou, elk & moose are classified as "large game". Therefore, we will not issue you a visa that expires on 5 Aug. Oh, you want your visa to end on 31 Aug? The same date as your FEC? No problem, Ma'am!

I'm not mocking the local authorities or the way they operate, but in the past, certain matters with some of my colleagues that could have been resolved simply & easily dragged on in circuitous obfuscation before they came to the same end that was suggested at the very start. Fortunately, this is one of the very few things that rankles about living & working here. But it sure beats everything else I like & enjoy about being here!

askawino, thanks for your input, but I'm here on a work visa.

North China Laowei, thank you again for your time & patience. AND for your polite manner of communication, which, sadly, is not a plebeian trait, but is exactly what makes the few stick out like gleaming, golden thumbs.

I will report on how things pan out for me regarding this matter.

[arioch36]

All of us should ask for a residence permit that is at least a month past our end of teaching date. I wish this was made a sticky, even just a law. Saves so many problems.

You and your FAO can go to the PSB and get a new residence permit that will last until the end of your contract date. Their should be no problem doing this except for maybe your FEC card. What does your FEC card say?

No, you would not need a new medical, only need to pay the residence permit fee.

But the school has to go with you to the PSB, literally. The residence permit needs the schlol's seal (don't ask me which seal)

Not an extension, no such thing, just a residence permit

Buy the FAO something nice, tell them how thankful you are, and you help you can help them some day if they ever need more teachers, and tell the FAO you need him her to help you do this

[KateCee]

Dunno if this will help anyone, but I got an extension very easily. (All those sleepless nights in vain.) Since my FEC was valid until 31 Aug 2008, I had no problem getting a new visa until then. The PSB did try to get me to do a med check for the 2 month extension, but the FAO managed to get away without me requiring one. Fortunately, I have never needed to accompany her for this annual rigmarole.

Yes, I have helped them find my replacement. Not just because they did their job, but because they've been doing it well. I'm leaving after teaching here at this school for 4.5 years.

Kate

[arioch36]

THE NEW FEC IS BLUE!!! ???

Just got my new FEC. My contract and residence permit end July 31. The henan waishiban was pretty firm that for a new FEC, a new medical was a must, even though I did not leave the country. I was told that even if I stayed with the same school, I would have needed a new medical. But that may be because they have come out with this new funky metallic blue FEC that looks a little bit like my 1973 Chevy Nova Blue.

As my passport is also blue, I will have to remind my self to grab the right one

[Moon Over Parma]

Last week I received a new FEC for my new job and it was the reddish booklet. Would prefer blue or green apple, but I take what I can get.

[North China Laowei]

[Joe C.]